Knights focused on consistent improvement in new season

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights are hitting the diamond this season after a 16-10 season last year that saw them make a first-round appearance in the 1A state baseball tournament. New Head Coach Tony Jenks is eager to begin his tenure with a program he believes has made significant improvement in the last couple of years.   

“The boys work hard here. They expect to win now when they play sports,” Jenks said. “We've kind of turned the corner, I think, in the last couple of years. We've got a lot of boys that work on baseball all year round, and travel to The Six (athletic facility) and work out with him quite a bit.”  

According to Jenks, the players aren’t the only ones who have been working on their game in the offseason. As he prepares to begin his tenure as head coach, he has also refining his coaching skills, he said.  

“I've gone to a few coaching clinics and interacting with some like Sonny Garza (who) I think is an excellent coach in Othello,” he said. “I've learned (about) the level of intensity in practice, not just in games, but to make that expectation all the time.”  

Last year's team rostered younger players who were looking for more varsity experience. This year, Jenks expects his players to walk into the new season with more confidence, now that they have a lot of experience and have been training in the offseason.   

“I can just sense it in the players now, when you're getting to state and regionals and being in that top 16, they just have a lot more confidence walking in this year than where they were starting last year,” the coach said.   

One player to look out for this season is Mason Meseberg, Jenks said. Over the last year, he has garnered a bit of playing experience through travel baseball with the Tri-Cities Reign.   

“They travel all over and love baseball, (his) dad got drafted as a minor league player and was a great coach and asset. He doesn't coach directly for us, but he's definitely an asset and helping the boys and teaching them,” Jenks said.   

Jenks has worked with the Knights baseball program as his brother Brandon was the previous coach before stepping away after last spring. His familiarity with the players and a passion for helping young athletes grow sold him on taking the head coach opening.   

As he aims to set his own culture and expectations for this team, he’s eager to help his players become better people as well.   

“More than anything, just teaching the boys how to compete and to show up every day. Baseball is a hard sport; you fail 70% of the time, the best ones (are) be able to turn around (and) just keep going. Life is the same way; it's not all great. Some days it's tougher than others, and you’ve just got to keep moving forward and keep your head up and keep plugging away at it,” Jenks said.   

The Knights motto for this season is to get 1% better each day. As his players learn to love the process, Jenks believes the wins will come with that.   

“I think as we do that, winning will take care of itself. We're going to play in a competitive league, Cashmere, Connell and Zillah, they're all same type of caliber teams. We're going to have to play our best baseball when we get to those teams,” Jenks said.   

The Knights season kicks off on March 14 at Lakeside for a doubleheader that begins at noon. Their first home game is set for March 17 against the Wahluke Warriors for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. 

    The Knights line the field at the regional games during last year’s postseason. Head Coach Tony Jenks said he feels confident the baseball program has turned a corner.
  

    Karson Thompson practices his pitching at the Royal Knights practice ahead of their 2026 season.
  

    The Knights’ Bryan Larsen throws the ball to a teammate during team warmups.