2025 Spring Sports Preview: Senior Brayten Ayers closes out special era in Mt. Spokane baseball program

Coaches naturally form a bond with many of their players, especially those that spend multiple years on varsity or have siblings come through the program before them.

It’s no surprise that senior nights get emotional for all involved. They’re all special in their unique way.

This year, though, will mark the end of a special era for Mt. Spokane veteran baseball coach Alex Schuerman.

Defending Greater Spokane League MVP Brayten Ayers begins his senior campaign with scholarship in hand, hoping to take the Wildcats back to the state tournament and attempt to do what no GSL team has ever done – win a state title.

But the family ties will make the journey this season a little more emotional.

Schuerman, who embarks on his 22nd season at the helm for the Wildcats, and Tim Ayers have known each other since they were high school teammates at Mead – Ayers was the Panthers’ ace, Schuerman the catcher. The bond formed as teenagers extended to Whitworth University, where the pair played college ball together.

“There’s a good family connection for a long time,” Schuerman said.

That family connection extends to Schuerman’s and Ayers’ sons. There have been two Schuermans (Jeter, class of 2021; and Rece ’23) and four Ayers (Quentin ’19, Paxton ’22, Tiegen ’23 and Brayten ’25) come through the Mt. Spokane baseball program – all coached by Schuerman.

Brayten will be the last of group. But for the past seven seasons, there’s been a Schuerman or Ayers – and often more than one – on the Wildcats’ roster.

“The Ayers family is special to me,” Schuerman said. “I’ve coached all four of them, and (Brayten), ever since he was little, he’s been a ‘fire in his belly’ kind of kid. Great competitor, wants to win at all costs.”

That attitude will lead Ayers to follow in his oldest brother’s footsteps to attend Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, in the fall. Quentin is a senior catcher for the Nighthawks.

“All three of my brothers played (at Mt. Spokane), and (Quentin) is where I’m going to college, so it’s pretty cool to carry on that legacy,” Brayten said. “And hopefully end it with a show this year.”

“He’s just a consummate baseball player,” Schuerman said. “He’s been doing it for a long time at a high level. … He just gives you his all every time. And he’s a really skilled baseball player. So, when you put those two things together – competitive spirit and quality skills – it’s really fun to watch. It’s gonna be really hard to replace him next year, for sure.”

Ayers said he was a pretty typical youngest brother, always tagging around with his older brothers and their friends and trying to compete the best way he could. But he was quick to point out that he always “kind of fit in” with the older crowd instead of feeling any pressure to live up to expectations.

It wasn’t until recently when Ayers felt an internal pull to succeed.

“The (college) recruiting process was tough,” he said. “Trying to live up to my oldest brother, because he’s going to (Northwest Nazarene). I kind of felt like I had to live up to that and try to be better, I guess.”

He had other options he could have considered, but NNU was always his top choice. Ayers signed as soon as he was offered.

“It’s a great community there,” he said. “Clean city, right by Boise. I think it’ll be really fun.”

Though he could own bragging rights at the dinner table about earning the GSL MVP in his junior season, he refrains.

“I was pretty humble about it,” he said. “I don’t like putting myself out there like that. It’s not my type of thing.”

Ayers likes the composition of the team for his senior run. Five starters and 10 letterwinners return for the Wildcats.

“We actually have quite few leaders on this team. Lot of communication with this team,” he said. “A lot of skill on this team too. It’s kind of like, ‘lead with your talent’ on this team.”

“They know how to win,” Schuerman said. “They’re good competitors and good baseball players. … We might be a little different in some ways, in the sense that we’re a little bit inexperienced in some spots but we’re going to be really good on the mound again. We’re going to play good D we’re going to make you grind out of bats against us.”

Even though Ayers is the team’s No. 1 pitcher, he likes to talk about his offense.

“My bat, for sure,” he said. “It’s my No. 1. But I’m a leader on the field and I get the guys going in the clubhouse, get them going with energy. And I bring it on the mound. Just ‘1-2-3’ and show them how it’s done.”

As a pitcher, he’s not a particularly hard thrower. But he’s a “bulldog” on the mound, according to Schuerman.

“You use that term for pitchers when they just know how to, you know, turn it up a notch when they need to,” Schuerman said.

“I kind of go out there and just throw strikes. Locate – that’s my biggest thing,” Ayers said. “I don’t have a ton of ‘velo’ on me, but I definitely locate and hit spots. That’s the biggest thing that people need to know, is if you hit spots, you’ll get a lot of outs. And if throw strikes, you’ll get a lot of outs.”

Ayers throws a four-seam fastball, a changeup and a “slurve,” which is a breaking ball that combines the characteristics of a curveball and slider. It’s not a pitch commonly thrown by high schoolers.

“It’s definitely kind of a secret weapon for me,” he said. “I don’t have a ton of spin on it, but it’s something that people don’t see a lot of.”

“He is not big in stature, and he doesn’t get you with velocity on the mound – he’s probably 81 to 82 miles per hour tops,” Schuerman said. “And nowadays, that’s considered slow. But he’s got great command. He’s got a devastating change -up. He knows how to pitch. He knows how to go inside and out.

“He’s everything about the word ‘pitcher’ – changes speeds, throws strikes, changes locations, great demeanor. I love giving him the ball.”

Ayers enjoys the mental aspect of pitching as much as the physical.

“It would be fun, obviously, to throw gas and make people late on your fastball,” he said. “But honestly, I like carving people up.”

Ayers said years of pitching to his oldest brother, a catcher, ingrained some of the finer aspects of the craft.

“It was definitely fun throwing bullpens to him,” he said. “He gets on you a little bit if you don’t hit a spot. So I think that’s why I hit spots pretty good, because I got, let’s say, motivated by it.”

Schuerman doesn’t like to play favorites.

But considering all of the circumstances, Ayers will hold a special place for him.

“You don’t forget what players like that mean to your program,” he said. “And over the course of time, it’s fun to reflect back on those kinds of kids and what they’ve brought. I mean, geez, in this business, you run through a lot of kids, and you love them all in different ways.

“But when a kid is that good for so long, and especially because I’ve known him for such a long time, there’s a different special place for him, you know, in terms of what he means to us in our program.”