Photo illustration by Travis Rosenau After helping lead his team to the Class A State Baseball Tournament championship game, New Ulm Cathedral’s Jake Finstad was unanimously selected as the 2025 All-Journal Baseball Player of the Year on Wednesday.

NEW ULM — Being a player on one of the best Class A high school baseball teams in the state is an advantage in itself.

Being on one of those teams while also being one of the state’s best Class A players makes for a whole new conversation.

He may not boast about being one of the state’s top players, but Jake Finstad was unquestionably that during his senior year of baseball with the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds.

The Greyhounds not only played some of the best baseball in the area, they also played some of the best baseball in the state, finishing the season second in the Class A State Baseball Tournament. Finstad was a big part of that success in all areas of the game.

His leadership, discipline and overall ability helped his team shine this year as he was named the Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Tomahawk Division Baseball Player of the Year in an All-Conference, All-Section and All-State season. It also helped him finish the season as a unanimous selection for the 2025 All-Journal Baseball Player of the Year as voted on by The Journal’s sports staff.

“It’s an honor being recognized for all these awards and I couldn’t do it without my coaches and team,” Finstad said.

Whether he was on the pitching rubber or manning the shortstop position, Finstad approached every game with the determination to get his team a win and he was responsible for a lot of those as the team went 23-3 this season.

After pitching in relief and as a closer most of last season, Finstad took a starting pitching spot in the lineup this year and excelled, posting a 7-1 record in 50 1/3 innings. He also had an ERA of 0.83 while striking out 50 and allowing just seven walks and a WHIP of .775.

Finstad said in addition to putting in work over the offseason to improve on the mound, confidence played a big role in his success this season.

“A lot of bullpens over the winter during basketball season,” Finstad said. “I just kept lifting weights and doing arm care and then just approaching the mound with confidence. I think that’s kind of what changed it this year is just the confidence I had on the mound and the confidence I had in my teammates to make those plays.”

As for hitting, there weren’t too many games Finstad didn’t get on base, drive in runs or score runs. At the plate, Finstad hit .425 with 34 hits, six doubles, seven triples and a home run.

He also drove in 21 runs, scored 41 of his own and stole 31 bases.

After collecting 18 last season with a .243 batting average, Finstad nearly doubled his hits and offensive production this year. While he was the leadoff hitter both last season and this season, Finstad’s breakout year at the plate was key for the Greyhounds in making the state tournament and making a deep run in it.

Developing his plate vision and patience further this season helped guide Finstad’s turnaround in the batter’s box.

“Just get on any way possible,” Finstad said. “Whether it’s a walk, a hit or an error, just getting on base, any way possible to get on and help the team. … Definitely like to push the ball and drive it to right field, weight back and trust my hands.”

Finstad was also one of the Greyhounds’ most consistent fielders this season with a .944 fielding percentage, 47 assists, 21 putouts and just four total errors between the mound and shortstop position.

“I was definitely shortstop growing up, but I could play anywhere and I wanted to play anywhere that could help the team,” Finstad said. “Freshman year, varsity, I got pulled up to be a catcher and I took that role on with confidence and I wanted to play on varsity. Any way I could help, I took that opportunity.”

In addition to growing up playing anywhere he could, Finstad’s ability to corral grounders and make plays in the field was helped due to his desire to make plays to begin with, a mindset he often relayed to his teammates.

“I always like to say to my infielders, ‘You want the ball, you want the ball hit to you and you want to make the play. No one but you, you’ve got be that guy,'” he said.

Finstad was one senior leader for the Greyhounds that got to be a part of three Class A state tournament appearances in 2022, 2023 and 2025. During Finstad’s four seasons on varsity, the Greyhounds compiled a record of 88-20.

The Greyhounds opened the 2022 state tournament with a 5-4 loss to Hayfield, which took second in state that year to Class A champions Randolph. The Greyhounds then defeated South Ridge 8-4 in consolation bracket play to move on to the consolation finals, where they fell to MACCRAY 8-7.

In 2023, the Greyhounds opened state play with a 7-0 win over Yellow Medicine East before falling to Lyle-Pacelli 6-1 in the semifinals. They finished with a 2-1 win over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the third-place game.

The Greyhounds opened the state tournament this year in St. Cloud with a 6-2 win over Russell-Tyler-Ruthton before beating South Ridge 8-1 in the semifinals. The semifinals game saw Finstad take the mound, allowing just two hits while striking out five in a complete-game win. The Greyhounds then fell in the championship to Red Lake County 15-7 at Target Field.

Despite coming up short of a state title, Finstad enjoyed every minute of his varsity career and was happy to end it as one of the best teams in the state.

“It’s been an amazing career, I wouldn’t trade the last four years for anything,” Finstad said. “To make the section finals all four years, state three times out of that, it’s incredible to look back on. I always wanted to outwork the previous year, so freshman year we finished sixth I think, sophomore year third and this year second. We didn’t get it done, but I can’t be disappointed with playing on Target Field.”

With everything Finstad learned and put on display for the Greyhounds’ varsity baseball team, making the most of every opportunity was the biggest lesson he learned.

“Just enjoy it,” Finstad said. “It went by fast — and I got to play freshman year. Just enjoy wherever you can play, want to play wherever and do well, trust yourself and with confidence.”