For the second time during the 2025-26 school year, Hoover High School senior Jack Andes reigns supreme over a Federal League sport.
Andes is the 2026 Federal League Baseball Player of the Year, via a vote of the league’s coaches, after being the league’s player of the year in football in the fall.
Other top baseball awards include Jackson’s Landon Thiel earning Federal League Pitcher of the Year and the Vikings’ Bryan Ashby earning Federal League Coach of the Year. Hoover and Jackson split the league championship.
Watch Ohio High School Sports Live on NFHS Network all year
Andes is the first athlete to win the league’s player of the year in both baseball and football since former Jackson star and current Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler accomplished the feat during the 2016-17 season. Dingler shared the baseball award with teammate Kyle Nicolas that season. The last Hoover athlete to earn both awards was Dom Iero in 2012-13.
Andes impacted every part of the game as a center fielder, leadoff hitter and closer for the Vikings. The Bowling Green recruit batted .383 with four home runs, 20 RBIs, 32 runs and an area-best 44 stolen bases.
A right-handed pitcher, Andes went 5-1 and was 8-for-8 in save opportunities. He struck out 46 batters in 34 innings — all in relief — while sporting a 1.24 ERA. Andes also did not commit an error in the field.
Andes leaves Hoover with career records in steals (123), runs (90), triples (10) and saves (16). His career steals rank 13th in state history, according to OHSAA unofficial records.
Andes scored 21 touchdowns and totaled 1,593 yards of offense as a wide receiver/running back for Hoover’s 9-3 football team in the fall.
Thiel is the league’s pitcher of the year, an award handed out for the first time this season. The 6-7 lefty overpowered hitters to the tune of a 6-0 record and 0.95 ERA. His 101 strikeouts in 44 innings led the area.
Thiel, an Ohio State recruit and an MLB Draft prospect, allowed 11 hits all season. The opposition batted .079 off of him as the Polar Bears won their fifth straight league title and third straight district title. Thiel leaves as Jackson’s career strikeouts leader with 295.
Ashby is the league’s coach of the year for the third time in the last six years. The 1988 Hoover grad led his alma mater to its third straight regional appearance and first state semifinal appearance since 1999. The Vikings went 25-6 overall, tying the program mark for single-season wins. They went 10-2 in the league to earn their second championship in the last three years.
Andes and Thiel lead the 2026 All-Federal League baseball team, which is below. For last year’s all-league team, click here.
2026 All-Federal League Baseball Team
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hoover’s Jack Andes, Jackson’s Landon Thiel top All-Federal League baseball
Reporting by Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
