By JOE McFARLAND

Cole Huebner wanted to leave an impression in his final year of junior college baseball.

The Edmonton product and Indian Hills Community College hurler had a solid freshman campaign, but had bigger dreams in mind.

He did it in a big way this spring, marching to a 6-5 record with a 3.98 earned-run average and 81 strikeouts in just over 63 innings of work.

Huebner was rewarded for his efforts by becoming the first Warriors pitcher in program history to be named Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Pitcher of the Year, an honour he is sharing with Iowa Western Community College’s Noah Scott.

He says it means a lot to be recognized with an award of that magnitude.

“Winning the award made me reflect on the last couple of years at Indian Hills and how far I’ve come,” Huebner told Alberta Dugout Stories. “It makes me grateful for the amazing guidance I’ve had from my coaches, teammates and family.”

As he gets ready for the next step in his baseball journey with Arkansas State, the hard-throwing right-hander is hoping this is just the beginning of something special.

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RISING UP THE RANKS

A two-way player growing up in the Edmonton area, Huebner was a standout at every stop along the way.

He really burst on the scene in 2019 when he helped Alberta capture the Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

Huebner then started making waves again in 2022 as a member of the Parkland Twins in the Baseball Alberta Elite League, where it was his bat that really stuck out.

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The AHP Academy product was consistently near the top of exit velocity tests at different showcases, eventually earning a spot on the Team PBR Canada Selects team at the 2023 Best of the West tournament.

Huebner then spent part of that summer with the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Sylvan Lake Gulls, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out five in four innings of work, including a scoreless playoff inning against the Okotoks Dawgs.

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN

Heading into his first semester at Indian Hills in the fall of 2023, Huebner says it was a bit of an adjustment getting used to being away from home – both off the field and on.

“I don’t like using the word ‘grind,’ but just repeating the process of showing up every day and putting in a fair amount of hours,” he said.

“My main goal was just to solidify myself as one of the weekend starters and help the team as much as I could while racking up a decent amount of innings.”

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound hurler did exactly that in his freshman season, going 5-2 with a 5.31 ERA in 13 appearances, including 11 starts, while striking out 52 batters.

Despite being named the conference Pitcher of the Week twice and the National Junior College Pitcher of the Week once, his overall performance earned a “B” grade in his eyes.

“There’s definitely some things I need to improve upon,” Huebner said in a 2024 conversation on Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “I need to get the slider into the zone more and work on getting my changeup … just having it become more of a useful pitch that I can throw with two strikes.”

More importantly, he says he learned about the rigours of the college season and pacing himself for it.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP

Coming into the 2025 spring season, Huebner says he really found himself prioritizing his routines.

As a sophomore, he knew he would need to be leaned on to provide stability and consistency.

Huebner’s second start of the campaign, five innings of shutout ball in a 6-1 win over North Central Missouri College, earned him another ICCAC Pitcher of the Week.

In all, the second-year star did it four times during the season.

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“Having a year of experience under my belt has really helped,” Huebner said about his success. “I feel a lot more prepared to handle the physical and mental stress of a college season – I feel more mature and confidence as a player this year.”

The righty also entered the Warriors’ record books with his 100^th career strikeout in an April 13 matchup against Des Moines Area Community College.

It turned out to be one of his best performances of the season, as he picked up the complete-game seven-hitter in a 10-0 victory where he struck out 10, something he did twice during the season.

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With his sixth punchout of the day, Cole Huebner reaches 100 strikeouts for his career at Indian Hills.#WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/9zSNcZW2uz
— Indian Hills Baseball (@IHCCBaseball) April 13, 2025

“It was a fun milestone to reach,” Huebner said. “I actually didn’t realize I was getting close, but my teammates let me know after the game.”

He ended the year with a 6-5 record in 13 starts, posting a 3.98 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 63+ innings, with his 133 career strikeouts tying him for fourth-most in school history.

The 21-year-old says the Warriors have produced some great pitchers over the years so he’s happy to be included in that conversation.

TAKING IT ALL IN STRIDE

Taking some of the pressure off Huebner during the spring was that he had his next stop in baseball already planned out.

While many junior college players have to wait for a while to get their four-year program commitments lined up, the Warriors’ ace was part of the announcement made by Arkansas State in mid-January.

The business major says he’s excited about what’s to come with the Red Wolves, who finished 24-26 on the season, which is their best record since 2019.

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“I had the chance to visit the school in the spring and I loved the campus and the coaching staff,” Huebner said. “The program seems to be trending up right now and I think we have a chance to do some special things next year.”

While he’s able to look at fellow AHP alum Erik Sabrowski to see the roadmap to a professional career, Huebner says his goals and aspirations beyond Arkansas State are pretty simple.

“I just want to do something that I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life,” he said. “I’ll be able to look back on it and say that I was able to do that or achieve that … that’s kind of the big picture thing I like to keep in my head.”

With the impact he made at Indian Hills, Huebner has plenty to be proud of as he continues his baseball dream.