Ely’s high school baseball team has become accustomed to deep playoff runs.
In three of the last four seasons, the Timberwolves have reached the final four of the Section 7A playoffs and finished as runner-up in both 2022 and 2025.
Add four state tournament berths and another second-place section finish since 2012 and Ely has clearly developed one of the top small-school baseball programs in the northern half of the state.
That impressive record will be put to the test again in 2026 and Ely has high hopes going into a campaign that starts with a three-game southern road swing April 10-11.
Longtime head coach Frank Ivancich has good reason for optimism about his latest team, given the return of several key players off the 2025 group, which gathered steam late and wound up 17-8 overall.
While graduation robbed the Wolves of all-state shortstop Caid Chittum and all-conference catcher Ben Leeson, who have both moved on to collegiate baseball, Ely returns a couple of high-caliber seniors in all-conference selections Hunter Halbakken and Drew Johnson.
Both were key parts of Ely’s state tournament qualifying American Legion and Junior Legion teams as well last summer, and they are part of a deep Ely nucleus.
The Wolves have a legitimate pitching ace in Halbakken, who has developed into one of the top hurlers in the area.
As a junior, Halbakken went 9-2 on the mound with a 1.40 earned run average and 65 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched.
Johnson was Ely’s sparkplug at the top of the batting order, scoring a team-high 33 runs, while going 32-for-85 (.376) and compiling an onbase percentage of .475 with 18 stolen bases, a home run and 12 RBI.
Ely figures to look to another senior, lefty Jack Davies, to provide some innings on the mound, while several juniors could take a step up after contributing greatly as sophomores.
One is Owen Marolt, who logged many innings both during the spring and summer on the mound and was on the hill for both a key section win against Cherry and the Ely Legion team’s upset win over LaCrescent in last summer’s state tournament.
Outfielder Sean Merriman, another junior had stellar spring and summer seasons and will anchor the outfield, while Evan Leeson is a returning starter in the infield and a big bat in the lineup.
Junior Tyde Brecke came on strong last summer while junior Stig Majerus could step in at first base. Wyatt Tedrick is another junior who may see varsity time.
Behind the plate, Ely may look to sophomore Grant Chittum to replace Ben Leeson while freshmen including Henry Fetterer, Parker Niskala and DJ Johnson could all step up and contribute at the varsity level.
The Wolves are again buoyed by strong turnout, with more than 35 players in the program and allowing Ely to field varsity, junior varsity and junior high teams.
Ivancich, who has led the program since 2002, is assisted by Max Gantt, Aaron Donais, Jim Wittrup and Derek Johnson.
With winter set to make an encore appearance in northern Minnesota, the Wolves will travel south to get the season underway with three contests over the weekend.
Kenyon-Wanamingo, Hayfield and Blooming Prairie are the opponents for the Wolves, who hope to make their home debut April 17 at Veterans Memorial Field.
The home docket includes the 13th Annual Veterans Showcase, an eight-team event slated for May 15-16.
