With Waubonsie Valley High School celebrating its 50th anniversary this school year, the baseball team decided to step up to the plate with a special tribute of its own…a Half Century team. The roster features 25 former players and 12 honorable mentions dating back to the school’s opening in 1975. This story is sponsored by Fair Oaks Ford and Fair Oaks Lincoln.
A 50-year legacy of baseball greatness
“Waubonsie had a rich tradition in baseball, and sometimes I think we seem to get overlooked in some ways by the ability and the talented players that we have here. I always feel that, since we’re the original Valley, okay, that we need to get some respect and we’ve had great players come through here,” said longtime Waubonsie baseball coach Dan Fezzuoglio.
The list includes players as far back as 1980 graduate and All-Conference pitcher Steve Jumper, who struck out 87 batters in his senior season, as well as 1989 All-State selection Mike Fagerson, who still holds seven program records for both pitching and hitting. Also featured is Mike Bowden, a 2005 grad regarded by many as the greatest player to ever wear a Waubonsie uniform. The future MLB pitcher was a two-time All-State selection and was named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year during his senior season.
The team includes multiple recent stars as well. 2025 graduate Owen Roberts made the lineup after an outstanding career on the mound and at the plate. Roberts went 18-2, with 96 strikeouts during his senior season, earning back-to-back DVC pitcher of the year awards and two All-State selections. He was a part of the Warriors squad that won a sectional championship for the first time since 2005. Teammate Hiroshy Wong was also selected after moving into second place on the Waubonsie all-time hits list.
The Half Century team was pitched by current head coach Bryan Acevedo, who got the idea from a former coach.
“Bill Lay was a lower-level coach for Jim Schmid and Dan Fezzuglio. He sent me an email about two years ago, saying that he was out to eat with both Len Daily and Jerry Engelhart, the first two coaches in the program. They put together a list of some of their best players from their time here. So, it got me thinking, with the 50th coming up, I’m going to save that email and maybe do something special for the school’s 50th anniversary,” said Bryan Acevedo.
An extensive list of legendary Warriors
Though the initial plan was to have a team of 20, as most high schools do, they widened their roster to make room for the impressive amount of talented players they found as they looked into the program’s past.
“When we were kicking around names, we’d be like, ‘Hey, coach, what about this guy? Let’s look up the records. I think he was a two-time all-conference player, so hey, he led this, and he’s got the most hits, career hits.’ So in the history of Warrior baseball, let’s look at these things on certain individuals,” said Fezzuoglio.
A connection to the past
Among those chosen was 2011 graduate Mike Murphy, another two-way standout who struck out 86 batters in his junior year, to go with a .350 batting average his senior season. The two-time all-conference selection was honored to be a part of the team.
“It was a memory of a reflection of just you remembering the times that you had, playing, and all those good memories, and looking back on it. So 15 years later to get this honor is really, really cool and like I said, it helped me connect with some of the old coaches and be a part of the whole bunch, the community,” said Waubonise alum, Mike Murphy.
Acevedo is hoping this list will stir up pride among previous and current Warrior players and the five head coaches who wore green-and-gold baseball jerseys.
“We’re kind of big on the history of our program and getting kids to buy into what we’ve done in the past, but to leave their own legacy. I think this just helped to connect the present to the past,” said Acevedo.
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