MHS baseball coach Heath Gerstner turns Mac into baseball town
Bullpup baseball is off to a 12-0 start
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When I graduated from McPherson High School in 2008, the sports landscape was well-defined. Our basketball tradition ran deep, tracing back to the 1930s Globe Refiners team that helped the U.S. win Olympic gold. The school had just hired Tom Young as head football coach, generating buzz throughout the community. Friday Night Lights was a cultural touchstone, and football fever was spreading across town.
Baseball? Nobody talked about baseball.
Fast forward to my return in 2024, McPherson had transformed into a baseball town. The Bullpups were 2022-23, back-to-back state champions and sitting at a 12-0 record as of this writing. The architect of this metamorphosis? Head coach Heath Gerstner.
I sat down over Zoom with Gerstner this week to understand how he'd converted the town to baseball.
"I want to produce men more than I do wins," Gerstner says, leaning forward in his chair. "If we're creating great citizens and great men, then all the other stuff takes care of itself."
Gerstner's journey to McPherson started on the family farm near Nickerson, where he developed the work ethic that defines his coaching approach. After playing for legendary coach Rich Krol at Nickerson High School—where he won a state title as a player—and two years at Hutchinson Community College, Gerstner recognized his future wasn't on the diamond but in the dugout.
After earning an agronomy degree from Kansas State University and briefly working in that field, Gerstner felt pulled toward education. He earned his master's in teaching and landed his first head coaching job at Junction City High School, where he engineered a remarkable turnaround, taking a program that had won just five games in two years to their first state tournament appearance in 25 years.
In 2015, with family connections to the area, Gerstner arrived in McPherson. Ten seasons later, he's transformed the program into a 4A powerhouse.
The secret? It's all about the process.
"I tell our guys to get one percent better every day," Gerstner explains. "I think everybody wants to win baseball games. There's a lot of good baseball programs out there. But the difference between winning and losing is those little details."
Those details include seemingly mundane responsibilities, like basic throwing technique and equipment preparation the night before games.
"How well do you play catch? Is all your stuff in your bag for the game tomorrow, the night before? We coach every little detail," Gerstner insists. "Sometimes we naturally want to say, 'Oh, that's just a little detail.' Well, those little details matter when it comes down to it."
Perhaps most impressive is the comprehensive development system Gerstner has helped cultivate in McPherson. Working hand-in-hand with the McPherson Baseball Association, a community organization started by Tony Schmidt and Grant Myers in the 2000s, Gerstner has created a seamless pipeline that prepares players long before they reach high school.
"When we have kids that can come into our program who have already been around us and in our community, it makes a huge difference," Gerstner says. The association serves approximately 200 local kids who play baseball during the summer, providing a constant flow of talent familiar with the program's expectations.
Gerstner complements this system with camps, weight training programs, and regular engagement with younger players, ensuring they're comfortable with the coaching staff and facilities before entering high school.
Leadership development is another cornerstone of Gerstner's methodology. Rather than simply naming team captains, he's implemented an innovative "boat leader" system where juniors and seniors can apply for leadership positions.
Selected boat leaders draft teams from the roster and serve as accountability partners. If someone arrives late to practice, both the player and their boat leader face consequences. If a boat leader falters, their entire boat shares the punishment.
"It's amazing how many behavioral issues I don't have to deal with because our players handle it themselves," Gerstner says with satisfaction.
This season's team features seven seniors and returns virtually the entire roster from last year's 20-8 squad. With all-state pitchers Ian Razak and Logan Beede anchoring a deep pitching staff, expectations remain sky-high.
For the McPherson baseball program, the results continue to speak for themselves—not just in championships, but in the development of young men prepared for success far beyond the baseball diamond.
And for a town once defined by its basketball heritage, Gerstner has managed the improbable: he's turned McPherson into a baseball town.
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