Over the last two years the St. Francis High baseball team reigned supreme over the rest of the Central Coast Section.

During that span the Lancers have captured back-to-back CCS Open Division titles and two West Catholic Athletic League titles Jeremy Ydens stood out from the bunch and by bunch meaning the entire CCS.

"He's a once-in-a-lifetime type of player," Oakland said. "He's the kind of kid every coach dreams of having on their team. I was so fortunate to have him on my team the last three years. I don't know where we would've been without him."

For leading St. Francis to such heights and doing so in such grand fashion that for the second straight year Ydens has been named the Prep2Prep CCS Player of the Year.

Ydens, a UCLA signee, said that to be considered the best player for a second consecutive season in such a large area is very special.

"It's an extreme honor," Ydens said. "To be considered this with all the teams in the entire area it definitely goes to show that all the hard work pays off."

Ydens, who was named co-WCAL Player of the Year with Hunter Bishop of Serra, did it in the batter's box, on the field and on the mound for St. Francis.

Ydens led the Lancers in average (.453), hits (38), triples (5), runs (38) and steals (21) this season.

On the hill, Ydens went a perfect 8-0 with a 0.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings pitched.

"He had a phenomenal high school career, one of the best ever," Oakland said. "His deameanor is perfect for the game of baseball. He's never too high; he's never too low. He is a tireless worker who has tireless habits. He's just a really rounded individual that knows how to take care of himself."

In what more than likely was the final game he'll ever pitch, Ydens couldn't have gone out any better. Ydens threw a six-hit shutout in the Open Division title game to lead St. Francis to a 1-0 victory against a very tough and game San Benito team.

In grand fashion, Ydens' final out was a strikeout before jumping into teammate and catcher Johnny Mendoza's arms in celebration.

"The kid is a great competitor," San Benito coach Billy Aviles said. "It's one thing to have a skill set but when you have that bulldog attitude it always helps. He has great composure and carries himself well on the field."

Mendoza said in a big game there's no other player he would've wanted to have the ball than Ydens.

Ydens was recruited as on outfielder for UCLA so going out the way he did couldn't have been scripted any better.

"It was pretty special to go out in a way like that," Ydens said. "I think in general this team did a great job of coming together at the end and I think I wouldn't be put in certain situations if it wasn't for my teammates. There were so many times this season where guys came up clutch — got those hits, wins on the mound — it's just special."

In Oakland's 10 years at the helm of St. Francis he's some great players come and go but the 6-foot-3 190-pounder has stood out from the way he handles himself both on the field and in the classroom.

In a team sport with so many talented players Oakland said that without Ydens winning back-to-back Open Division and WCAL titles wouldn't have been possible.

"If we didn't have Jeremy Ydens, we wouldn't have won anything these last two years," he said. "As much as I would like to think our coaching staff played a big role in our success at the same time having the best player in Northern California the past two years sure played a bigger role."

Mike Oakland went out on top.

The St. Francis High baseball coach — who last week stepped down as coach to become the head softball coach of the Lancers — ended his baseball coaching career on top.

Oakland led St. Francis to its second consecutive Central Coast Section Open Division title this year and third CCS title in the last four and for his achievements he can add one more accolade to the mantle as Oakland was named the 2016 Prep2Prep CCS Coach of the Year.

Oakland admits the Lancers' journey to back-to-back Open Division titles wasn't an easy one.

"It's really tough to repeat, a lot of things need to go your way," Oakland said. "When we got the draw and had Serra in the second round I thought it was going to be a really tough obstacle to overcome. We were able to do that and I just go back to the experience we had. This senior class was a very strong class of individuals."

One that experienced tremendous success after some early-season struggles.

The Lancers began West Catholic Athletic League play a pedestrian 3-3 before winning eight straight to co-capture the WCAL regular season title with Serra.

"It was a struggle early that's for sure," Oakland said. "We ran into some really good pitchers and some great teams."

Once St. Francis found its mojo things started falling into place. Guys that weren't hitting started hitting and Oakland's already uber-talented pitching staff got even better.

Led by senior ace Jeremy Ydens, the Lancers only allowed two runs in four playoff games this season.

Ydens, a UCLA signee, threw a six-hit shutout in the Open Division title game leading St. Francis to a 1-0 victory over San Benito, credits Oakland for the team maintaining its cool throughout the season.

"He's been such a great coach and has coached a lot of great guys," Ydens said. "I'm really appreciative of the job he did."

After losing to Serra in the WCAL Tournament title game, it became a new season for the reigning Open Division champions.

Oakland showcased the Lancers' pitching depth and his lack of fear to roll the dice as he decided to start his No. 2 pitcher Giuseppe Benedetti instead of Ydens in their opener against St. Francis Central Coast Catholic.

Benedetti picked up the win giving up no runs against St. Francis CCC and the win again Carlmont in the Open semis.

In doing so Oakland set it up where he would have his ace for a potential matchup against Serra and the title game and sure enough that's what happened.

"Once we got in the playoffs we weren't phased knowing that if we lost the season was over," Oakland said. "They had been through it before and knew what to expect. They knew how to prepare themselves mentally and physically. I think their experience playing in so many tough games and competition throughout the year really paid dividends at the very end."

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