Mercer Island High School standout senior lefty pitcher Jack Buchan is ready to take the hill and help lead the Islanders to continued success this season.

Last year, the locals snagged second at the 3A KingCo tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 3A state championships.

Buchan, a first-team all-3A KingCo pitcher as a junior, began his baseball journey at age 4 or 5 by following in his older brother Nathan’s footsteps. Nathan, also a lefty hurler, is currently playing ball at the University of Redlands in California.

“The community here on Mercer Island is awesome, so I’ve been building these relationships with my teammates,” Jack said. “Ever since Little League, we played all-stars together, selects and all that. It’s just awesome now we’re in high school. I remember watching the high-schoolers play when I was younger, and I couldn’t wait to be in their spot — and now, here we are.”

Joining Buchan on the team’s hefty pitching staff will be senior Charlie Seneker (Division I commit to William & Mary in Virginia), senior Quincy Tintle and juniors Will Turba, Kalden Short, Matthew Hansen and Chase Koehler.

Carrying some solid bats will be seniors James Mangold, Tyler Williamson, Baird Sirianni and Gabe Lopez along with junior Jaxon “Hugs” Aufranc.

Buchan gave the Reporter the lowdown on the team’s mindset heading into action on the diamond: “Our coaches kind of preach like, it’s a game, go out there, have fun. We don’t want people getting in each other’s heads, so we just gotta keep it positive, keep it talking and just go out, play baseball, have a good time, but obviously at a competitive level.”

When Buchan hits the mound to unleash his left-handed array of pitches, he said he feels a mixture of excitement and a bit of nervousness.

“I’m happy to be back. I’ve put a lot of work in in the offseason, so I feel like I’m a much better player than I was last year. I had a good season last year as well, but I’m excited to show what I’ve done,” he said.

The Reporter asked Buchan a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his life:

What’s a special skill that you’d like to learn?

I want to pick up golf. I’ve started golf for a little bit, but I’m not very good, but I want to get good at golf.

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

I’d probably say Clayton Kershaw. He’s another good left-handed pitcher. I’d just ask some good questions and stuff. I think it’d be a cool time.

What’s a binge-worthy TV series that you’d recommend to someone?

I’d say “Ozark” on Netflix.

What’s kind of a defining moment in your life? Did you have like a big baseball moment or something that kind of pushed you to another level along the way?

Yeah. Maybe my coach (Matt Fields), I think it was probably in eighth grade, maybe like 14U. But I remember he was telling me that I could be a really good pitcher if I really put my mind on it and really worked hard in the offseason and stuff and put the work in. So that kind of stuck with me a little and I feel like it helped me out.

If you’re having a bad day, how do you deal with that to kind of break out of it?

I’d probably say just do stuff that I enjoy doing, whether it’s play baseball, go throw a bullpen or something, play catch, work out, something that I’ve been doing a lot. Go for a walk, go for a run, be outside is what I’d say.

What’s your dream job?

I would say something in business. Business finance is where I’m going right now, but I would probably want to be a business owner or something at some point in my life.

What about a favorite song or a band that hypes you up, gets you going?

I really like Drake. That’s going to be my walk-up song (“9,” also Buchan’s jersey number) this year. He’s probably my favorite artist.