Expectations are high for the Aberdeen Smittys this summer as the American Legion baseball squad returns many familiar players from last season.

Brandon Kusler, who is entering his second season as the Smittys head coach, is expecting big things from this particular group which he coached when the players were coming up through the program.

“My expectations are high; really high with this group, especially because I came up with this group, and mainly the eight guys that are returning this year,” Kusler said. “Having so much familiarity at this level having those eight guys returning, that kind of sets the bar a little higher, too. You expect them to have a little more success than we did last year, considering we return so many guys.”

Kusler notes that the eight returners will be key to the team’s success this season and include some proven pitchers for the squad.

Drew Salfrank and Casey Vining, who are both offensive weapons at the plate, will be counted on for their efforts on the mound. Jaiden Smith will also be a key pitcher in addition to playing in the infield. Phillip Zens is returning after missing much of last season with a foot injury.

Other returning members for the Smittys are Ethan Kjenstad, Brendan Livermont, Andrew Ristau-Richardson and Andrew Woehl.

Despite the returning talent, some of the players are still competing in the high school track and field season, which concludes at the state meet May 25-27, resulting in a shortened roster for the first few weeks of the season.

“It’s just tough these first few weeks of the season as we get going,” Kusler said. “If they’ve got a track meet, they’ve gotta miss practice one night. That’s gonna happen and we’ve just gotta find a way to still go out there and compete even if we’re missing one or two guys because of that. That’s totally understandable.”

Kusler said that some of the players are also still in school when the season begins, which adds to the difficulty of finding time to practice.

“These guys are students trying to finish up their school year, so that means that we can’t practice until later on in the evenings,” Kusler said. “So, all these different variables play a factor in things early on in the season, and it’s definitely fortunate when we can get the whole group together as soon as school is over with.”

Once the season begins, the team will be keeping an eye on one opponent in particular. The Smittys were eliminated from postseason play by Mitchell last season and Kusler is hoping to turn the tables against that squad this summer.

“They’re a well-coached team,” Kusler said. “Luke Norden does a really good job down there. So, I guess that would be a team that I’m looking forward to getting another opportunity against just considering they ended our season last year and it would be kind of nice to return the favor to them this year.”

The Smittys host Mitchell in a regular season contest on June 30, and while there may be a little added focus on that matchup, Kusler says every opponent will test his team this season.

“I’m really looking forward to just playing all the teams on our schedule, whether it’s Class B teams or our league schedule being Class A,” Kusler said.

The Smittys open their season hosting a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. against Fargo Post 400 at Fossum Field, and Kusler says he is ready to see what the season has to offer.

“Just looking forward to every opportunity that we get,” Kusler said.