T rey Newmann saw two paths ahead of him last summer.

One was more comfortable and familiar than the other, but in his heart Newmann knew he needed to shake things up and take the bolder, scarier trek.

Instead of remaining here in Medford and honing his baseball skills while competing for the Medford Mustangs during the American Legion AAA season, Newmann opted for more of a journeyman’s approach through travel ball with the Mercedes-Benz Baseball Club out of Washington, playing throughout the Pacific Northwest as well as in Florida.

As difficult as that decision was, it certainly seems to have paid off for Newmann and the North Medford baseball program this spring.

“I think this summer was very good for him as a young man, being around a different group of kids and an older group of kids that he’s competing against,” said Black Tornado head coach Kerry Curtis. “It’s all been really beneficial for him. His growth as a young man and the maturity level that he has is just different this year.”

That more mature presence has allowed Newmann to open the spring with a 3-1 record and 0.52 ERA, serving as the ace of a North Medford squad that is enjoying a turnaround campaign as a group at 10-1-1 overall and 6-0 in Southwest Conference play entering Saturday’s 11 a.m. doubleheader against South Medford at Harry & David Field.

“We’re finally doing what we know we can do,” said Newmann, “so it’s very relieving and it’s very exciting for us.”

To go along with his role as an outfielder and key hitter for the Black Tornado, the senior right-hander has struck out 46 batters with four walks in 27 innings. Opponents are batting .167 against him thus far.

“We have a lot of confidence in him and the team has a lot of confidence in him,” said Curtis. “It’s not to say that we only need to score one run, because that’s not the case, but we know that if we only score a couple runs, we’ll be in the ballgame.”

All of those number patterns are ahead of where Newmann finished a year ago, when he was still a very respectable 4-4 with a 3.60 ERA and 75 strikeouts against 28 walks in 48.2 innings.

“He’s a little older and more mature and has really put in a lot of work in the offseason to be where he is now,” added Curtis. “He’s throwing in the low 90s pretty consistently and between his curveball, his changeup and slider, it’s pretty cool how he’s been able to command those pitches so much better this year than in the last couple years.”

The 6-foot-6, 195-pound Newmann definitely credits his most recent results from all the time put in during the offseason, dedicating himself to the weight room to add muscle mass while also working hard on his mechanics.

“It was just kind of getting personal with my goals and what I wanted to do this year,” he said of his mindset.

“I’m never satisfied so I always like to raise the bar,” added Newmann. “Of course I get happy with things I achieve and the goals I achieve, but I’m always raising the bar and I’m always pushing myself as an athlete. Sometimes it’s tough. With Oregon weather in the offseason, it’s not fun practicing in 25 or 30 degree weather and sideways snow, but I just have to remind myself why I’m doing this and what I want.”

A lot of those thoughts went into his decision heading into last summer to venture beyond Southern Oregon to focus on baseball.

“It was real tough,” said the 17-year-old standout of the fateful move. “I had to put on my big boy pants and go live on my own. I was here for nine total days over the summer. I was out of town, catching flights on my own, learning time management and how to take care of myself and eat right. I kind of had to adult in a way.”

All along, he still thought of his friends and teammates, many of whom went on to lead the Mustangs to a state title before finding their season cut short on the final day of action at the Northwest Regionals.

“From the aspect of not playing with my teammates, it was rough,” said Newmann. “I felt like I owed something to them and it was hard to leave the Mustangs because I was going to be one of their pitchers. It’s not really fair of me to look back and say what would they have done if they had me on the mound, too, but it definitely crosses my mind.”

“It’s hard but I think overall what I did is what needed to happen and I don’t regret it one bit,” he added. “I wouldn’t be where I am right now and I don’t think my team would really be where they are right now if all that stuff hadn’t happened.”

His summer began with a three-inning stint with the Medford Rogues before playing with the Mercedes-Benz Baseball Club from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. It was in this time that he also received an invitation to tryout for the Area Code Games and, after a bullpen session at Gonzaga, Newmann got the call to compete in San Diego.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” he said of the Area Code Games. “It was absolutely amazing. There were 500 MLB scouts just littered in the stands and the top 250 players in the nation all playing and representing their area, so it was awesome.”

This past fall, Newmann played for Baseball Northwest and eventually got the opportunity to play in the World Baseball Classic in Florida.

“It’s been a fun year for sure,” said Newmann, who holds a 3.66 GPA. “It was a blast, I loved every bit of it.”

You don’t put yourself through as many challenges as Newmann without also loving the sport of baseball, which took hold of him over a decade ago.

“Baseball is kind of a beautiful sport as to how it ties into life a lot,” he said. “Life’s not easy. There’s a lot of failure that goes into life and if you look at baseball, if you’re getting out seven times out of 10 as a hitter and you’re in the major leagues, you could be a Hall of Famer. That is considered successful in this sport, and that’s tough.”

“People know it’s that way but they don’t really understand how much failure goes into the game,” added Newmann. “I love it because baseball and life play hand in hand for me. Baseball has made me the type of human I am in the real world. I’m just extremely thankful because baseball has been both an outlet and a teacher for me on how I want to live the lifestyle I live.”

With all his travels and exploits, Newmann has also moved one step closer to making a young promise a reality. He has already committed to pitch at the University of Oregon but has also drawn interest from MLB scouts.

“I always think of when I was 8 years old telling my dad and friends, ‘I’m going to go DI,’” said Newmann. “And then it was like, you know what, I want to go play pro ball. It’s crazy because there’s so many people who told me I couldn’t do it at a young age and it’s kind of like, ‘Oh hey, look at me now.’ My Plan B right now is to go to the University of Oregon to pitch. That’s just crazy to me.

“That I’m talking to pro scouts right now, it’s so surreal and so amazing. I am so incredibly blessed to be where I’m at and it’s just making little 8-year-old me very proud because that’s everything I expected when I was little.”

And everything he expected by taking a risk one year ago.