Platte County dropped both the semifinal and third-place match of the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships on Friday, ultimately settling for a second straight fourth-place state trophy.
However, players and coaches didn’t have to look far to find consolation in achievement. The boys tennis program becomes just the third in school history to earn three straight top-four state finishes, joining the historically successful football and boys wrestling teams.
Platte County’s recent run of success includes four straight playoff berths. The Pirates were state runnerup in 2024 with a loss to powerhouse MICDS in the Class 2 championship match with last two seasons ending with losses to Warrensburg in third-place matches.
Impressively, the program keeps metamorphosing with 16 different players contributing to Platte County’s three state trophies. The Pirates’ only brought back one full-time starter from last season with junior Mitchel McBratney moving from No. 6 in the lineup to No. 1, while building around him with talented, mostly debutants.
“Overall, this team has done such a great job of exceeding expectations all season,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “It’s no surprise that they put up such a good fight trying to make it all the way to the state championship.”
Platte County (16-11) nearly completed an impressive comeback in Friday morning’s Class 2 semifinal at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield to make a return to the state championship dual.
Father Tolton Catholic (20-3) took a 2-1 lead out of doubles with the Pirates avoiding a sweep after McBratney and sophomore Jackson Kluck — the Class 2 District 8 champions who went 1-2 at individual state a week earlier — taking an 8-4 win at No. 1. The singles matches then moved indoors to rain, and the Trailblazers moved to the brink of victory after taking both the No. 1 and No. 3.
Trailing 4-1, Platte County started the comeback with junior Jacoby Keith and senior Jack Hokanson winning 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 5 and 6 matches.
Not all matches started play at the same time due to limited courts, but Kluck’s 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 2 brought Platte County even. However, Father Tolton escaped and advanced with a 5-4 victory by the slimmest of margins when junior Robbie Keller finished off a 6-1, 6-1 sweep at No. 4.
Along the way, I think they gained some valuable perspective about what really matters from experiences like this. It’s the combination of competing against the best in the state, while also having the ability to appreciate the family and friends there to support you along your journey, while also having a great time eating pizza and playing hotel pool volleyball with your teammates that make being a part of something like this so special. As a coach and a dad of two of the guys, I can’t even put into words how much being able to coach this group means to me.
“The Tolton match was everything you’d expect from a state semifinal,” Zach Keith said. “It was two good teams playing high-level tennis, trying to fight their way to a state championship. I was really impressed with their doubles teams, and their ability to get 2 out of the 3 doubles matches proved to be the difference-maker in the overall dual.
“Honestly, the guy that Wyatt played at No. 4 was really, really good. I know Wyatt was disappointed to lose the final match, but he’s been playing great tennis lately. His opponent was just really tough.”
Because of the schedule, Platte County came back later in the day for the third-place match, which Warrensburg (15-3) swept 5-0. The Tigers won all three doubles matches then the first two singles matches to conclude to finish third for a second straight season — this time with a senior-heavy lineup.
“After playing such a mentally and physically exhausting match, I knew we would have a really big challenge in the third-place match,” Zach Keith said. “We didn’t play our best tennis against Warrensburg, but a lot of that had to do with the guys on the other side of the net.”
At certain points this season, Platte County’s inexperienced lineup seemingly needed another year to make good on the obvious talent. The Pirates lost out on the Suburban Conference White Division title with a potentially demoralizing 5-4 loss to rival Grain Valley.
Instead, Platte County rebounded, survived St. Pius X in the Class 2 District 8 championship and decisively dispatched Lebanon in the state quarterfinals. The Pirates did so with Jack Hokanson as the lone senior in the postseason lineup. He slotted in at No. 6 singles near the midway point of the season, while freshman Lincoln Keith began partnering with brother Jacoby Keith at No. 3 doubles.
Already on a satisfying run of success, Platte County returns six players who played the majority of the season. That includes McBratney, Kluck, junior Owen Behne, junior Wyatt Beeson and Jacoby Keith as this year’s top singles players plus Lincoln Keith. The doubles teams of McBratney/Kluck and Jacoby Keith/Beeson both made the Class 2 District 8 individual finals to earn state debuts, as well.
McBratney and Kluck even won a match in the bracket a week earlier, gaining additional valuable experience in what the program has come to expect.
“Along the way, I think they gained some valuable perspective about what really matters from experiences like this,” Zach Keith said. “It’s the combination of competing against the best in the state, while also having the ability to appreciate the family and friends there to support you along your journey.
“As a coach and a dad of two of the guys, I can’t even put into words how much being able to coach this group means to me.”
