Brennan McLaughlin didn’t just end his junior year as a state champion for the Platte County baseball team — he’s now also the Class 5 Player of the Year, as named by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.
The 6-foot-1 right-hander was as valuable of a player as there was in Class 5 baseball in 2025. A standout regular season was followed by a string of clutch postseason performances as he helped lead Platte County to its third state championship in program history.
McLaughlin had a batting average of .397 with 43 hits and five home runs, sett a program record with 45 RBIs. Most importantly, McLaughlin came up in some of the most critical moments and delivered for the Pirates.
The third baseman’s five-RBI performance in Game Three of the State Quarterfinals against Webb City — a game where the Pirates trailed by two and were down to their final strike until McLaughlin hit a three-run walkoff double — catapulted the Pirates into the State Final Four. His
work was far from finished as he drove in two more runs in the semifinals against Rockwood Summit and hit a momentum-swinging solo home run in the state championship against St. John Vianney.
McLaughlin was also productive in the field as he led Platte County’s infield in putouts and was the Pirates’ ace on the mound. In 50 innings, he tallied a 9-1 record and struck out 60 batters with an earned run average of 1.40, including a 12-strikeout complete game outing to claim the district title against St. Pius X.
The right side of Platte County’s infield was as talented as there was in the entire state. McLaughlin started at third base next to senior shortstop Dayton Doll, the Conference Player of the Year who set a program record in most career hits.
The Doll-McLaughlin duo also hit 2-3 in the batting order throughout the season, yielding tremendous results as they contributed 92 hits and 78 RBIs as both delivered clutch performances in the postseason. Whenever there was a big moment, either McLaughlin or Doll seemed to always be at the center of it. With one season of eligibility remaining in his high school career, McLaughlin’s return in 2026
gives Platte County another year of having one of the best players in the state, developing into an even more dominant athlete. Combined with a strong core of all-state-caliber returners, the Pirates will enter next spring as serious contenders to go back-to-back for the first time in program history.