The Brandywine Bobcats, ranked No. 6 in MHSAA Division 3 with a 22-3-1 record, are aiming for their first district championship since 2008. Under head coach David Sidebender, who has over 500 career wins, the team is poised for a strong run in the state tournament.
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EDWARDSBURG – The Brandywine Bobcats have failed to win a district title since 2008, but as the No. 6-ranked team in MHSAA Division 3 with a 22-3-1 record after beating MHSAA Division 2 No. 8 Edwardsburg Thursday, May 14, this could be the season they finally make a run in the state tournament once again. The one link between those two teams, 18 years apart? Head coach David Sidebender.
The 25-year leader surpassed 500 career wins earlier this season, and like most in his situation, he tried his best to pass on the credit for that sustained success.
“I’ve been lucky – very lucky – to have talent. They’ve bought into what I’m trying to teach them, and I just let their talent flow,” Sidebender said. “It’s been great. It’s a baseball kind of place; Brandywine always has been.”
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Such talent this season has come from three seniors – Kyler Marshall, Ryder Richard and Kaeden Warfield – who for four years have been knocking on the glass ceiling the Bobcats are desperately trying to break through. From 2022-24, the MHSAA Division 3 state champions all came from the same district as Brandywine when Bridgman, Buchanan, and Watervliet went back-to-back-to-back.
Last season, when the Bobcats headed into the district field with 23 wins, they lost to Bridgman by just one run. The year before, a 22-win Brandywine squad fell 2-1 to Buchanan.
Although the Bobcats still have seven regular-season games left, Warfield knows his final chance may be his best chance to make a deep state tournament run.
“We’ve been working our butts off since freshman year, and we know we’ve had tough games in districts, but we just want to get out of that,” Warfield said. “It shows us what we can do and what we can be.”
Brandywine’s starting quarterback and standout centerfielder broke the MHSAA single-season record for stolen bases last season with 66. Through 26 games in his senior campaign, Warfield has 45, including four against the Eddies on Thursday.
Sidebender said Warfield adds a whole new dimension to the Bobcats’ offense, and there isn’t much sign-calling between the two when Warfield is on base. Warfield operates under a constant green light unless Sidebender tells him otherwise, depending on the situation.
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Batting lead-off for Brandywine, chances are Warfield will find himself on base more often than not for junior Emerson Gogley, Richard, sophomore Hudson Aalfs, or Marshall to drive him in batting two through five.
Brandywine baseball last won a district championship in 2008.
The head coach of the Brandywine Bobcats baseball team is David Sidebender.
Brandywine baseball has a current record of 22-3-1 this season.
From 2022-2024, the MHSAA Division 3 state champions from Brandywine's district were Bridgman, Buchanan, and Watervliet.
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“I’m trying to put as much pressure as we can on the [other] team without putting ourselves at a disadvantage,” Warfield said. “If I can get on second or third base for Ryder, I know he’ll be able to knock me in.”
Brandywine senior Kaeden Warfield gets a secondary lead off of first base during an MHSAA baseball game at Edwardsburg High School Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Richard was frustrated with his game against Edwardsburg despite the 10-5 victory, going 0-for-4 at the plate with a walk, but Gogley and Marshall picked up the slack with two RBIs each. That constant next-man-up mentality is why Richard said he can move on from frustrating individual performances, especially when his team comes out victorious.
That’s something he felt Brandywine was missing last season.
“When a team comes together and fights, even when some people aren’t having a good day, it doesn’t really matter because we can come together as a team and get some wins,” Richard said.
Two of the Bobcats’ three losses were against standout IHSAA teams in Mishawaka (14-5) and South Bend Saint Joseph (15-6). However, their wins against successful MHSAA programs like the Eddies, Buchanan, Bridgman, Coloma, Constantine, Hartford, South Haven and Watervliet prove Brandywine is a legitimate contender in Division 3 this season.
Although the Bobcats have gotten contributions from their entire starting lineup at times this season, Sidenbender said it will come down to the three seniors in order for them to cement their legacies and bring a title back to Brandywine.
“They’re baseball junkies, and I just love it,” Sidenbender said. “They just work their butts off, and it kind of bleeds down to everybody else.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kaeden Warfield, David Sidenbender are confident in Brandywine baseball