MILBANK – From the capital of Ohio to the birthplace of American Legion baseball, Joe Schulte’s athletic career grew in the small town of Milbank.

The move from Columbus, Ohio to Milbank allowed Schulte to pick up more sports other than baseball.

“I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio where I played baseball year round until my family moved back to Milbank where my grandparents were,” Schulte said. “Living in a small town allows you to try for other sports year round, and I ended up loving basketball and growing into the sport.”

Not only did Schulte’s love for basketball grow, but he did as well, listed at 6-feet 6-inches, allowing him to be a force on the court.

“I can say that baseball was always like my number one sport. I loved playing it since I was a kid and then I’d say my abilities is what kind of led me to basketball and tennis,” Schulte said. “In basketball, I obviously got tall, quick and could jump. And then in tennis, I already could serve and play well with my family.”

Schulte added tennis to his resume of high school athletics because of his length and the fact that his friend persuaded him.

“I didn’t decide to do tennis until my freshman year when my friend got me to go out for it and I tried it just for fun,” Schulte said. “I was told by people that my frame was good for tennis, so I just went with it.”

Although the three sports are very different, Schulte noted different traits that can be passed between them.

“About baseball and tennis, it’s all about getting the next point, or the next at bat. You can’t let so many things get to you. It’s a big mental battle for tennis, I’d say,” Schulte said. “And I mean baseball is just an up and down sport, so you just have to always get the next one.”

He used the same mindset when it came to basketball.

“In basketball, you’re like that, too. You can’t dwell on missed shots, because you’re gonna be taking like 20 of them a game,” Schulte said. “You just gotta put your misses and mistakes behind, I’d say, in all the sports, because you’re gonna get attacked right away, right after it.”

Schulte graduated from Milbank in 2024 and ended his career in the number one spot for the Bulldogs’ tennis squad and was a second team All-Northeast Conference member for basketball.

What he says he misses most about high school athletics is the road trips and the fans.

“Well, I miss traveling a lot with all my friends and having these sports mean something for the school and everything, not just me,” Schulte said. “You miss all the fans watching and cheering you on because I mean, you’ve kind of earned it. … I miss the environment with our fans and traveling.”

Fortunately for Schulte, summer American Legion baseball rules allow for super seniors, giving Schulte another chance to go on road trips and play in front of a home crowd. And it will end up no better than this year when Milbank hosts the State B Tournament starting Friday on the 100th anniversary of Legion Baseball.

“I always tell people that I came back for the tournament, but the truth is I was gonna be back with my parents anyways and I would never turn down the chance to play baseball,” Schulte said. “The way they have it, of course I’d come back and play even if we didn’t make state. But hey, it’s a plus and we get to play on the most beautiful field I’ve ever played on.”

This season means a little bit more to Post 9 and the Milbank community.

“It’s been preached to us the importance of Legion baseball this year and that it’s more than just us, really. It’s about our team, our post and just the whole organization because Milbank really is the birthplace so I mean, it leads back to here,” Schulte said. “I say there’s probably more pressure put on us now that we got this very nice field and our Legion, our post, and our fans are looking at us like we gotta make a run at state.”

The host team will play the final first round game against Scotland-Menno-Freeman-Canistota on Friday night.

With a little bit of added pressure, Schulte thinks the homefield advantage will give the team a little extra boost.

“We’re gonna get a lot of people, and a lot of people behind us, hopefully. And I think it’ll boost the guys,” Schulte said. “I think it’ll impact us pretty good if we see the support around us. Homefield advantage is a true thing.”

As one of the main pitchers for the Milbank squad, Schulte will look to continue throwing strikes on the mound during the tournament. “I wanna keep my pitching rolling because I’ve had a couple solid outings,” Schulte said. “Like pitch mix wise and soft contact and strikeouts. So, I’d say my pitch mix on strikes is what I’d want to keep going.”