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MVP of this Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball team? Try Kamren Francois
Senior shortstop takes .455 batting average into this week’s Class 4A state tournament in Sioux City
Jul. 21, 2025 2:55 pm, Updated: Jul. 21, 2025 3:36 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS - You texted Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball coach James Nelson about who he thought the most valuable player on his team was this season. You asked him if there was a player on his team he felt was a good story.
Most coaches give you names of multiple guys who have played well or are a good story. That’s the reason teams like Prairie have been so good and qualified for the state tournament.
But Nelson’s reply was succinct.
“Kam Francois has been our MVP,” he said.
It’s right there in the statistics.
The senior shortstop has a gaudy .455 batting average. Anytime you are flirting with hits in half of your at-bats, that’s ridiculous in a good way.
He leads the Hawks in runs and doubles. He has walked 21, been hit by a pitch 11 times and struck out just six times.
The OPS is 1.131. That’s great.
“He played for us as a sophomore and had a hip injury that cut his season short,” Nelson said. “In his junior season, he progressively improved and showed flashes of being one of the best players on the field. Just had the ups and downs of a baseball season.
“This season, he has grown into a great leader and shown consistency in playing at his best. He has put together a great season and shown to be one of the top players in Eastern Iowa.”
Francois hit .319 last season as a junior, . He credited working out over the winter at Dugout Sports in Fairfax and CR Performance Training in Hiawatha for his improvement.
“You know, it’s just playing with confidence,” he said. “All the work I put in in the offseason just really paid off. We were at Dugout every day, the whole team. We were just building that connection. We worked out at CR Performance twice a week, and that helped a lot, too.
“It was to build power, build sprint speed, arm strength, everything.”
Arm strength has been needed for Francois since he moved from second base to shortstop at the beginning of last season, replacing all-stater Maddux Frese, who graduated and is headed to the University of Iowa this school year to pitch.
Frese just spent two seasons at Southeastern Community College in Burlington, which is where Francois has committed. He said longtime successful Coach Vance Schulte won him over.
“I had a couple of places recruit me, but I just really liked the coach down at Southeastern,” Francois said. “I’m just ready to get better, work out there. (He told me) the best man will play.
“For me, Division I has always been the goal.”
And a state championship is the goal this week for Francois and his teammates. Prairie (29-9) is the seventh seed in the 4A field, drawing second-seeded Johnston (26-11) in a quarterfinal Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Lewis & Clark Park in Sioux City.
The Hawks are not your ordinary ‘7.’ They won their first 17 games this season and were ranked No. 1 before hitting a lull in the final half of the regular season.
Prairie has appeared to regain its mojo in the playoffs, beating Waterloo East in five innings in its substate first-round game, 11-1, then Cedar Falls in the substate finals, 11-4.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re just glad we got the train rolling again,” Francois said. “I was a little worried, but I knew we had it in us to get back to where we were. It was really no problem. We had team meetings all the time about what we needed to do better.
“Once we get going, there is really no stopping us. There are no gaps in our lineup. Everybody can hit, one through nine.”
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
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