Kimmet is Laurel's first high school baseball coach

If Matt Kimmet draws the curtain of window in his classroom he is able to watch Thomson Park baseball grounds.

Which is apropos. It will be across the road a good deal this spring for the Laurel High School teacher.

Kimmet has Locomotive athletic history and he was hired as the first head coach for baseball program at the new Locomotive. It must, however, be pointed out that the appointment of Kimmet is conditional upon boards of directors’ nod. Assuming the Laurel School Board hiring for the post, he should be hired at the Sept. 23 meeting.

High school baseball from Laurel will start in the spring of 2025.

Kimmet graduated in 2000 from Laurel and is presently the assistant head coach for football coaching at the school.

“Matt really brings a lot of baseball experience,” said Andrew Torgerson, the Laurel activities director. “He takes a knowledge to the game of baseball.”

Torgerson said three people applied for the job. Two were interviewed.

Kimmet was the last one to coach baseball in 2015. He was 97-29 in his two seasons as the head coach for the Billings Royals, a Class AA American Legion Baseball program. The Royals have competed in the Class AA state championship game two times but lost: to Missoula in 2014, and The Billings Scarlets in 2015.

He resigned from Royals in 2015, citing his desire in managing school administration.

Before joining the Royals he was the head coach with the Laurel Dodgers for six seasons.

He was 216-108 with the Dodgers winning state titles his last three years.

Kimmet is a past Rocky Mountain College quarterback.

“It does help,” said Torgerson of Kimmet being a teacher at the high school. ‘It’s really great in relationships having a teacher in the building. It’s huge for any program.”

The Laurel school board recently voted to include baseball and agreed with a 9-0 vote in February. The Billings public high school will also have baseball in the year twenty twenty five. Columbus already has high school baseball.

Torgerson believes that more than twenty players will come for trials for the first team.

“The sign-up we started with had 19 players,” he said. If you go up to 25 walking around in the hall talking to kids, then it is much harder. Much expectation is placed on having baseball.”

Torgerson continued by saying that supporters for the program have gathered $25,000, “And still increasing.”

“As for the organization that supports Laurel baseball, they have really stepped up in terms of fund raising. They still have fundraisers. The support has been unreal. He used it to illustrate the level of interest of this community in this baseball program.”