When Willard went to the state semifinals in 2012 and 2013, Tigers head coach Scott McGee felt like his teams were overwhelmed when they went up against the better teams in the state.
It was a level of baseball that the Tigers weren't used to seeing as they made their way through their southwest Missouri schedule.
"We couldn't even compete," McGee said.
Nearly a year removed from winning a state championship, Willard has noticed a rise in talent over recent years, and McGee said it was a big reason why his Tigers won it all for the first time in school history.