After a season that saw two teams -- Buford in Class AAA and Gainesville in Class AAAAA -- reach the state semifinals in 2014, it would be hard to imagine the 2015 prep baseball campaign as a whole being able to top that, right?
You might want to think again. If pitching is king, then northeast Georgia teams should be primed for perhaps one of the best seasons in recent memory. Nearly two dozen teams legitimately expect to be in the playoff hunt in 2015 because of deep pitching staffs.
No less than half-a-dozen pitchers in the area already have been signed to major college scholarships and several teams feature multiple pitching prospects on their roster. Batters should beware.
And, two teams also feature new coaches, chief among them is White County, where Jay Wright takes over for John Brown, who stepped down after eight seasons in Cleveland. Banks County also features a new coach in Tyson Baxter.
To get you more familiar with some of those names and teams, here is our 2015 baseball preview (teams are listed in alphabetical order):
BANKS COUNTY
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: Tyson Baxter, first season
-- REGION: 7-AAA
-- 2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2-24
-- KEY PLAYERS: Jr. P/OF Taylor Boisclair, Jr. P/INF Dylan Patrick, So. OF Walker Rogers, Sr. Utility Austin Segars, Sr. P Levi Craig
-- SEASON OUTLOOK: The Leopards are in rebuilding mode and Baxter said the goal will be to be more competitive in what should be a wide-open region. Pitching and defense will be key, Baxter said.
BUFORD
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: Tony Wolfe, 19th season, 355-170
-- REGION: 8-AAAA
-- 2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 30-5, Region 7-AAA champions, Class AAA semifinals
-- RETURNING STARTERS: Sr. OF/P Jake Higginbotham (9-0, 0.54 ERA, 65.1 IP, 40 H, 124 K's, 21 BB; .417 Avg, 25 H, 25 Runs, 9 RBI), Sr. 2B/P Connor Bennett (6-2, 1.49 ERA, 42.1 IP, 25 H, 73 K's, 13 BB; .294 Avg, 10 H, 11 Runs, 11 RBI), Sr. P Kevin Coulter (10-1, 1.28 ERA, 49.1 IP, 28 H, 58 K's, 23 BB), Sr. C Joey Bart (.455 avg, 45 H, 12 2B, 8 HR, 50 RBI, 46 R), Jr. SS Austin Wilhite (.400 avg, 34 H, 45 R, 8 2B, 22 RBI, 7 SB), Jr. OF Nick Wilhite (.444 avg, 44 H, 34 R, 28 RBI, 9 2B, 2 HR, 10 SB), Sr. P Keyton Gibson (0-1, 3 Saves, 1.94 ERA, 18.0 IP, 17 H, 28 K, 11 BB)
-- KEY PLAYERS: Jr. 3B/P Griffin Jolliff (2-0, 1.26 ERA, 16.2 IP, 13 H, 17 K's, 7 BB), Jr. OF Brandon Marsh, Jr. P Justin Glover, Sr. INF Jordan Perlotte, Sr. INF Freeman Edwards, Sr. OF/P Caleb Moore, Sr. C Connor Cohea, Sr. INF/P Chase Hunter
-- SEASON OUTLOOK: The Wolves will feature one of the best pitching staffs not just in the area but perhaps in the state in any classification and should be the early favorite for a Region 8-AAAA title. They will have to replace three starters in the infield, one outfielder and the DH spot and Wolfe said they will use the early part of the season to find the right combinations. They will once again play a tough non-region schedule before jumping into a tough 8-AAAA schedule.
CHESTATEE
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: Kyle Counts, 3rd season, 10-44
-- REGION: 8-AAAA
-- 2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 6-20
-- KEY PLAYERS: Sr. P/OF/1B Caleb Jameson, Sr. 1B Griffin Moore, Sr. 2B Eric George, Sr. P/SS Peyton Rider, Jr. OF/P Jonathan Yearwood, Jr. INF/P Mikey Petraroi, So. OF/P Sean Irick
-- SEASON OUTLOOK: The War Eagles are continuing their rebuilding process but should be competitive with five returning pitchers from last year. The challenge will be finding some consistent offense in a tough region.
DAWSON COUNTY
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: Thad Burgess, 2nd season, 15-11 (205-70 overall)
-- REGION: 7-AAA
-- 2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 15-11, 10-11 in Region 7-AAA
-- RETURNING STARTERS: Sr. SS Levi Whitmire, Sr. 1B/P JT Eggert, Sr. OF Zach Buchan,, So. OF Luke Martin, Jr. 3B Brody Chester, Sr. INF Austin Martin, Sr. INF Keaton Coates, Sr. C Logan Crumley
-- SEASON OUTLOOK: The Tigers return a wealth of experience from a team that surprised in Region 7-AAA last year. Expect the Tigers to challenge for the region title in their second year under Burgess. Pitching will be the key and they will be breaking in Crumley at catcher for Colton Chester, who anchored the team last season.
EAST HALL
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: Wesley Crow, 7th season, 44-114
-- REGION: 7-AAA
-- 2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 8-14, 6-14 in Region 7-AAA
-- KEY PLAYERS: Sr. P/OF Jack Hagwood (.310 BA, 12 RBI, 3.54 ERA), Sr. OF/P Spencer Skelton (12 runs, 10 RBI), Jr. INF Triston Cooper (.729 OPS .439 OBP)
-- SEASON OUTLOOK: The Vikings look to bounce back from a sixth-place finish in Region 7-AAA last season. They should be competitive and challenge for a playoff spot. The key will be the lineup and how it fares against tough Region 7-AAA pitching.
FANNIN COUNTY
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: David Dyer, fifth season
--REGION: 7-AAA
--2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 6-16
--RETURNING STARTERS: 2B Hunter Rice, SS/P Judson Hawkins, 1B/P Jacob Reece, C Dusty Dyer
--SEASON OUTLOOK: Coach Dyer will have his deepest pitching staff in his five years in Blue Ridge with eight guys he can look too at any given time. However, the Rebels most likely will start two freshman in the outfield. They should be competitive and challenge for a playoff spot in Region 7-AAA.
FLOWERY BRANCH
-- COACH, YEARS AT SCHOOL: Scott Myers, fifth season, 73-37
-- REGION: 8-AAAAA
-- 2014 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 20-10 and 11-5 in Region 8-AAAAA; 2nd round playoffs
-- KEY PLAYERS: Sr. P/INF Jonathan Hughes (.450 BA, 36 runs, 2.40 ERA), Sr. OF Stephen Skeggs (.330 BA)
-- SEASON OUTLOOK: The Falcons lost half of their infield to graduation but have some promising talent coming up. They will be led by Georgia Tech-signee Jonathan Hughes but will need to find enough quality arms to be able to challenge for a playoff spot in a rugged Region 8-AAAAA. They should be in the playoff hunt by season
Thursday
January 30th, 2025
2:11PM
