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Team Previews for Class AA Schools

Scroll down to see new previews - they are added in order they are received by date with the first being the one below this line:
 
Fulton HS  3/10

NAME                  CLASS/POS. 
1 Hayden Willard      RHP/C
2 Kaden Seymour       LHP/OF
3 Presley Carver      RHP/OF
4 Seth Wyatt          C/MIF
5 Andrew Compton      LHP/OF/1B
6 Gaston Strong       1B


2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
     This year's version of the Falcons contains a mix of experience and new players. Senior Gaston Strong leads the newcomers as he will bring an element of power to the lineup. Outside of Strong, the Falcons will need to rely on their speed and small ball to generate offense on a consistent basis. Kaden Seymour, Hayden Willard, and Seth Wyatt will lead the charge from this angle.
     Defensively, the Falcons have a large number of utility players who can play multiple positions. An early season challenge will be finding the best way to put the puzzle together. At third base, junior George Chain and freshman Caleb White will compete for playing time.
     On the mound, Fulton has a solid amount of depth. It is mostly right handed with Kaden Seymour and Andrew Compton providing a left handed element. Senior Nick Wyatt has dropped down this year to provide a sidearm look out of the bullpen.


 
White House Heritage HS  2/17

NAME                  CLASS/POS.      COMMENTS
1 Austin Wood         12/C/RH     Austin hits for power and handles the pitching staff very well.           
2 Ryan Keller         12/1B/RH    Ryan has a solid glove at first with an excellent ability to hit to all fields.
3 Jacob Thompson      11/3B/RH    Jacob has great power and has great hands on the infield.
4 Tyler Leding        12/P-IF/RH  Tyler is a fourth year starting pitcher. He brings a lot of experience and leadership.
5 Chance Harp         12/P-OF/LH  Chance will be a solid lefty addition to the rotation.
6 Graysen Sherman     12/P-IF/RH  Graysen has a chance to really make the infield solid with his strong throwing arm.
7 Brandon Searcy      11/C-IF-P/RH Brandon is a born leader with a strong arm behind the plate and on the mound.
8 Kaleb Watkins       12/P/LH      Kaleb is a crafty lefty who could really cause some problems for opposing hitter


2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
    White House Heritage is counting on some very experienced players to produce a solid season. The offense should be greatly improved from the 10-18 season of last year. All district player Jacob Thompson will attempt to improve upon a solid 2015 season in which he hit over .300. Ryan Keller and Austin Wood will be counted on for some much needed power in the lineup. The speed on this year's team will be much improved with Graysen Sherman, Chance Harp, Ryan Jones and Cody Baker all vying for spots in the lineup.
    The defense will be made up of several veteran players and predicated on team speed. Cody Baker will lead the outfield with speed and a strong throwing arm. The infield will consist of corners Jacob Thompson and Ryan Keller who are holdover starters from last year. The catching duties will be shared by Brandon Searcy and Austin Wood. Each brings a solid set of skills to the position while each has shown the ability to lead.
    Pitching should be the strength of this year's team. Four year starter Tyler Leding will head a potentially solid rotation made up once again of veteran players. Hard throwing Chance Harp will join Leding in the rotation as well as Sherman, Searcy, Kaleb Watkins, and a mix of younger players. Leding is by far the most experienced and is expected to have a major impact this year.
    After losing two seniors (Thomas Thurman, Brennan Harper) and an assistant coach (Joey McClung-Springfield), Heritage is hoping to make a move up this year. With only 16 players last year, Heritage was in almost all of its games to the end. This year's squad boasts 30 players and two new assistant coaches (Clint Sweatt and Rich Lopez). This Heritage team is excited to get started.

quote- "Last year's team faced about as much adversity as I've ever seen, but they did not just lie down and roll over. They scrapped and fought for every win. Coaching them was one of the best experiences of my career. They have put in the work to take the next step. I'm excited to see what this season has in store for them."  Chris Logsdon  White House Heritage Head Coach 

Knoxville Catholic HS 2/10

NAME                CLASS/POS.   COMMENTS
1 Turner Whitfield  SR/SS       (LMU) Will be a leader offensively and on defense
2 Hunter Judd       SR/RHP & OF (LMU) Tall, Lanky pitcher with lots of upside. Will also roam the OF
3 Connor Pinkard    SO/LHP & OF  Knows how to play the game the right way. Looking for a lot of growth with experience.
4 Cullen Smith      SR/2B        Top half of the order guy, will solidify MINF with Whitfield
5 Sean Kearney      JR/3B & RHP  Middle of the order bat that will be counted on to provide extra pop in the line-up

2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
Offense-- There will be quite a few new faces in the KCHS line-up this year. The offense will take shape as the season progresses. A lot of guys will be given opportunities due to the departure of so many high quality seniors.
Defense-- The defense will need to lead the team if we are going to be successful. There will be a new players @ catcher, 1b, and 2 OF spots.
Pitching- We lost a LOT of quality innings in Ethan Elliot, but we feel as if we have some pieces in place that will keep us in games. Fresh faces will be given many opportunities out of the bullpen and in tournaments.
Wrapup- Being my first year here at KCHS, there will be some different lineups and rotations that people may not be accustomed to. Our strength of schedule will only make us better as we progress through the season. We are looking to be playing our best ball come the first of May.

Haywood County HS  2/10

NAME             CLASS/POS.  COMMENTS
1 Josh Coburn    Sr./LHP/CF  Josh is a tall lefty with good velocity. Signed with J-State. Will play CF also.
2 Colton Lilly   Sr./3B      Colton should have a high average and drive in runs. Has good pop.
3 Tilman McRae   So./SS/RHP  Tilman started at SS last year and hit over .300. He will be one of our top pitchers.
4 Jacob Smith    Jr./RHP/DH  Jacob had a sub-3 ERA last year and hit in the middle of the order.
5 Trey Turner    Jr./C       Great defensive catcher, will look to build of solid summer at the plate.
6 Andrew Scott   Jr./OF      Great defensively with plus speed and arm. Good hitter (hit around .300 his first 2 yrs).


2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
    Offensively, we should have a solid line-up top to bottom.  There is speed at the top with run producers throughout the rest of the lineup.  We have some potential break out candidates at the plate in Mickey Utley, Jacob Smith, Landon Wilson, Kylan Shaw, Trey Turner, Kahlon Houston, and Tate Walters.  All have shown vast improvements this offseason. Returning starters Colton Lilly, Tilman McRae, Andrew Scott, and Josh Coburn will be relied upon heavily at the plate as well.  Our line-up could end up being more potent than last years' team.

    Defensively we should be able to make the routine plays.  Trey Turner returns behind the plate and helps control the running game.  Lilly returns at third base with McRae returning at short stop. Coburn and Scott will be back in center and right field.  Left field, second base, and first base will all have new players manning them.  Landon Wilson should step up at first base with Kylan Shaw and Kahlon Houston competing for time at second base.  Left field will will have someone new as well, with Tate Walters and Mickey Utley in the mix.

    Pitching depth will be a big key for us again this season.  We lost four of our top arms from last season, but some returning players saw a lot of innings as well.  Josh Coburn will be looked upon to step up and take control of the pitching staff.  He is a left handed pitcher who throws in the mid 80's.  Jacob Smith is another returning pitcher, and he had a sub-3 ERA a season ago.  Sophomores Landon Wilson and Tilman McRae will be asked to step up and throw a lot of innings as well.  We also have some strike throwers in Colton Lilly, Andrew Scott, Bryce Faulkner, and Brent Moore to give us more depth on the mound.

    We lost 5 seniors that started and 2 that saw regular playing time from last years' sub-state team. However, we will have some experience coming back.  Our returning starters include Josh Coburn, Colton Lilly, Tillman McRae, and Andrew Scott.  Jacob Smith and Landon Wilson saw innings on the mound last year as well.  We will be young this year, but the younger guys have really stepped up and worked hard to prepare themselves for this season.  We have a lot of leadership in our two senior captains, Coburn and Lilly. We may have some ups and downs this season, but I expect us to be able to compete at a high level.  We preach to always play hard and good things will happen. 
 
Sycamore HS  2/1

NAME                  CLASS/POS.      COMMENTS
1 Bailey Baker - SR - OF/INF (2 time TBCA All-State - 2 time TN Baseball Report All-Region - 2015 District 9AA MVP)
2 Noah Sims - SR - RHP/INF (All 2-Way team TN Baseball Report - 2014 District 9AA MVP - Super Sophomore Team TBCA)
3 Matt Brown - SR - C/RHP (All 2-way team TN Baseball Report - 3 time All District Performer)
4 Adam Jacoway - SR - OF (2 year starter - All District Performer)
5 Craig Drenthe - SR - OF (Major contributor down the stretch in '15)
6 Dylan McGavic - SR - OF (contributed innings in the OF throughout '15)
7 Blake Strassburg - SR - RHP (All District Performer - District Starter)
8 Carson Gudino - JR - INF/RHP (Returning to add depth and compete for starting spot)
9 Josh Buck - JR - LHP -(Competing for district innings)
10 Gaige Allen  - JR - RHP (Competing for district innings)
11 Kyle Spurlock - SO - INF/RHP (Returning 1B, hit .300 as a freshman in '15)
12 Jacob McCoy - SO - INF/C (ended last season due to injury but was competing for a spot as a freshman in '15)


Offensively as a whole we have some improving to do. In '15 we had way too many swing and misses, we have committed this off-season in developing better approaches, especially with two strikes. We also need to be better base runners, need to be better dirt ball readers, and stay alert on the paths. 3 of our top 4 hitters are returning for this season (from last season). Bailey Baker hit a whopping .483 (top 10 in state), Noah Sims led our team in RBI's and Matt Brown was tied for the lead in runs scored. Our offense will run through them, but they can't do it alone. We need several other guys to step up and contribute.

Defensively we are pretty strong throughout most games, however we were bitten a little in crunch situations, we need to be prepared to live in the moment more often on defense. Defensively we will look a little different this year, we are relying on senior Matt Brown to take over as our everyday catcher. So that means we will defensively it will take 2-3 players to take his spot when we have to shift because of pitching. It's a role Brown has embraced for his teammates, and he will be one of the best in the area behind the dish.

Pitching should be our strong suit. We return 100% of our innings pitched from last year. We have some improving to do, but this group has worked very hard to become stronger and have great mental approaches.

For the 16th team in Sycamore school history to succeed we will need all hands on deck. More so than ever in my head coaching career, I envision 12-15 guys being every week contributors especially when tourney time rolls around. My hope is that they all buy in to a selfless mentality and not put themselves before the team. It will take a special group this year to do what I think we are capable of, but I believe it's feasible.
 
Upperman HS  1/19

Top Players                                                                                                         NAME               CLASS/POS.      COMMENTS
1Winston Cannon    SR.RHP/3RD      Signed with UT Martin era .25 106 strike outs 12 walks(2015)
2Todd Stanton      SR. RHP/LF/RH   .329 (2015)
3Tucker Stanton    SR. 1ST/RH      .319 (2015)
4David King        SR. C/RH        .280 (2015) caught every inning
5Josh Endicott     JR. 1ST/LHP/LH  6'8" lefty transfer
6Ben Guffey        SR. CF/LHP/LH   .405 (2014)


2016 TEAM OUTLOOK: 2015 season (24-5)ended on a sour note for the Bees, with 7 starters returning this year they look to build on the past an towards a trip to Murfreesboro in 2016. Winston Cannon(.25 era 2015) will lead the pitching staff along with Todd Stanton SR., Andrew Brown SR., Ben Guffey SR., Josh Endicott JR., Dristian Jared SO., Tristian Allison SO. With 3 strong right handed pitchers along with 3 strong lefties pitching looks to be this teams strong point going into the year. With a mix of older an younger pitchers if they gel they could be fun to watch. The senior class will lead this team on an off the field. This senior class is strong in character an work ethic. We will practice an play everyday like its our last. This team will be giving all they have for the betterment of the team an let the chips fall where they may at the end of the day.
 
Unicoi County HS  1/19

NAME                  CLASS/POS.    COMMENTS
1 Shaddon Peavyhouse  Jr/SS/P RH    Good arm, bat, fielder, and leader
2 Gabe Thomas         Sr/3b/P RH    Good arm and great at third base
3 Dylan Putman        Jr/1b/P LH    Athlete= can play anywhere on the field, will be a starter on mound and 4 hitter
4 Troy Podvin         So/IF/P RH    Good infielder and pitcher, hits ball with power

2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:

Offense: We have good speed this year and will focus on doing the little things right.  We are not a power hitting team, but do have some guys that can hit the ball hard to all parts of the field.  We will focus on good base running and timely hits to score runs.  We have some young guys that have power who may also find themselves in the lineup. 

Defense: We will have a good arms on the mound and a good starting rotation.  We have a lot of returning starters from last year and this experience will help us defensively.  This will be a young team, but most started or got a good amount of Varsity experience in 2015.  Defense and pitching will be a strong point in the 2016 season.

Pitching:  Our pitching depth should be really good.  There are some sophomores who have will see a lot of innings this season.  We have a proven conference starting rotation and bullpen that will win games for us.  All the pitchers have shown great improvements in the last year. 

I am looking forward to the 2016 season.  We have a lot of returners who either started or got ample playing time last year.  We will have to replace some great talent due to graduation, but my players have accepted the task.  We should be solid defensively and pitch really well.  Executing offensively will be important to have a successful season.  "This group of young men will work hard to achieve our goals for the season and beyond."