Welcome in everyone to another segment of the VYPE SETX sports podcast.
This episode Todd James visited with new Newton coach Drew Johnson, who takes over the job that his father WT Johnson - who recently passed away - and guided to unprecedented success the last few years going 43-1 with two state titles in that span. Check out the conversation with Coach Johnson.
The Anderson Trojans might just be the most overlooked baseball team in the Austin area. Head Coach Kenny Anderson’s squad was a highly competitive 6A team that just missed the playoffs as part of a ridiculously overstuffed District 26-6A in 2024. The Trojans excelled after moving to 5A last year, cruising to a 12-0 District 25-5A championship and a 29-9 season that saw them fall in a heartbreaking Game 3 of their Region IV Championship series.
Anderson (8-0, 18-7) has picked up right where they left off. They’ve handily dispatched everyone they’ve faced thus far in district play and just edged powerful Liberty Hill over the weekend. It would appear as if this week’s series with Bastrop marks the last serious threat they’ll face on their way to a second consecutive undefeated district title. Which is precisely why Anderson vs. Bastrop is this week’s VYPE Live Series Spotlight.
That the Trojans are matching last year’s achievements is somewhat surprising on the surface. Anderson returned only four starters from last year’s loaded squad, and only two of those are seniors. But senior Connor Comeau, a 1st Team All CenTex infielder/pitcher and future Texas A&M Aggie, is a good place to start. Fellow senior catcher Darek Paiz earned District 24-5A Defensive Player of the Year honors and can flip battery positions and take to the mound as well. They’re joined by junior 1st Team All-District outfielder James Cole and 2nd Team All-District junior catcher/outfielder Leo Trevino. The Trojans have re-stocked the lineup with last year’s reserves and JV newcomers, which speaks volumes about the depth of the Anderson baseball program.
It’s crunch time for Head Coach Daniel Carrillo’s Bastrop Bears. Bastrop (6-2, 11-14-2) has had an up and down season overall but have positioned themselves to return to the playoffs. The question is, where will they finish. With a season-ending series with second-place McCallum looming after this series against Anderson, Bastrop could enter the post-season as a district champion, clinging to the final playoff spot or anywhere in between.
Like Anderson, the Bears return just two seniors from last year’s playoff team: 2nd Team All-District pitcher/infielder Francisco Arriaga and infielder/pitcher Mason Smith. With five junior and one sophomore returning starter – including district Pitcher of the Year, Cooper Voigt – the Bears might be a year away from really challenging for the district title. But Bastrop will push the Trojans for this year’s crown first.
5A powerhouses such as Georgetown, Liberty Hill and Rouse garner the lion’s share of the attention. The Anderson Trojans have a chance to inject themselves into that same conversation and grab another district with a convincing series against the emerging Bastrop Bears.
What: Anderson vs. Bastrop
When: Tuesday 4/14 and Friday 4/17, 6:50 pregame
Where: Bastrop HS; Fri. Nelson Field
Who: Rob Jaskula/Jack Farrell
Watch: Broadcast Lineup on https://www.vype.com/
Dripping Springs edged Weiss 5-3 in a Saturday afternoon non-district softball matchup. It meant nothing in terms of the playoffs. In fact, the 6A Lady Tigers and 5A Lady Wolves won’t meet again in the postseason. But top-ranked Dripping Springs’ narrow victory over #2 ranked Weiss solidified their position atop our softball Power Rankings heading into the final week of the regular season.
It had otherwise been a stellar week for Weiss, who’d taken down ranked district foes Hendrickson and Georgetown leading up to their showdown. As a result, Weiss remained firmly in the silver slot with Leander moving up to third. Hendrickson bounced back from their loss to Weiss to knock off Georgetown and Pflugerville to move back up to #4 while the Lady Eagles landed at #5.
East View slipped to #6 but still gets another crack at Hendrickson this week. The rest of the rankings remained as they were last week, as everyone but Bastrop swept their schedules. (The Lady Bears stumbled vs. unranked Crockett but remained at #15.)
This week marks the last full week of the regular season with playoffs set to get underway as early as Wednesday, April 22. We’ll check in with one final Power Rankings next week before sending everyone off to the postseason.
VYPE's Austin Softball Rankings
(Last week’s rankings in parentheses)
1. (1) Dripping Springs Lady Tigers (6A) 25-6-1 (Def. Lake Travis, def. Del Valle, def. #2 Weiss)
2. (2) Weiss Lady Wolves (5A) 24-4-2 (Def. #6 Hendrickson, def. #3 Georgetown, lost vs. #1 Dripping Springs)
3. (4) Leander Lady Lions (5A) 25-6-1 (Def. Lehman)
4. (6) Hendrickson Lady Hawks (5A) 21-6 (Lost vs. #2 Weiss, def. #3 Georgetown, def. Pflugerville)
5. (3) Georgetown Lady Eagles (5A) 21-10 (Lost vs. #6 Hendrickson, lost @ #2 Weiss)
6. (5) East View Lady Patriots (5A) 23-8 (Def. Pflugerville Connally)
7. (7) Liberty Hill Lady Panthers (5A) 22-7 (Def. Glenn, def. Lehman)
8. (8) Hutto Lady Hippos (6A) 24-9-2 (Def. Manor, deg. Cedar Ridge)
9. (9) Vista Ridge Lady Rangers (6A) 20-8 (Def. Cedar Ridge, def. Vandegrift)
10. (10) Bowie Lady Bulldogs (6A) 18-11-1 (Def. Westlake, def. Akins)
11. (11) Hays Lady Hawks (5A) 23-7 (Def. Lockhart, def. Glenn)
12. (12) Round Rock Lady Dragons (6A) 17-7 (Def. McNeil; def. Westwood)
13. (13) Gateway Prep Lady Gators (4A) 18-5 (Def. Jarrell, def. Lampasas)
14. (14) Austin LASA Lady Raptors (5A) 16-8 (Def. Navarro, PPD vs. Cedar Creek)
15. (15) Bastrop Lady Bears (5A) 18-12 (Lost vs. Crockett, def Anderson)
On the Radar: Stony Point (6A) 15-13, Lake Travis (14-14); Westlake (13-11)
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