After a very abbreviated 2020 schedule, the 2021 season is just underway with pretty much every team in the area getting started over the weekend - some already with a handful of games under their belts.
The mostly lost season a year ago has baseball coaches, players and fans/parents antsy to make sure the entire year plays out, culminating with crowning state champions across all classifications and organizations.
With that said, we're going to try a new spin on the previews. We'll introduce power rankings in a couple weeks after a good amount of games have been played.
What we'll do instead is highlight a team we think has a high chance to win state, a team that could be dark horse in that class as well as a preseason player to watch in each class.
Class 4A
Team to Beat: Argyle
Argyle is still the reigning back-to-back state champs, albeit with a gap year. And has been the case for the Argyle athletics department, the school just churns out top talent and teams built for long runs.
Argyle enters 2021 ranked 5th in the state with six starters returning from a year ago that started 7-3-2. Tyler Abrego, the senior shortstop committed to Incarnate Word, and sophomore Pierce Brooks, a TCU-commit, lead Argyle this year.
4A Dark Horse: Godley
Godley is a preseason Top 20 team in the Diamond Pro/THSB rankings with seven starters returning from a team that only got four games deep into the season last year, according to MaxPreps.com
Braden Karnes is a senior pitcher/third baseman that batted .385 and posted a 1.25 ERA last year to lead Godley into the 2021 season.
Preseason Player to Watch: Jaxon Holder, Aubrey
Jaxon Holder was on a tear as both an infielder and pitcher for Aubrey in 2020. He was clubbing everything with a .657 batting average (best in all of 4A), four doubles, a triple, a homer, 19 RBI, and then on the mound, he was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA with seven strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
Holder, a Dallas Baptist-commit, has greatly improved each season since his freshman year. With that precedent set, his senior year could be off the charts.
Lovejoy linebacker Dallas Preston. Photo by Kevin Bartram (VYPE)
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