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 3A
Team to Beat: Brock
Nine starters are back for a Brock team that finished 2020 with an 8-1-1 record. Brock is looking for another deep playoff run as it made the Regional Finals back in 2019 before falling three games to eventual state champion Wall.
Brock is led by senior infielder Jaxson Gleaton and senior pitcher Carson Lightfoot.
3A Dark Horse: Grandview
Grandview returns six starters from a year ago that started off strong at 7-3-1. Grandview made it three rounds deep in its last playoff run before falling in three games to Troy in the Regional Quarterfinals.
Seniors Blaine Vaughan (SS/P) and Jimmy Mathis (C) lead Grandview into the 2021 season.
Preseason Player to Watch: Barrett Kent, Pottsboro
Kent committed to Arkansas over the summer and is the poised to have a solid a breakout sophomore season for Pottsboro in 2021. As a freshman, Kent was 3-0 with 27 strikeouts and had two complete games. He batted .500 with four homers and 16 RBI.
