2023 Top 25 Stories in Texas High School Baseball

1. Blake Mitchell Repeats as Texas Gatorade Player of the Year

Sinton’s Blake Mitchell was named the 2023 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year. It was the second year in a row for Mitchell to be named the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year and he is the 1st Player in Texas to win the award twice. Mitchell led Sinton to their third straight state tournament appearance. He hit .452 with 15 doubles, 6 home runs, 41 rbis, 49 runs and 44 stolen bases. Mitchell also maintained a 4.24 GPA in the classroom.

2. China Spring Sets Record Playing Two 12 Inning Games to Capture 4A State Championship

China Spring had a 12 inning win in the 4A State Semifinal Game against #1 Sinton and turned around to play another 12-inning game the next day, beating Texarkana Liberty-Eylau on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 12th. The 12-inning semifinal game broke a record for the longest game in the state tournament. They broke the record for the longest championship game the next day, tying the record set the day before. It was China Spring ‘s 5th baseball championship but the first since 2000.

3. Flower Mound Prevails to Win 6A State Championship

Flower Mound lost their #1 pitcher just minutes before the 1st State Semifinal Game but they got big hits, big moments and enough pitching to beat Cypress Woods and Pearland to claim the 6A 2023 State Championship. It was the second state championship for Flower Mound. Flower Mound came into the state tournament as the lowest ranked team (#12) of the four 6A teams. They also lost their first game of the Bi-District playoffs to Prosper but then went on a roll winning 12 of the next 13 playoffs games on their way to winning the 6A Championship.

4. Cory Beckham Becomes 3rd Texas High School Baseball Coach to Win State Titles at Two Different Schools

China Spring Head Coach Cory Beckham won his 3rd State Title this year in his first year at 4A China Spring. In doing so, he became the 3rd Texas High School Baseball Coach to win state titles with two different teams. Beckham won back-to-back titles with 3A West in 2015 and 2016. He joins Scott Holder (Thorndale 2005; College Station 2014) and Rick Carpenter (Ft. Bend Elkins 2002, 2003; Prosper 2015).

5. Magnolia West Captures 5A State Championship

Magnolia West got a 1 hit, 17 inning strikeout performance from James Ellwanger in the 5A State Semifinal and then held off Argyle for a 3-2 win and their first ever State Championship. Pitching was key for the Mustangs. They had 7 shutouts in their playoff run including the state semifinal game. They gave up only 17 runs in their 13 playoff games.

6. Kansas City Royals Draft Sinton Catcher Blake Mitchell with 8th Pick in MLB Draft

Sinton’s Blake Mitchell capped off his stellar high school career being selected by the Kansas City Royals with the 8th pick in the draft. Mitchell was the 3rd high school player taken in the draft and was the first catcher selected. He signed with the Royals on July 15 with a $4.9 million dollar signing bonus.

7. Boyd Wins First Ever Baseball State Championship with 3A Title

The Boyd Yellowjackets never gave up, scoring late in both state tournament games to claim their first state championship in the 3A State Baseball Tournament. Boyd scored 8 runs in the last 3 innings in the 3A Semifinal game, including a walk-off 2 RBI single by Aidan LeMasters to beat Maypearl 8-7. They scored 4 runs in the 5th inning of the championship game to take a 6-0 lead and then held on to beat Wall 6-4. Boyd was 10-1 in the playoffs and had 7 shutouts.

8. Harleton Caps Off Incredible Season with 2A State Championship Title

The Harleton Wildcats completed their improbable season with an incredible comeback in the semifinal game and a win over the 2A #1 Team to capture the 2A State Baseball Championship. Harleton finished the regular season undefeated and entered the State Tournament 35-1. They scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th, including a Braeden Hopkins walk off RBI double, to beat Collinsville 4-3 in the semifinal game and then beat #1 Shiner 10-5 in the State Championship Game. It was Harleton’s first ever state baseball championship.

9. Trinity Christian-Addison Captures TAPPS Division I Title

Trinity Christian-Addison didn’t get the accolades during the season that some teams got but in the end they captured the TAPPS Division I State Championship. TCA beat St. Thomas Catholic 7-6 on a walk-off Sac Fly to cap off a great playoff run. They finished 2nd in district and entered the playoffs with a 18-12 record. They beat St. Pius X and pitching phenom Casey Evans to advance to the State Tournament. They then beat #2 Concordia Lutheran in the State Semifinal before beating St. Thomas in the walk off win.

10. Abbott Wins 1A State Championship

The Abbott Panthers held on to win two tight games in the 1A State Baseball Tournament to capture their 2nd baseball title. Abbott beat Kennard in the Semifinals 5-4 on a Connor Sullins walk-off RBI to advance to the championship game. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on to beat Fayetteville 6-5 in the title matchup. Abbott has been one of the top teams in 1A recently with 4 appearances in the last 6 state tournaments and 2 state championships.

11. Griffen Williams Hit 12 HRs to Lead All Texas High School Baseball Players

Canyon Lake Sr 3B Griffen Williams hit 12 Home Runs to lead all Texas High School Baseball players. Williams did not hit a home run until Game 12. He then went on a tear hitting 8 home runs in 6 games. This streak was capped with a 3-home run game against Wimberley in which he was 5-5 and had 11 RBIs. In a playoff game against San Antonio Kennedy on May 5, Williams hit home runs #11 and #12 to give him the home run lead and he held on to that lead for the season.

12. Beaumont Kelly Catholic Turnaround Season Leads to TAPPS Division II Championship

Kelly Catholic finished the season with an 11-game winning streak including a 4-2 win over Midland Christian in the TAPPS Division II State Championship game. Kelly had an incredible turnaround season after finishing the 2022 season 9-23. They started to put things together halfway through district, winning their last 6 district games and all four playoff games.

13. Rio Hondo’s Caleb Lester is the Texas High School Baseball Strikeout Leader

Way down in the tip of Texas in the small town of Rio Hondo, Sr RHP Caleb Lester struck out 170 batters to lead all Texas High School Baseball pitchers. Lester was 16-3 on the season with a 1.13 ERA. He had 9 games where he struck out 10 or more batters. His high was 15 Ks in one game. Lester had three 5-inning no-hitters.

14. Twelve Texas High School Baseball Players Taken in 2023 MLB Draft

Twelve High School players from Texas were drafted in this year’s MLB Draft, the most taken since the draft was trimmed down to 20 rounds in 2021. Sinton’s Blake Mitchell was taken with the #8 pick. Kendall George (Atascocita) was taken with the 36th pick. Travis Sykora (Round Rock) was taken in the 3rd Round and Aidan Smith (Lucas Lovejoy) was taken in the 4th Round. The breakdown of the 12 players drafted are six 6A, three 5A, one 4A and two 3A.

15. Cypress Christian Wins TAPPS Division III Championship

Cypress Christian was not on anyone’s radar coming into the 2023 season and they lost their first four games of the season. But the Warriors turned it around marching through the playoffs and beating McKinney Christian 10-7 in the TAPPS Division III State Championship game. Cypress Christian scored 70 runs in their last 7 games. They scored 10 runs on 13 hits in the championship game.

16. Temple Christian Wins TAPPS Division IV Championship

Temple Christian capped off a 26-2 season with a TAPPS Division IV Championship, a 5-3 win over Northland Christian. Temple Christian beat Lubbock Christian 4-0 in the State Semifinal game on a Tanner Wiggins 3 hit shutout with 14 Ks. Wiggins finished the season 12-0. The Eagles lost only two games all year: one to 5A Mansfield Summit and the other to Bethesda Christian in a playoff warmup game.

17. Ovilla Christian Finally Gets TAPPS Division V Championship

After making 8 appearances in the last 10 State Tournaments Ovilla Christian finally got the big prize beating Hallettsville Sacred Heart 11-6 in the TAPPS Division V Championship game. Sr Wesley Bryant was 4-5 and scored 4 of Ovilla Christian’s 11 runs. They finished the season at 22-3.

18. Nehomar Ochoa Jr Captures 5A Triple Crown

Galena Park Sr OF Nehomar Ochoa Jr won the 5A “Triple Crown” by leading all 5A players in Batting Average, HRs and RBIs. The baseball Triple Crown is by definition any player who leads the league in 3 categories. But over the years it has evolved to describe those players who lead the league in batting average, home runs and rbis. Ochoa hit .602, had 11 Home Runs and knocked in 50 runs. Ochoa signed with the Houston Astros after being drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

19. Coaches Stone, Welch and Culbertson Retire with 500+ Wins

Three 6A baseball coaches with 500+ wins have retired at the end of the 2023 season. Hebron Coach Steve Stone closed out his 35 years as head coach, 24 at Hebron, with 546 career wins. Ft. Bend Ridge Point Coach Clinton Welch finished his 30th year as head coach with 652 career wins. Arlington Martin Coach Curt Culbertson retired after 33 years as head coach, 19 at Martin, with 678 career wins. Only about 75 Texas high school baseball coaches have reached the 500 wins plateau and less than 50 have reached the 600 wins plateau.

20. National High School Rankings List Flower Mound as Best Team in Texas

The 6A State Champion Flower Mound Jaguars received national recognition in three of the National High School Baseball Final Rankings. Max Preps ranked Flower Mound as the #6 team in the country. Perfect Game had Flower Mound as the #10 team in the country and Collegiate Baseball had them ranked 11th. Cy Woods was the only other Texas team ranked in all three national polls. Magnolia West, Pearland and Austin Westlake were ranked in two of the three national polls.

21. China Spring Moves Into Elite Territory With 5th Baseball Title

With their 2023 4A State Championship in hand, China Spring became one of only 7 teams in Texas High School baseball history to win 5 or more baseball state championships. Brenham, Houston Bellaire and South San Antonio have won seven baseball titles. China Spring ties Colmesneil, Southlake Carroll and Weimar as the only teams with 5 baseball titles.

22. Bellaire Episcopal Wins 9th SPC Baseball Title in 4A Championship

Bellaire Episcopal won their 9th SPC baseball championship, beating Houston Christian 13-0 in the 4A title game. This was the first year that the conference playoffs were divided into 4A and 3A divisions. Episcopal drew a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and then beat St. Johns School 2-1 on a walk-off single by Baron DiChoso. In the championship game, DiChoso was 3-3 with 3 RBIs. The Knights finished the season 22-11-1.

23. Trinity Valley Wins SPC 3A Championship

The Trinity Valley Trojans captured the SPC 3A Championship with a convincing 10-1 win over Oakridge School. It was the 2nd baseball championship for Trinity Valley but the first since 2002. Trinity Valley had three convincing wins in the conference tournament beating St. Stevens 14-2 and St. Andrews 10-1 in the first two games. Brooks Sartain was 6-10 with 6 RBIs and 6 Runs in the conference tournament.

24. THSBCA Hall of Fame Adds Four New Members

The THSBCA added four new members to their Hall of Fame in January at the THSBCA Coaches’ Convention. The Hall of Fame Class of 2023 include Terry King, who won a State Championship at Arlington Martin and had 520 career wins, James Limmer, who won 4 state championships at China Spring, Tom McPherson, who is 4th all-time on the Texas High School baseball career wins list with 890, and Barry Russell, who won a State Championship at Midland High in 2001 and finished with 736 career wins.

25. Calallen’s Chapman Increases Record Breaking Career Wins Trek

Steve Chapman, longtime Calallen coach, increased his career wins total to 1,143 with the 2023 season. Chapman passed legendary Monterey Coach Bobby Moegle last year in his last win of the season with his 1,116th career win. Chapman started the season as the 6th winningest coach in the nation among all active coaches. Chapman completed his 41st year at Calallen (his only head coaching job) and his teams have won 3 state championships (2000, 2005, 2008)

• Tim Baugh

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