Posts Tagged ‘Interest Articles’

New Head Baseball Coaches at 2A Schools

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There were 80 coaching changes in 2A Baseball.  Here they are:

Region 1 School New Coach Previous Coach
Boys Ranch Will Weiland Lynn Weiland
Claude Trevor Cordova Jeff Byrd
Stinnett West Texas Jeff Smith Keith Hardin
Turkey Valley Greg Ramsey Brett Tyler
Abernathy Shane Karnbach Jon Horne
Floydada Scotty Bruington Brady Webb
Ralls Chance Rodriguez Lynn Turner
Morton Travis Buchanan Jimmy Randolph
O’Donnell Blandon Hancock Blandon Hancock
Sundown Kevin Torres Cory Barnes
Fort Hancock Mando Aguilar Armando Aguilar
McCamey Santos Saucedo Chris Arredondo
Roby Ryan Cronkright Nick Dickson
Rotan Kyle Giusti Brad Baker
Cross Plains Mark Kelley Daniel Kelley
San Saba Jeff Pannell Cory Moreno
Anson Scotty Nichols Cash Fortune
Baird Joe Martinez Chance Rodriguez
Clyde Eula Josh Fosel Donald Beard
Hamlin Ryne Lucas Chris Simmons
Region 2 School New Coach Previous Coach
Archer City Don Hasley Wes Johnson
Poolville Doug McCollough Doug McCollough
Bells Logan Turner Lance Johnson
Blue Ridge Pete Vamvakas John Ramsey
Celeste Louis Park Boe Parr
Wolfe City Kirk Ashby Billy Eldridge
De Leon Reggie Patrick Blake Rives
Gordon Jerry Tomlin Jerry Tomlin
Lipan Brent Gaylor
Ranger Shane Tuck Trey Felan
Hamilton Cameron Bankston Stephen Smith
Covington Kevin Scheler Wayne Ware
Frost Chase Adams Coy Barker
Italy Dan Weaver Jon Cady
Waxahachie Faith Family Chris Murray Parker Sheets
Region 3 School New Coach Previous Coach
Bogota Rivercrest Rick Connot Andy Spear
Simms Bowie Drew Webster Charles Downs
Cumby Jason Keeney Sonny Birdwell
Cumby Miller Grove Gary Billingsly Gary Billingsly
Saltillo John Carlisle Dalton Herndon
Big Sandy Chuck Isaac Jeff Blackstone
Gilmer Union Hill Caleb Hensley Clifton Arakaki
Ore City Craig Blakenship Keith Touchstone
Cayuga Tony Humphreys Michael Blackmon
Malakoff Cross Roads Evan Harrison Chris Curran
Martins Mill Blaine Spradley Kory Toney
Trinidad Scott Hayes Travis Rhoten
Latexo Dillon McDugle Bucky Nance
Normangee Justin Dunnam Chris Nolen
North Zulch Matt McManemin Josh McClendon
Apple Springs Cody Moree Jacob McMurtry
Kennard Leo Denman Leo Denman
Wells Tony Watkins Tony Watkins
Mount Enterprise Evan Delafield Josh Bragdon
Brookeland Mike Hallam Casey McBryde
Chester Ed Brake Chris Moore
Colmesneil Ross McMurry Jacob Hooker
San Augustine James Ward Seth Hubbard
Zavalla Chase Greening Jerry Cobb
Region 4 School New Coach Previous Coach
Dallardsville Big Sandy Jacob Hooker Shane Nutt
High Island John Bronkhorst Trad Taylor
Sabine Pass Elmer Laird Troy Gragg
Saratoga West Hardin Michael Atkinson Landon Hessler
Dime Box Daniel Bolton
Buckholts Emilo Granado William France
Thrall Brandon Lillard Matthew Barnett
Ganado Kristopher Cavazos Rick Ragsdale
Louise Manny Freeland Joe Bill
Schulenburg Victor Camarillo Robert Barber
Johnson City Stephen Wisdom Casey Buaas
Falls City Danny Gonzalez Damian Van Winkle
Knippa Josh King No Program
San Antonio Hawkins Trey Doebbler Rich Richmond
Nordheim Kevin Wilson No Program
Runge Lucio Velasquez Jim Rowe
Agua Dulce Matthew Gonzalez John Rodriguez
Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Will Foster Frank Galvin
Bruni Mark Morales Mark Morales
Lasara David Contreras Oziel Ochoa
San Perlita Marco Mungia Rey Garza

New Head Baseball Coaches at 6A Schools

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Region 1 Team New Coach Previous Coach
El Paso Eastwood Ryan Medrano Robert Martinez
El Paso Dorado Victor Rodriguez John Beard
North Crowley Chad McBroom Art Senato
Weatherford Jason Lee Terry Massey
Plano East Joseph Cravens Travis Collins
Haltom Brett Ray Jason Blevins
Cedar Hill Albert Hill Jeremy Fatheree
DeSoto Gary Graves David James
South Grand Prairie Art Senato Dennis Pelfrey
Region 2 Team New Coach Previous Coach
Dallas Skyline Will Robinson Herman Johnson
Irving Nimitz Allen Somwang Robert Mendoza
North Mesquite Jared Randolph Tommy Sigler
Naaman Forest Carey Willingham Tommy Sparks
Tyler Lee James Boxley David Howard
Round Rock Cedar Ridge Daryl Reaves Jeremy Trojacek
Austin Akins Gene Salazar Steve Velasquez
Austin Westlake J.T. Blair Jeff Montgomery
Summer Creek D.J. Wilson Jordan Byrd
Region 3 Team New Coach Previous Coach
Cy Ridge Joshua Colvin Mark Elliot
Cy Woods Kipp Pridgeon Thomas Loria
Katy Seven Lakes J.R. Voyles Chad Payne
Katy Taylor Matt Glover Cory Bowyer
Dickinson Bo Davis Chris Cauley
Friendswood Steve Hecker Charlie Taylor
Clear Lake Thomas Loria Joe Betters
Region 4 Team New Coach Previous Coach
Converse Judson Donald Harris Julius Scott
New Braunfels Bobby Alford Doug Edwards
San Antonio Brandeis Reagan Moczygemba Mario Heredia
San Antonio Taft Tim Goins Jeff Tondre
San Antonio Southwest Bobby Behnsch John Velasquez
Laredo Alexander Fernando Lemus Mario Garcia
PSJA Memorial Marcus Galaviz Ricardo Caballero
Brownsville Veterans Memorial Eric Gonzalez Joey Benavides

Hitting Clinic to Benefit Local Math Teacher

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One swing at a time, you can make a difference. Not only in your personal play, but if you attend Hunter Watson’s hitting clinic Saturday December 12, you can make a difference in the life of Denison 8th Grade Math Teacher Rachel Ramer. Hunter is sophomore baseball standout at Denison High School. He is organizing this clinic with the proceeds to benefit Rally Around Rachel a non profit organization set up to raise funds for Ms. Ramer.   Rachel was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia earlier this school year. Hunter, along with Craig Rose (Hitting/Pitching Coach), Shawn Counts (Grayson College Hitting Coach), Coach Bolinger (Denison High School Baseball Coach), Jeremy West (Hitting Coach) and several others will conduct this hitting clinic giving participants some tips and tweaks just in time for the spring season. “I welcome the opportunity to help give back, even a little, to a teacher who has touched so many.” Said Hunter.

The Clinic will be held at the Denison High School Fields on Saturday, December 12, from 1 to 4. You may register on-sight the day of the event. In the event of rain, the camp will be moved to the Denison High School Indoor Facility.

You can download the flier here

You can learn about another fundraising opportunity Hunter will be conducting for Rally Around Rachel here.

A little more about Hunter: Despite being an obvious outstanding young man. Hunter is a SS/3B for Denison High School, Denison, Texas. In addition, he plays for the Housing Banditos Black team during the summer. He was a Max Preps Underclass All American, Pre-Season Under Armour All American and has made a Perfect Game All Tournament Team. Hunter is a Texas A&M Commit and intends on majoring in Sports Medicine.

6 Texas High School Players Make Baseball America’s Top 100 List

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Baseball America has published a Top 100 list of High School players in the USA. This list is based on scouting reports of players who at this time are the top prospects for the June 2016 MLB draft.

Six High School Players from Texas are on this list:

#15 Forrest Whitley, RHP, San Antonio Alamo Heights
#24 Hudson Sanchez, SS/3B, Southlake Carroll
#28 Ulysses Cantu, 3B/C, Ft. Worth Boswell
#40 Dustin May, RHP, Northwest
#43 Charles King, RHP, Coppell
#96 Mason Thompson, RHP, Round Rock

High School Top 100 List

 

Legendary Robstown Coach Passes Away

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I made my first trip to Robstown,Tx in the Fall of 2011 to visit 2nd year Head Coach Elias Vasquez. In driving around the community, I was surprised to see a head shot of the former Head Baseball Coach Steve Castro painted on the wall of one of the local restaurants. He was a hero in the Robstown community.

Sunday, October 18, 2015, Steve Castro died at his home from a heart attack. He was 66 years old. His legend will live on as a very successful baseball coach in Robstown.

Coach Castro coached at Robstown from 1975 to 2010, serving as head baseball coach from 1983 to 2010. During his tenure at the school the Cotton Pickers won more than 600 games, and had 24 playoff appearances, five state tournament berths and back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 1991 and 1992.

Castro is credited with helping to push Robstown to success and helping to grow baseball in South Texas as the Cotton Pickers battles with Calallen being some of the most memorable moments in area baseball lore. Coach Castro finished with a 609-269-9 record.

Castro was inducted into the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014, and at the time was the fifth Hispanic coach named to the hall.
After his retirement at Robstown in 2010, Coach Castro was an Assistant Coach at John Paul II for 3 years.

San Antonio Coach John Velasquez Loses Battle to Cancer

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John Velasquez, long time high school baseball coach and recent Head Baseball Coach at San Antonio Southwest, passed away Tuesday, October 13, after a year long battle with cancer. Coach Velasquez won his 300th game on April 14th, 2015 with a huge upset win over 28-6A Co-Champion Corpus Christi Carroll. He ended his career with 301 wins.

Coach Velasquez was in his 3rd Year at Southwest High School. He resigned after the 2015 season because of his health. He also coached at Floresville High School for 15 years and at Big Spring High School for 12 years as well as coaching stints at Ft Bend Marshall and Lamar Consolidated.

Coach Velasquez was a great promoter of his players. At Southwest, he would turn in either Hitter of the Week nominations or Pitcher of the Week nominations or both, almost every week.

THSB extends sympathies to the family of Coach Velasquez.

Shallowater Dad Selected to Umpire in Little League World Series

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Shallowater’s Jeff Berryman has been an umpire for decades, but this next week, his involvement in baseball reaches a new level.

Berryman is one of 15 umpires selected to umpire the 2015 Little League World Series that was to begin Thursday, August 20 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Rain postponed games on Thursday but he is scheduled to umpire in the 2:00. 5:00 and 8:00 PM USA Little League games today (Friday).

Berryman has also been connected to Texas High School Baseball for a number of years. He has two sons who played baseball at Shallowater. Casey Berryman played for the Mustangs from 2009-2011 and was selected 1st Team All-State as a 1st Baseman and Honorable Mention All-State as a Pitcher his senior year. He played at McMurry University from 2012-2015.

Younger brother Cody played at Shallowater from 2011-2014 earning 2nd Team All-State as an Outfielder his senior year. Cody will be a sophomore on the Hardin-Simmons baseball team.

Berryman was also a Shallowater contact for the 3ABASEBALL.COM and Texas High School Baseball website for two years, sending in scores by text for the Shallowater games.

New Savoy Skipper

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Cole Jenkins will take over the Savoy Baseball program. In addition to his baseball duties, he will serve as the defensive coordinator for the football team, which will go for a fourth-straight postseason trip this season in as many consistent years of playing six-man. Jenkins comes to Savoy from Fannindel’s athletics staff. He had a standout high school baseball career at Blue Ridge. Good luck this season Coach Jenkins. We look forward to working with you.

Could There Be a Return to a 1A Baseball?

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With the recent addition of the 6A classification, 2A became the “lowest” classification in baseball. As of the 2015-2016 school year, baseball/softball became the lone sport where those schools classified as 1A schools in other sports are lumped in with the 2A schools all through the playoffs. It can be said at all levels, that the smaller schools typically have trouble competing with the larger schools within the same classification. No one would think of combining the 5A and 6A classifications, therefore why should they combine 1A and 2A?

Coach David Morgan, Spurger Head Baseball Coach brings up two points “With the system that we have in place today you have schools that have less than 100 students on their high school role competing with schools that have 200 students. Twice as many students equates to twice as many athletes. However, it doesn’t stop there. Not only is it double the number of students; because schools get their money based on attendance this gives these 2A schools more money which in turn gives them better facilities and more opportunities.” He believes this creates a very un-level playing field and 1A deserves its own State Tournament.

One suggestion Coach Morgan has is to follow the lead of UIL Volleyball. The 1A and 2A schools will still continue to compete in the same districts. However, at the end of the season the top three 1A schools and the top three 2A school from each district will move on to the playoffs. The playoffs, however, will now be split into two separate conferences; there will be a 1A playoff bracket and a 2A playoff bracket. The 1A schools will no longer have to compete with the 2A schools for a playoff spot or in the playoffs. Coach Morgan states “Is this a perfect solution? Maybe not, but it is a move in the right direction.”

This change would affect approximately 65 schools included 7 that didn’t have programs in 2015. The most recent 1A school that has won State Championship was Douglass in 2014. Dodd City went to the State Tournament in 2012.

This October the possibility of a 1A State Tournament Bracket will be discussed by the UIL Legislative Council. There was a presentation given on this issue in June of 2014 to the UIL Legislative Council and there was a feeling of a positive response among the Council. However, there was never any action taken. All concerned parties are encouraged to contact the UIL and express your feelings on this issue.

If you would like to visit in more detail with Coach Morgan, you can reach him at morgand@spurgerisd.org. Comments may also be sent to allen.txhsbb@gmail.com and Allen will consolidate them for a newsletter article down the road.

The Lights

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July 30, Celeste, Texas: It might not be a big deal to to some, but in small schools, capital improvements are always a big deal. Tonight, thanks to the efforts spearheaded by the Jordan Casey Wright Foundation, the Celeste Blue Devil Baseball program turned the switch on new lights on the baseball field. The JCW Foundation, the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, Sharyland Utilities, Musco Lighting and numerous other donors worked together to make this a reality.   The field was constructed in 1999 and Celeste ISD and they have worked since then to light the fields. Without the efforts of JCW Foundation this would not have been possible.

Other major supporters of the project include Sharyland Utilities, Celeste Independent School District, Solid Rock Fisheries, Globe Life Texas Rangers Grant Program, Carol McCaslin, Boe Parr, Jerry Ervin, Brad Connelly, Jeffrey Babers.  The Jordan Casey Wright Foundation is still accepting in-kind and monetary contributions.  Those interested in donating to the project may contact Joshua Eric Wright at JCWFoundation@gmail.com or (903) 408-7496.

A complete press release can be found at: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53261f74e4b022876bf4f11d/t/55ac2590e4b098e615cb66ac/1437345168867/Jordan+Casey+Wright+Foundation+Field+Lighting+Press+Release.docx

Marcus’ Coach Sherman to Coach 2015 Perfect Game All-American Classic

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Flower Mound Marcus Head Baseball Coach Jeff Sherman has been selected to Coach the West Squad in the 2015 Perfect Game All-American Classic August 16 at Petco Park in San Diego. The game will be carried live at 7 PM on the MLB Network.

The Perfect Game All-American Classic features the nation’s best high school players. More than 300 incoming high school seniors were invited to the Perfect Game (PG) National Showcase back in June for a six day event of games and showcase events. From this group of players, 50 were chosen to play in the All-Amercan Classic, 25 on each squad.

3 players from Texas were chosen to play in the PG All-American Classic. Coppell RHP Charles King, San Marcos SS David Hamilton and Round Rock RHP Mason Thompson will play for Coach Sherman and the West Squad.

The PG All-American Classic has had its share of future MLB players. Since it’s first event in 2006, 203 PG All-American Classic players have played in the MLB. In the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, 36 of the All-Stars had played in the PG All-American Classic.

Coach Sherman is the first coach from Texas selected to be a Head Coach for the Classic. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of something of this magnitude,” he explainded. “Looking at all of the players who have been part of these Classics, I am both excited and humbled to participate and coach this group of young men.”

Coach Sherman just completed his 3rd year at Marcus and has compiled an 85-26 record in those 3 years. He led Marcus to a District Title in 2014, was named 5-5A Coach of the Year in ’14, and had led his teams to the Regional Semifinals (’13) and Regional Finals (’14).

The PG All-American Classic provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for the selected players. While in San Diego the players will participate in a series of baseball related activities in addition to a visit to the Rady Children’s Hospital, a lunch with Honorary Chairman Trevor Hoffman on a beach alongside the Pacific Ocean as well as the event’s annual awards dinner banquet held on Saturday night at the San Diego Hall of Champions.