2016 Team Previews

Chattanooga State     Cleveland State     Columbia State     Dyersburg State     Jackson State     Motlow State     Roane State   Southwest TN    Volunteer State     Walters State

 
 
 
 
Chattanooga State CC

We are very young this year and will be starting a mostly freshman lineup coming off of our very successful 2015 campaign.  While we are excited to see these guys, we also realize that it is a tough road to hoe when bringing along this many new guys and a completely new staff on the mound.  Losing so many quality guys off of our 32-13 team last year has been a challenge to say the least. 

Starting Pitchers

1.       Andy Rivera       RHP  RFR  Transfer/Wabash Valley CC

2.       Hugo Casilla      RHP   FR  Miami, FL

3.       Scheldon Paulk    RHP   FR  Guyton, GA

4.       Chad O’Donnell    RHP   FR  Cypress, TX

5.       Nick Fahler       RHP   FR  Chattanooga, TN

Starting Lineup

 C- Danny Sirven       RFR    Miami, FL

    Josh Frantz       FR     Spring Hill, TN

1B- Nico Lares        FR     Miami, FL

2B-Matt Woods         FR     Knoxville, TN

3B-Noah Karst         SO     Canton, GA

SS-Connor Morro       FR     Caledon, ONT Can

   Brandon Melendez   RSO    Miami, FL

OF-Nate Schmal        SO     Cumming, GA

OF-Hunter Parker      SO     Chattanooga, TN

OF-Taylor Maxey       RFR    Chattanooga, TN

DH-Cameron Carroll    FR     Spring Hill, TN

        Grant Sane    SO     Dalton, GA

Defensively, we have the chance to be very solid as we are athletic in the infield and outfield.  While we don’t have a ton of experience in the infield, I think we are going to be good.  The outfield should be more mature and with Schmal, Parker, and Maxey out there we should be very athletic.  Behind the plate should be a strength as both guys are very, very good.  Carroll swings the bat very well for a freshman and Matt Woods at 2B could be a pleasant surprise this spring.  Our offense probably will take a while to “gel” with so many guys that are new to this level and will deal with the struggles of learning as they go.  Hopefully, we have enough talent and desire that these guys will develop into what we hope they can be.

Cleveland State CC

Offensively we had pretty good year last year so it will be tough to duplicate.  We have a nice mix of hitters who can compete really well.  We will need for offense to give us the same type of numbers as we got last year.

Defensively we are a completely different team. Only return one starter in the infield and everywhere else will be new guys. Lee Gibson (transfer Troy St.) should be able to hold down the SS position. Blake Thomas is the only returner from last year and he should start at 2B and also see time at SS.  Brett Browning should see time as backup 2B and also in the outfield. Billy Brand, Parker Cochran, and Austin Phillips will be competing and 3B.  At 1B newcomer Sean McDermott has taken the lead role and will be backed up by Drew Curtis who could also see time at DH. In the outfield we feel much improved, Devin Gardner will see most of the time in CF, while Hagen Wilkey, Jordan Ransom, John Anderson, and Trent Elliott will fill the other two spots.

Pitching has to be better. One of the worst years ever by the Cougars staff so up is the only way to look. Guys competed a lot more in the strike zone this fall and while velo and stuff may not be great, these guys battle in the zone and throw a lot more strikes.  If they can just keep free bases to a minimum we should be much improved. 

Wrapup:
The Cougars should be much more of a competitive team in all areas of the game in 2016.  We like the way our guys have come together as a team and look forward to a much improved and very successful season.

2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
NAME              #    YR    POS    B    T    HT     WT    HIGH SCHOOL       HOMETOWN
Elijah Haynie     2    FR    LHP    R    L    5'10   151    Walker Valley    Cleveland, TN
Josh Griffin      8    FR    RHP    R    R    5'9    188    Pigeon Forge     Pigeon Forge, TN
Ryan Mahaffey    12    SO    LHP    L    L    5'11   189    Soddy Daisy      Cleveland, TN
Christian Amos   14    FR    RHP    R    R    6'3    219    Soddy Daisy      Soddy Daisy, TN
Matt Roueche     17    SO    RHP    R    R    6'1    216    Notre Dame       Ringgold, GA
Taylor Thompson  18    FR    RHP    R    R    6'     200    Cleveland        Cleveland, TN
Drew Vaughn      19    FR    RHP    R    R    6'2    195    McCallie         Chickamauga, GA
Jake Rogers      23    FR    RHP/3B R    R    5'10   222    Gordon Lee       Chickamauga, GA
Colton Morgan    25    R-SO    RHP  R    R    6'4    211    Chatt Central    Chattanooga, TN
Justin Coleman   26    FR    RHP    R    R    6'     183    Maryville        Maryville, TN
Matt Henshaw     30    SO    RHP    R    R    6'     204    East Hamilton    Chattanooga, TN
Drew Korzybski   31    SO    RHP    R    R    6'2    235    Karns            Knoxville, TN
                                   
Jake Griffin      3    FR      C    L    R    5'9    196    Pigeon Forge     Pigeon Forge, TN
Hagan Kennedy    28    R-FR    C    R    R    5'11   216    Karns            Knoxville, TN
Ethan Dalton     32    FR      C    R    R    5'10   198    Ringgold         Ringgold, GA
Christian Burnett35    SO      C    R    R    6'     254    McCallie         Birchwood, TN
Koltyn Plumb     36    R-FR    C    R    R    5'11   199    Cleveland        Cleveland, TN
                                   
Blake Thomas      1    SO    MIF    R    R    5'11   166    Montgomery Cent. Mount Stirling, KY
Brett Browning    5    FR    MIF    R    R    5'11   162    South Doyle      Knoxville, TN
Billy Brand       6    FR    MIF    R    R    6'2    192    Burlington,      Ontario, Canada
Parker Cochran   10    FR IF/RHP    R    R    5'10   206    CAK              Knoxville, TN
Lee Gibson       15    R-SO  MIF    L    R    6'     192    Heritage         Ringgold, GA
John Hennen      16    FR    INF    L    R    5'10   178    McCallie         Chattanooga, TN
Sean McDermott   21    FR     1B    R    R    6'3    250    Adairsville      Cartersville, GA
Austin Phillips  22    SO     3B    R    R    6'1.5  245    Irwin            Ocilla, GA
Drew Curtis      27    SO     1B    R    R    6'.5   216    Maryville        Maryville, TN
Caden Ricketts   34    SO     1B    R    R    6'2    249    Soddy Daisy      Soddy Daisy, TN
                                   
Devin Gardner     4    FR     OF    R    R    5'11   179    Heritage         Maryville, TN
Hagen Wilkey      7    R-SO   OF    R    R    6'3    235    Red Bank         Red Bank, TN
Jordan Ransom     9    FR OF/RHP    R    R    6'4    196    Ringgold         Ringgold, GA
Trent Elliott    13    R-FR   OF    L    L    6'     198    Loudon           Lenoir City, TN
John Anderson    20    FR     OF    S    L    6'3    197    Hillsborough     Franklin, TN

Columbia State CC

COMMITMENTS

  • Taylor McKinney CF Bethel

  • Corey Herndon RHP/3B Auburn

  • Austin Reynolds RHP/C Belmont

PITCHING STAFF

POS NAME CL COMMENTS

RHP Jose Poindexter SO

RHP James Paisley SO

RHP Austin Reynolds SO

RHP Corey Herndon SO

LHP David Looney FR .

LHP Adam Mancour FR

LHP Brett Lyell FR

RHP Jonathan Cook SO

RHP Kennedy Mathis SO

RHP Austin Smith SO

RHP Arinson Martinez SO

RHP Nick Bramlett FR

RHP Jacob Graves FR

RHP Parker Gupton FR

UTILITY

INF/P Chris Johnson FR

INF/P Blake Greer FR

INF/C Truman Brown FR

INF/P Corey Herndon SO

CATCHERS

R/R Peyton Motroni SO

S/R Spencer Wise RSO

R/R Austin Reynolds SO

INFIELDERS

1B Julian Johnson R/R SO

1B Brendan Jordan L/L RFR

INF Caleb Miner R/R FR

INF Ryan Kemp R/R SO

INF Garrett Dalton R/R RFR

INF Clay Simmons R/R RSO

OUTFIELDERS

R/R Taylor McKinney SO

R/R Roman Novarese SO

L/R Nick Walker SO

L/R Kaleb Swayze SO

L/L Chase Carder SO

S/R Rio Russell RFR

R/R Dyshawn Proudlove RFR

2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:

We field an extremely experienced positional group, where each player started at some point as a freshman in 2015. Three all-conference performers return to a line-up that looks to be comparable to any we have had here. Managing failures and the competition for playing time will dictate how well we will perform at the plate. Defensively, we have the ability to place a quality product on the field. We could easily have three sub 6.7 runners in the outfield at any one time with several offense/defense, right/left match-up combinations possible. Several new additions and two returning all-conference performers should anchor a very mature infield unit. A wealth of experience behind the dish should do nothing but make our pitching staff better.

Depth looks to be our strong suit on the mound. We feel that we can go 12 deep and feel very confident in those guys giving us a chance to compete. The key will be how we manage the roles of those guys giving them the best chance of helping our team…and then the ever challenging job of getting each to buy into those roles for the good of the program. However, if we wanted to grade out each phase of our game from the fall, our pitching staff would probably receive top honors in comparison to our offensive and defensive play.

 

Dyersburg State CC
NAME             CLASS/POS.      COMMENTS                                                                          Austin Looker     1B Sophomore
John Ham          2B Freshman
Grant Hawkins     SS Sophomore
Colby Skeen       3B Sophomore
Jared Anderson    LF Sophomore
Collin Harris     CF Sophomore
Colby Poston      RF Sophomore
1 Seth Birdsong   SO RHP
2 Brady Jones     SO RHP
3 Axle Metzger    SO RHP
4 Paxton Stover   SO LHP
5 Ronnie Broyles  FR RHP
6 Jake Durham     FR LHP


OFFENSE:
We have several returning starters back.  We should be pretty solid from top to bottom.

DEFENSE:
We are pretty athletic at all positions and should be well above average defensively.  In the outfield sophomores Collin Harris, Colby Poston, Jackson Hollingshead, Jared Anderson, and Dan Kohler will be battling it out for playing time.  Our infield will be very solid with Austin Looker, Colby Skeen, and Blake Schunk anchoring the corners.  Grant Hawkins and John Ham have been quite impressive up the middle thus far.  Bentley Jones will be the starting catcher while Jacob LaFosse and Brandt Holland will also manage the pitching staff.

PITCHING:
I feel like we have 8 quality arms we can run out at anytime.  Up to this point, they have all done well.  Obviously, the key will be staying healthy!

We have several spots that are not in concrete but so far the guys have really pushed each other.  From the sounds of things, this is going to be another tough season in the TCCAA! I hope we can grind out a top 6 seed. We certainly have the cards stacked against us! Hopefully our young men will battle and play fundamental baseball.  Even though we have a pitching staff full of unproven guys, I think they will compete
 

Jackson State CC
 
Motlow State CC

 

Roane State CC
JUCO - LIST TOP PLAYERS AND COMMITS
Myles Miller - Northwestern Ohio Univ.

We also have some quality unsigned Sophomores looking to contribute to a 4 year program next year.

2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
Offensively; We have to be way more consistent in the Spring, than we were in the fall to reach our goals that we have. We should much stronger 1-9 than previous years if guys stick to their roles as hitters. Coach Dalton, our hitting coach, has been a big help in developing our programs offensive in the short amount of time he has been here.

Overall defensively, we are very young but with a deep talented pack, with a freshman loaded infield and 4 sophomores holding down the outfield, I feel this is a strong point of our team.

Pitching - We lost some key sophomore arms last year that had a majority of our conference innings. I am excitied about his pack of arms we have seeing many gains in our PO's since the fall started. We need the whole pack to contribute in their own roles. We will need Sophomore
leadership who will step up this year and help give us a chance to win and hold leads. Pitching will be a key area for us this year. We have to have guys want the baseball and be able to finish a baseball game.

Looking forward to this year with the athleticism and talent we have as a pack. We can be very versatile when needed, which I believe is going to give us an advantage in some situations. With a couple key pick ups at break, and some key guys willing to give us more options, I feel we will complete in the middle of the pack if we play as a pack of Raiders! 
Southwest TN CC
NAME                CLASS/POS.      COMMENTS
1 Caleb Armour      Soph / RHP
2 Bradley Crain     Soph / RHP      1B. B: R
3 Ian Painter       Soph / RHP
4 Gerald Collazo    Soph / OF       T:R. B:R

2016 Southwest Tn CC Team Outlook:

This years team will be predominantly a Freshman group. Pitching will determine how well the season goes with the maturity of the freshman players. The season boasts a very strong schedule.

Top newcomers for this year are:

Alejandro Cardinale. SS
Rusber Estrada C
Daron Ortiz 3B
Dillon Bonee. RHP
Houston Haag. RHP /'OF. B:R
Blake Smith. RHP

This team will need to be focused on improvement for a successful year.
Volunteer State CC
TOP PLAYERS AND COMMITS
      Justin Wilson P/C (RH) - Big Time arm off the mound. Good Def C can really throw. Getting a lot of D1 looks
      CJ Brown OF (RH) - Good all around player. Getting D1 looks also (Duke, Columbia)
      Cameron Bair C (LH) - Good Def C. Has some pop in the bat. Could be our team Leader. Getting D2 looks
      DeAires Moses OF (LH) - Speedy OF. Can cover some ground. Will set the table at the top of our order
     

NAME               CLASS/POS.   COMMENTS
1Hunter McSwain    SO/LHP       Only starting P back from last year
2Carter Bair       FR/RHP       Big and strong. Could be a special P
3Timmy Wright      FR/LHP       Good LHP should be a weekend guy
4Drew Hall         FR/RHP       Knows how to pitch. Should be another weekend guy for us
5CJ Brown          FR/RH
6Cameron Bair      SO/LH



2016 TEAM OUTLOOK: Offensively We will probably have to play a little small with the top and the bottom of the order. Middle of the order should be able to drive runs in. I like our team speed and hopefully use it to our advantage.

Defense - Could be a strong part of our team especially up the middle. We have 2 good C, both middle INF should handle themselves really and our OF should be able to cover some ground.

Pitching - We fell good about our starting P. Relief P is still a little bit of a ? but hopefully some guys can lock down that role as the season progresses. Justin Wilson will be our Closer. He has a bid time arm. Should be able to thrive in that role with his stuff.

wrap up - I think we could be a solid team but its going to take a little overachieving. We are going to have to be a gritty team that competes hard every pitch and every inning in every game. If we play the game hard and the right way I think good things could happen for us.
Walters State CC
LIST TOP PLAYERS AND COMMITS
RF Ramon Osuna – RS SO – Hit .406, 13 HR, 27 2B’s, and 92 RBI’s.
C/DH Weston McArthur – SO – Hit .346, 11 HR, 16 2B’s, and 36 RBI’s.
CF Colie Currie – SO – Hit .335, 3 HR, 14 2B’s, 49 RBI’s and 15 SB’s.
SS Kyle Wilson – RS SO – Hit .314, 2 HR, 11 2B’s, 79 Runs, and 24 SB’s.
3B/2B Braxton Brinkley – RS SO – Hit .331, 1 HR, 10 2B’s, 49 Runs, and 13 SB.
LF Elijah Helton – SO – Hit .307, 6 HR, 8 2B’s, and 31 RBI’s.
2B Ethan Rice – SO – Hit .265, 5 HR, 4 2B’s, 30 Runs, and 7 SB.
OF Lucas Ledford – RS SO – Hit .293, 8 2B’s, 27 Runs, and 8 SB.
OF/DH Reed Hayes - RS SO – In 2014, hit .362, 8 2B’s, 32 runs, and 15 SB.
3B/C Harris Yett – RS FR – Transfer from NC State.
C Cody Young – SO – Transfer From Itawamba CC.
C Jason Costa – RS SO – In 2014, hit .382.
1B Kyle Ouellette – RS FR
1B Zach Sears – FR
SS Hunter Wolfe - FR

Pitchers
RHP Reed Hayes – RS SO – 28th rnd draft by Kansas City.
LHP Jake Miednik – SO – Transfer from Volunteer State.
RHP Daren Osby – SO – Went 4-1 with 4.26 ERA, 38 K’s, 38 IP.
RHP Austin Green – SO – Went 3-0 with 2.70 ERA, 25 K’s, 23 IP.
RHP Sam Gardner – FR
RHP Nile Ball – FR
RHP  Hunter Stratton – FR
RHP – Justin Pike – FR
LHP – Zach Mather – FR
LHP – Corey Bates – FR
RHP – Garren Jackson – FR
RHP – Weston Gilliam – RS SO
LHP – Harrison Spencer – RS FR
RHP – Ryan Caudle – RS FR
RHP – Austin Morgan – RS FR


2016 TEAM OUTLOOK:
Offensively, we return 6 of 9 starters and 8 guys who had at least 80 at-bats last year, so we have a ton of experience there. Our lineup will be led by RF Ramon Osuna, who returns after hitting .406, with 13 HR, and school records 27 doubles, 101 hits, and 92 RBI’s. Leadoff SS Kyle Wilson will be the sparkplug after scoring 79 runs and stealing 24 bases last year. C/DH Weston McArthur should be a force in the middle of the order, after hitting .346 with 11 HR as a freshman. CF Colie Currie, who hit .335 with 49 RBI’s last year, returns in the 2-hole.

Defensively, having so much experience back is a huge plus. 3B/2B Braxton Brinkley is a versatile defender who can play 2B, 3B, or SS. We feel we are solid behind the plate with SO transfer Cody Young, RS SO Jason Costa, and McArthur. RS FR Transfer Harris Yett is a plus defender behind the plate and at 3B, and his bat will figure into the mix somewhere. 2B Ethan Rice returns after starting 23 games a year ago, and is much improved both defensively and offensively. All 4 of our regular starters in the OF are back in Osuna, Currie, Elijah Helton, and Lucas Ledford, and this should be a strength for us. At first base, both RS FR Kyle Ouellette and true FR Zach Sears will see significant time.

Pitching will be a question mark for us this year. We lost a ton innings from last year in Andrew Gist (University of Georgia), Colton Provey (South Carolina), Andrew Towns (Clemson), Jake Usher (Tennessee Tech), Campbell Scholl (Central Florida), and Matt Pope (San Francisco Giants). We have a fairly unproven staff, but they have a good amount of talent and we will be looking for them to make improvements throughout the year. RHP Reed Hayes returns from a foot injury last year to lead the staff. He was a 28th round draft pick by Kansas City, despite redshirting last season. Transfer LHP Jake Miednik was outstanding this Fall and will look to continue that production. SO’s Daren Osby and Austin Green both pitched big innings for us last year and should build on that experience. RS SO Weston Gilliam returns from and injury after being one of our top arms last season during the Fall. Freshman arms Sam Gardner, Hunter Stratton, Nile Ball, Zach Mather, and Corey Bates will all be expected to step in and throw big innings for us.

On paper, this looks to be a strong group for us. But everyone knows how little that matter when you strap it on and hit the field. Keys will be if we can remain focused on our goals, work together as a team, and our pitching staff reaches its potential during the season. We play a tough non-conference schedule this year with 3 games at 14th ranked Chipola, 4 games against 17th ranked Spartanburg Methodist, 3 games against Florence Darlington Tech, 2 games against D-2 9th ranked Catawba Valley, and single games against 20th ranked Potomac State  and D-2 12th ranked Heartland.