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Preseason Countdown: No 1 5A Rocky Mountain

April 1, 2015

By John Cackowski
State Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 50 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage. The top 50 teams are picked from all classifications, and are not divided up by class level. To see the entire list click here

Team: Rocky Mountain
Preseason Rank: 5A No. 1
2014 Record: 21-5
Conference: Front Range League
CHSAA Class: 5A
Head Coach: Scott Bullock
Playoff Run: Beat Regis Jesuit 6-5 to win 5A state championship game
2014 Final Rank: 1
Returning Starters: 4
Returning Pitchers: 0

TOP PLAYERS:
Cole Anderson, CF, No. 9 2015 (University of New Mexico Commit)
Kyle Reisman, 1B/3B, No. 58 2015 (Whitman Commit)
Garrett Hammer, C, No. 68 2015 (Cisco CC Commit)
Daniel Ciraula, SS, 2015 (Colorado School of Mines Commit)
Chad Bell, 1B/3B, 2015
              
X-FACTOR:
After graduating their top pitching in 2014, the Lobos need to figure out who they are on the mound and establish some front line guys.

NEW PLAYERS TO WATCH:
John Sorenson, 3B No. 12 2017: 6-foot, 185 pounds. Bats left, throws right.  Was called up briefly in 2014 as a freshman. Will be a first year starter for the Lobos and already is showing advanced hitting ability for his age.Potential D-1 prospect

Chris Diehl, C, No 19 2016: 5-foot-11, 185 pounds. Diehl will be spot catching in 2015 as he waits his turn behind senior catcher Garrett Hammer.

Austin Alarid, LHP, No. 31 2016: Alarid could be one of the new pitchers who establishes himself as a front line guy in 2015.

Kaden Breeze, OF, No. 37 2016: Breeze has a chance to establish himself as a starter in the outfield in 2015.

Alex Gonzalez, MIF, No. 41 2016: Gonzalez also has a chance to establish himself as a starter somewhere in the middle infield in 2015.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Carl Stajuhar and Tyler Stevens: University of New Mexico

STAT RAT:
In the Lobos 2014 5A state championship run, all of their games in the Final 8 were close. They won 3 games by 1 run, and one game by 2

BOTTOM LINE:
Rocky Mountain is one of the few schools in the state that no matter who they lose from the year before to graduation, they reload from their deep talent pool to make another run the next year. Lead by Head Coach Scott Bullock, the Lobos have been to the 5A state championship game 6 times in the last 8 years, and they have won 5 state championships. The Lobos turned over some key Division 1 talent from 2014, but 2015 should not be any different, and people should not expect them to have a down year. Coming back this year is one of the top leadoff hitters in the state,  No. 9 2015 OF and University of New Mexico Commit Cole Anderson is back. In 2014 Anderson hit .494, and paced the Lobos with 37 runs and 13 stolen bases. Anderson also showed some pop in his bat hitting 3 homeruns. No. 58 3B/1B and Whitman commit Kyle Reisman brings back his .387 batting average from 2014 and should be a one of the core hitters for the Lobos as will No. 68 C and Cisco CC commit Garrett Hammer. Hammer his .417 in 2014 with 3 homeruns. 2015 SS and  Colorado School of Mines commit Daniel Ciraula returns. This will be his 3rd year on varsity and will provide solid defense up the middle for the Lobos. 2015 1B/3B Chad Bell is a first year starter and will provide depth to the lineup as well. With the above mentioned new players to watch added to this mix, the Lobos will continue to compete at a high level in 2015. They will be one of the best if not the best defensive team in the state. Expect the Lobos to be right back in the mix of another 5A state championship run and are the team to be unseated at the 5A level.

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