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: Faith Christian
Preseason Rank: 31
2014 Record: 20-5
Conference: Metro
CHSAA Class: 3A
Head Coach: Ralph Nance
Playoff Run: Lost to Eaton 10-2 in 3A Semi-Finals
2014 Final Rank: 31
Returning Starters: 7
Returning Pitchers: 3

TOP PLAYERS:
Luke Bote, C, 2015
Marcus Graves, SS, 2015
Adam Buchmann, CF, 2016
Austin Stone, INF/P, 2016
Gabe Hegarty, INF/OF, 2016
AJ Stephens, 1B/P, 2016
Gavi Wygant: INF/2016

X-FACTOR:
AJ Stephens: The Eagles lost three senior starters from 2014. Stephens returns the most experience to the mound in 2015.

NEW PLAYER TO WATCH:
2016 INF Gavi Wygant: Wygant in limite playing time in 2014 hit .591 and showed some pop with the bat. Look for Wygant to push for a starting position in 2015.

KEY PLAYER LOST:
Tristin Ortega: Graduated

STAT RAT:
The Eagles out scored their opponents in 2014 by 184 runs (284-100) and they stole 84 bases.

BOTTOM LINE: 

 At the 3A level when talking about power house programs Faith Christian has traditionally been one of them. The Eagles last year were primed to win their 3rd 3A State Championship since 2007 but to advance to the state championship game in the semi's they ran into another 3A power house Eaton, and it was Eaton's day that day winning 10-2. The Eagles however return a lot of talent for 2015 to make another expected deep playoff run. Starting with 2015 C and 2014 PBR Colorado 3A All-State Luke Bote, his leadership will be needed in another playoff run. Hitting .328 in 2014, but Bote's game is OBA, getting hit by 11 pitches and walking 16 times for a .527 OBA then stealing 17 bases helping Bote score a team leading 39 runs, management of the pitching staff is also an integral part of the Eagles success. 2016 CF Adam Buchman brings back an impressive .580 Batting Average and a gaudy 1.458 OPS back along with 27 RBI's and 11 stolen bases from 2014. 2016 P/1B AJ Stephens will anchor the pitching staff in 2015. In 2014 Stephens was 2-0 in 24 innings pitched with a 3.21 ERA. 2015 starting SS Marcus Graves, and 2016 infielders Gabe Hegarty and Austin Stone will return as well providing solid depth in their lineup.

 

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