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2014 Team Snapshot: Blue Valley West HS

January 28, 2014

By Sean McCann
Prep Baseball Report Kansas

As we prepare for our 2014 high school preseason coverage we are going to take a quick glance at teams from across the state.

Team: Blue Valley West
Nickname: Jaguars
Class: 6A
League: Eastern Kansas League
Head Coach: Bill McDonald
Years as Head Coach at School: 13
2013 Overall Record: 21-4
2013 League Record: 11-3
2013 League Finish: 1st
2013 Post-Season Finish: 6A State Champions
Returning starters: 9
Pitchers with 15+ Innings Returning: 4

TOP PLAYERS (Listed Alphabetically)

Evan Bourn, OF, Class of 2014 – Neosho County CC signee, All-Eastern Kansas League
Sam Daily, OF, Class of 2015 - 2nd Team All-Eastern Kansas League Outfielder
Sam Davis, OF, Class of 2015 – 1st Team All-Eastern Kansas League outfielder
Zack Engelken, RHP, Class of 2014 – Nebraska signee, 6A Pitcher of the Year
Tanner Gragg, C, Class of 2014 – Kansas signee, All-Eastern Kansas League
Connor Kaiser, SS, Class of 2015 – Vanderbilt commit, Rawlings HS Gold Glove Team, 2nd Team All-Eastern Kansas League
Ryan Ralston, RHP/3B, Class of 2014 – Kansas signee, 1st Team All-6A third baseman
Dan Reilly, LHP/1B, Class of 2014 – All-Eastern Kansas League
Garrett Smith, 2B, Class of 2014 – Neosho County CC signee, All-Eastern Kansas League

KEY NEWS/STATS: 

  • Evan Bourn, a talented two-way player for West, hit .306 and went 2-1 with a miniscule 0.26 ERA in 27 innings last spring.
  • Connor Kaiser who made zero errors at shortstop in 93 total chances last year earning him a spot on the prestigious Rawlings High School Gold Glove Team also went 4-0 with 2 saves and a 0.00 ERA in 21 innings on the mound.
  • Ryan Ralston who scouts love as a physical, athletic right-handed pitching prospect also hit .418 with 29 RBI in only 25 games.
  • Garrett Smith paced the Jags with a .432 batting average.

OUTLOOK:  

When you win a state championship and return all nine players from your everyday line-up and four pitchers with significant innings there isn’t much else to say.  On top of all the team and individual accolades its interesting to note that West is particularly strong where it matters the most – in the middle of the field - where they have four major college commitments with Gragg behind the plate, Kaiser at shortstop, and Engelken and Ralston on the mound.  For good measure their centerfielder, Sam Davis, was the only sophomore position player selected 1st Team All-Eastern Kansas League and their second baseman Garrett Smith was also an All-Eastern Kansas League performer who signed at Neosho County CC in January.

For Kansas high school baseball news and updates follow us on Twitter @pbrkansas

COACHES PRE-SEASON QUESTIONNAIRE

We appreciate the strong response so far from high school coaches across the state assisting with our pre-season coverage.  If you have not already done so you can fill out our coaches pre-season questionnaire online by clicking here.

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