By Matt Byrd
TN Director of Scouting

As we prepare for the upcoming 2015 high school season, we will be taking a preseason glimpse at programs from around the state.

Team: Sevier County
Nickname: Smoky Bears
Class: AAA
District: 2
Region: 1
Head Coach: Casey Taylor
2014 Overall Record: 28-12
2014 District Record: 12-2
2014 Post-Season Finish: Lost in Sectionals at Farragut

TOP PLAYERS:
Nick Osborne, RHP, 2015, TN Tech commit, District 2 player of year, All-State two-way team
Kody Paul, 3B, 2015, Vol State commit
Alan Silva, MIF, 2015, two-time All District, uncommitted
Austin Conner, RHP, 2015, Carson-Newman commit, All-District
Garrett Gay, OF, 2015, Alice Lloyd commit
Dalton Ford, OF, 2015, All-District, uncommitted
Dallas Gossett, OF/2B/RHP, 2015, Chattanooga State commit, two-time All-District
John Millet, MIF, 2015, Walters State commit
Luke Justus, RHP, 2015, Alice Lloyd commit
Zach Linginfelter, RHP, 2016, Tennessee commit, Super Soph team
Devante Matthews, RHP/C, 2016, All-State two-way team, Super Soph team
Charlie Brown, 3B/RHP/OF, 2017, Super Freshman team

According to the Coach:
Our strengths are that we return a lot of guys from back to back sectional appearance teams the last two years. We have a lot of speed, athleticism, depth and versatility, but our weakness has been not being able to drive the baseball in the middle part of our lineup. Hopefully, the additions of two new players help us in this area. This team is similar to last year’s club in regards to similar personnel but drastically different due to the progressions of key players and the additions of two transfers and one advanced freshman. The expectation for this squad is to max out its own ability level so we’re just trying to get out of a competitive and respectable district then see what happens in regional play.