7A Preview

As we are only a few days away from the start of the 2019 high school season, we will now move onto Class 7A for a brief preview of the top teams and their respective key returners. This classification is as loaded with talent as we have ever seen it recent years.

Bob Jones

The Patriots had a historic season last year, reaching the Final Four before getting beat by Hewitt-Trussville. They were led by many underclassmen, which will benefit them in the coming years. Leading the way on the mound and at the plate will be Alabama commit ’20 3B/RHP Dylan Ray. Ray tore his ACL in the fall playing football and is expected to be able to return in early March. The middle infield for the Patriots will be one of, if not the, best in the state. These two players are ’20 SS/2B Caden Rose (Alabama commit) and ’20 SS/2B Mitchell Daly (Texas commit). All three of these players are ranked in the Top 5 in the ’20 Player Rankings. Another key player for the Patriots is ’20 1B/LHP Camden Hill (Auburn commit). Hill will be one of their top arms and will play 1B when he is not pitching. ’21 3B Slate Alford (Auburn commit) will also provide some thump in the middle of the order for Bob Jones. The Patriots have high aspirations to reach Montgomery and win their 1^st State Championship in school history.

Smiths Station

After the reaching the Final Four in 2018, the Panthers have a loaded roster this year. This roster is filled with numerous players ranked in the ’19, ’20 and ’21 Player Rankings. In the ’19 Rankings, Smiths Station has RHP Clayton Weatherly (#23) and Sterling Evilsizer (#67) on the list. Evilsizer is committed to Wallace-Hanceville CC while Weatherly is uncommitted but holds numerous offers and will not stay uncommitted for long. In the ’20 Rankings, the Panthers have C/OF Zane Faulk (#4), SS Hunter Donaldson (#10) and RHP/UTL Carson Swilling (#15) ranked high in a loaded class. Donaldson is committed to South Alabama and Swilling is committed to Samford. In the ’21 Rankings, RHP Caden Hare (#14), C Ellis Yohn (#15), RHP Javi Marrero (#18), RHP Trent Hodgdon (#20) and C Luke Hasty (#39) all make the list. The Panthers have high aspirations of winning their 2^nd 7A State Championship in school history in 2019.

McGill-Toolen

Moving onto another star-studded team, McGill-Toolen bolsters Division 1 talent across the board. On the mound, they will be led by ’19 LHP Chandler Best (Southern Miss signee). Best can see his fastball run up to the low 90’s with advanced feel for his secondary pitches. Another D1 signee for the Yellow Jackets is ’19 C Nate LaRue (Auburn signee). LaRue is a physical catcher than can run well for his position. ’19 OF/LHP Spencer Hadley (Spring Hill College signee) will also carry some of the load offensively for McGill-Toolen. Look for the Yellow Jackets to have another successful season.

Auburn

The defending 7A State Champions return with hopes of repeating in 2019. They lose LHP Brooks Fuller (Auburn), LHP Drew Jennings and OF Garrett Morris but have enough key returners coming back to make it back to Montgomery. One of those players is ’19 3B/RHP Jackson Arnold (Georgia Tech signee). Arnold will be a key contributor both on the mound and at the plate for the Tigers. ’19 RHP Stephen Owen and ’19 C Jacob Waters are also notable returners. All three of these players are ranked inside to Top 60 of the ’19 Player Rankings. In the ’20 class, 3B Jay Thomason will hold down the fort at the hot corner. Thomason is ranked #25 in the ’20 Player Rankings. The Tigers will be very competitive in 7A once again this year.

Hoover

The 2017 7A State Champions look to get back to Montgomery once again 2019. Head coach Adam Mosesley has some elite talent coming back this year. Leading the way offensively will be C/2B Peyton Wilson (Alabama signee). Wilson is ranked #6 in the ’19 Player Rankings. Also in the ’19 Class is RHP Cole Baker (Ole Miss signee), 3B/RHP Daniel Swatek (uncommitted) and SS Jack Henry Milligan (Jacksonville State signee). In the ’20 class, OF Robby Ashford, OF Kole Roberts and SS Lawrence Hammonds represent the Bucs in their respective rankings. Hoover has just as much talent as anyone in 7A this year.

Oak Mountain

The Eagles will be led in 2019 by some key seniors that return for their last year. ’19 3B Landon Cato is ranked #10 in the ’19 Player Rankings. Cato has some serious juice in his bat, as he had a monster junior campaign. He signed his LOI to play at Auburn next year. Some more notable returners that are ranked in the ’19 Player Rankings are LHP Jackson Kimbrell (#17) and SS Caleb Ragland (#52). Kimbrell signed with Ole Miss and Ragland signed with Wallace-Hanceville CC. All three of these players return with experience that will only help the Eagles in 2019.

Teams to Watch

Hewitt-Trussville

Mountain Brook

Vestavia Hills

Theodore

 

Be sure to follow PBR_Alabama on Twitter and Instagram!