AL HS Team Preview: Charles Henderson Trojans

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the Jacksonville/Oxford/Montgomery area at the AISA or AHSAA state championships, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Alabama. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason Top 10 in each AHSAA classification. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state. Each week we will be releasing our players of the week, updating the Top 10 in each AHSAA classification as well as a Power 25. One thing that you especially don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state as well as recaps and previews of big games across the state.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.

High School Name: Charles Henderson Trojans 

Coach’s Name: Chase Smartt 

Classification: AHSAA 5A 

2022 Record: 10-22

Area Number: 5A, Area 3 

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 3 

No. of Returning Pitchers: 2 

Team Strengths: Team Chemistry, Defense, Small Ball  

Top Returning Players:

• RHP/SS Parker Adams (2024)
• RHP/OF Bradley Prestwood (2024)
• MIF Jordan McByrde (2025)
• UTL Will Templin (Gadsden State CC, 2023)

Top 2025 & 2026 Prospects:

• OF/LHP Clay Johnson (2026)
• INF/RHP Cooper Johnson (2026)
• RHP/1B Wes Templin (2026)
• INF/RHP Chase Vanzaian (2026)

Team Outlook

The Charles Henderson Trojans enjoyed some brights spots in 2022 and made the Class 5A playoffs after defeating Greenville in their final area series to clinch a playoff berth. The Trojans played some tough teams on their schedule last year, and got a few big wins over Dothan, Andalusia and Greenville. Although there are some spots to fill on this team, the Trojans have some talented underclassmen that could step into those roles.

The Trojans had been battle-tested heading into area play last year, and it paid off in their final area series winning two one-run contests over a talented Greenville team that had been ranked inside the Top-10 for some of the season. They were, however, eliminated by Pike Road in the 1st round of the Class 5A playoffs in two games. This year's roster seems to be fairly young with some talent throughout each class. It should all start with RHP/SS Parker Adams (2024), who will be the starting shortstop and one of the top pitchers on this team. Adams throws plenty of strikes and can change speeds well on the mound. Another junior who will play an integral role on this team will be RHP/OF Bradley Prestwood (2024). Prestwood is a big right-handed arm on the mound who will also played a two-way role for the Trojans. MIF Jordan McBryde (2025) will be an everyday-starter up the middle, depending on whether Adams is pitching or not. The sophomore has a short and compact swing from the right side that finds hard line drives to all parts of the field. UTL Will Templin (Gadsden State CC, 2023) is another upperclassmen for the Trojans that has a chance to have a big year. Templin has plenty of versatility defensively and should hit at the top of the order.

Charles Henderson is also excited about the talent in their younger classes, especially in the 2026 group. Some of those players to keep an eye on are OF/LHP Clay Johnson (2026), INF/RHP Cooper Johnson (2026), RHP/1B Wes Templin (2026) and INF/RHP Chase Vanzaian (2026). With these players now being freshman, some may have the opportunity to play bigger roles on this team in 2023. The Trojans lost a good amount of their players from last year's team to graduation, but there are high hopes for this season and the future for Charles Henderson.

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