The 2022 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Alabama.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Montgomery 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: Corner Yellow Jackets 

Coach’s Name: Caleb Hoyle

Classification: AHSAA 5A 

Area Number: Area 12 

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 7 

No. of Returning Pitchers: 9 

Team Strengths: Pitching 

Top Returning Players:

• RHP/INF Colin Daniel (Alabama-Birmingham, 2022)
• RHP/INF Brendan Conner (2024)
• OF Gavin Brown (2023)
• RHP/OF Ethan Muncher (2022)

Top 2024 & 2025 Prospects:

• RHP/1B Brodie Dunlap (2024)
• RHP/OF Eli Cannon (2024)

Team Outlook

The Corner Yellow Jackets should once again be one of the top clubs in Class 5A in 2022, as they return almost everything from last year's team that reached the 2nd round. The Yellow Jackets were one of two teams in the playoffs to take the eventual 5A state champs Russellville to a decisive third game.

The Yellow Jackets come into the spring looking to make it back to the Class 5A State Playoffs and go even deeper in 2022. They certainly have the talent and experience coming back with seven positional starters and nine pitchers coming back. RHP/INF Colin Daniel (Alabama-Birmingham) returns for his final year of high school as the unquestioned ace of this staff. Daniel is an upper-80's arm on the mound with good secondary stuff, as well. He can also handle the bat, as he hit ,356 with five home runs, 12 doubles & 35 RBI's at the plate last spring. RHP/INF Brendan Conner is another two-way returner for the Yellow Jackets looking to build off a solid freshman campaign. Conner works in the mid-80's on the mound and hit .285 with a home run, nine doubles and 18 RBI's at the plate. OF Gavin Brown comes back for his junior year after being named to the 2nd Team All-State last spring as a sophomore where he posted a .373 batting average with two doubles, 24 RBI's & 41 runs scored. Brown is an excellent runner who can cover tons of ground in the outfield. OF/RHP Ethan Muncher is another middle-of-the-order hitter returning to the lineup in 2022. The senior hit .343 with four home runs, eight doubles & 30 RBI's last spring, so he's a major run-producer returning for the Yellow Jackets.

In addition to these returners, Corner also has some other younger players fighting for playing time this spring. RHP/1B Brodie Dunlap has a chance to make a big impact for the Yellow Jackets, both at the plate and on the mound. Dunlap is a physical right-handed hitter and has a fastball that can get into the upper-80's. RHP/OF Eli Cannon is another sophomore who is a two-way player for the Yellow Jackets. Cannon handles the bat well from the left side and has also seen a velocity jump, as he's now working in the mid-80's with his fastball. Expect the Yellow Jackets to be right back in the thick of it in Class 5A at the end of the season. 

 

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