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: Ohatchee Indians 

Coach’s Name: Blake Jennings 

Classification: AHSAA 3A 

Area Number: Area 11 

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6 

No. of Returning Pitchers: 5 

Team Strengths: Returning Offensive Players

Top Returning Players:

• OF/RHP Devin Howell (2023)
• C/RHP Brent Honaker (Central Alabama CC, 2022)

Top 2022 Prospects:

• 1B/3B Justin Powell (2022)

Top 2023 Prospects:

• INF/RHP Bryce Noah (2023)
• OF/LHP Jake Roberts (2023)

Top 2024 & 2025 Prospects:

• INF/RHP Carson Tittle (2025)

Team Outlook

The Ohatchee Indians were really tough & competitive group of hard-nosed players last spring, and they return a lot of talent from that team that reached the 2nd Round of the Class 3A State Playoffs. The Indians finished with 20 wins under their belt last year, but this year's team is ready to make an even deeper run throughout Class 3A with plenty of key returners coming back.

It seemed like every week last year that OF Devin Howell was putting up big offensive numbers for the Indians, earning him a spot on the PBR Alabama Athlete of the Month for February. He's ready to come back as a junior this spring and put up even better number hitting at the top of the order after hitting .462 with 15 doubles and four triples. He also 16 bases out of 18 attempts, so he does it all for the Indians. C/RHP Brent Honaker (Central Alabama CC) also looks primed for another breakout season as he comes back for his final year of his high school career. Honaker is tough, hard-nosed player who hit .362 as a junior last year and led the team in home runs, walks & hit-by-pitches. He's a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate. 1B/3B Justin Powell is another upperclassmen who was one of the unquestioned leaders from last year's team as a junior. Now a senior, Powell will look to build off a strong junior campaign that saw him hit .333 with 24 RBI's. He also came through in some big situations for the Indians, posting a team-high .440 batting average with runners in scoring position. 

A couple of juniors who bring back quality experience from last year's team will be MIF/RHP Bryce Noah & OF/LHP Jake Roberts. Both of these players will be looked upon to continue to provide production both at the plate and on the mound. Noah will be relied on for some significant innings on the mound and should play one of the middle infield positions when he's not pitching. Roberts was another guy who was off to a great start as a sophomore before unfortunately being injured halfway through the season. He finished with a .377 batting average and was 4-1 on the mound. Roberts will be back at full strength in 2022 and is expected to return to the top of the order. One underclassmen to watch for this spring will be INF/RHP Carson Tittle, as he enjoyed a phenomenal year as an eighth-grader and is sure to see his role expand this spring. The Indians should be right back in the thick of it in Class 3A.

 

Follow on Twitter: @PBR_Alabama
Follow on Instagram: @PBR_Alabama
Follow on TikTok: @PBR_Alabama

 

Related Content: