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Alabama HS Team Preview: Arab Knights

February 6, 2024
Austin Sharp
Alabama Scouting Director

The 2024 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 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 rankings 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 ranks in each AHSAA classification, as well updating our Power 25 overall rankings. One thing, especially, you don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state, as well as the recaps and previews of the big games we’re covering.

*Please note the information has been gathered from head coaches across the state, based on their replies to the questionnaire we distributed over this offseason.

High School: Arab Knights
Head Coach: Chad Hudson
Classification: AHSAA Class 5A
Area Number: Class 5A, Area 15
2023 Record (Finish): 33-9 (Eliminated in Elite Eight)
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 2
No. of Returning Pitchers: 2
Team Strengths: Defense, Pitching, Leadership

 

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

SS Drew Puccio (7/6/22)

MORE UPPERCLASS FOLLOWS

Class of 2024

Class of 2025

OF/RHP Evan Brazelton (5/13/22)

TOP UNDERCLASSMEN

RHP/1B Luke Martin (1/6/24)

TEAM OUTLOOK

The Arab Knights are coming off a historic season in 2023, reaching the Elite 8 Class 5A and posting an impressive 33-9 record in the process. They'll have a good bit of talent to replace left by graduating seniors, but they're looking to new some newer, talented faces to step up to the varsity level and continue the same level of success this spring.

The Knights were about as dominant is it gets throughout the regular season last spring, as they were consistently ranked inside the top-5 in our Class 5A Poll for the entirety of the season. Winners of their area, they hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds of the playoffs and advanced over Moody and Alexandria, but were unfortunately eliminated by Boaz in the Elite 8 in three games. It will be hard to replicate that same type of success of winning over 30 games in a season, but the Knights are shaping up to once again be a strong club this spring. SS Drew Puccio (2025) and C/RHP Andrew Carroll (Coastal Alabama-South CC, 2024) are two of the top returners for this program, and they're going to once again be counted on for big springs as upperclassmen. Puccio is a hard-noised infielder and a mutli-year starter, while Carroll has thrown a ton of innings for the Knights over the last few years and will be a big contributor in the middle of their order offensively. INF Hagan Stewart (2024) is an excellent athlete who plays multiple sports and is poised for a breakout season, while INF Andrew Bell (2024) and RHP Lane Edwards (2024) are seniors who should step in and compete for important roles for the Knights. OF/RHP Evan Brazelton (2025) is a key player the Knights are getting back this spring after missing the majority of last season due to an injury. He can really swing it and should be one of their better pitchers if gets back to full strength on the mound. Looking at the underclassmen group, the Knights are expecting some younger players to step in and produce this spring. RHP/1B Luke Martin (2026) is expected to play a two-way role this spring after throwing some key innings out of the bullpen last spring, while 3B/OF Luke Hudson (2026) and OF/C Dylan Kirkland (2026) should only continue to improve this spring after getting some playing time as freshmans last season. RHP Landon Erti (2026) is another exciting young sophomore who has a bright future on the mound. The right-hander has a chance to provide some depth on the mound this spring and has seen a bit of an uptick in velocity in the off-season. 

Coming off a historic 2023 campaign, it'll be interesting to see how the Knights build off of that this season with some newer faces on the roster. They'll compete in Area 15 against Douglas, Scottsboro, and Guntersville for a berth in the playoffs at the end of the regular season. Expect to Arab to once again be a very competitive club in Class 5A in 2024.

Find more information on the 2024 Arab HS program below:

+ Follow them on X: @ArabBaseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Alabama, 2024 HS Team Previews

FOLLOW PREP BASEBALL ALABAMA THROUGHOUT THE SPRING

+ Prep Baseball Alabama on X
+ Prep Baseball Alabama on Instagram
+ Prep Baseball Alabama on Facebook

 

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