Alabama HS Team Preview: Grissom Tigers
January 17, 2024
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: Grissom Tigers
Head Coach: Jeremy Brown
Classification: AHSAA Class 7A
Area Number: Class 7A, Area 7
2023 Record (Finish): 21-12 (No Postseason)
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5
No. of Returning Pitchers: 6
Team Strengths: Pitching, Defense
TOP RETURNING PLAYERS
- UTL/RHP Charlie Cassingham (2025; uncommitted)
- SS/RHP Joshua Burrell, Jr. (2025; uncommitted)
- INF Grayson Stroble (2025; uncommitted)
- RHP Seth Leebern (2025; uncommitted)
- 1B/RHP Garrett Blacklock (2025; uncommitted)
UTL/RHP Charlie Cassingham (1/6/24)
MORE UPPERCLASSMEN FOLLOWS
Class of 2025
- 1B/LHP Braydon Weaver (2025; uncommitted)
TOP UNDERCLASSMEN
- C/INF Cabe Amason (2026)
- OF/RHP Griffin Grigsby (2026)
- SS/RHP Dalton Dardin (2027)
- C/RHP Jarrett Brown (2027)
- OF/RHP Cade West (2027)
C Cabe Amason (1/4/24)
TEAM OUTLOOK
The Grissom Tigers head into the spring of 2024 with optimism to build off of last year's season where they racked up over 20 wins, but ultimately finished in third place in their area standings behind Sparkman and Huntsville to miss out on the Class 7A playoffs. The Tigers played some fairly young prospects last season allowing them to get acclimated to the varsity level, and hopes that will pay off this spring using that valuable experience under their belt in the highest classification in AL.
The Tigers really seemed to hit their stride and play their best baseball during the middle part of the season last year, accumulating wins over Oxford, James Clemens, Hazel Green, Alexandria, Northridge, and others throughout the regular season. Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Tigers needed to sweep arch-rival Huntsville in their final area series and took Game 1 by score of 11-1, but ultimately fell 7-1 in Game 2 to end their season. Shifting the focus to this season, the Tigers return more than half of their positional starters and bring back six pitchers who saw time on the mound last spring. UTL/RHP Charlie Cassingham (2025) is a multi-year starter at the varsity level and brings back plenty of experience to the plate and on the mound. The uncommitted junior has a contact-oriented approach from the left side of the plate and features a mid-80s fastball on the mound with a hammer breaking ball. SS/RHP Joshua Burrell, Jr. (2025) is another junior infielder who really took a big step last spring and looks poised to have a breakout 2024 campaign, while INF Grayson Stroble (2025), RHP Seth Leebern (2025), 1B/RHP Garrett Blacklock (2025), and 1B/LHP Braydon Weaver (2025) are four more juniors who are expected to have integral roles on this year's team.
The Tigers will also feature some talented underclassmen who may not have as much varsity experience as the others mentioned above, but certainly possess the skill set to make a sizable impact on this year's team. C/INF Cabe Amason (2026) is one of those names that looks primed for a strong spring season, and got it started with a solid showing at the Huntsville Preseason ID in early January. In addition to Amason, OF/RHP Griffin Grigsby (2026), SS/RHP Dalton Dardin (2027), C/RHP Jarrett Brown (2027), and OF/RHP Cade West (2027) should all compete for playing time in the early part of the season. The Tigers will once again compete in Area 7 against Sparkman, Huntsville, and Albertville at the end of the regular season for a berth in the playoffs. Grissom should once again be in the thick of it in their area at the end of the season with a strong chance of making the Class 7A playoffs in 2024.
Find more information on the 2024 Grissom High School program below:
+ Follow them on X: @GrissomBSB
+ 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