As the start of the 2018 high school baseball season in California draws closer, we’ve begun rolling out team previews from around the state.

In this edition we take a closer look at Clovis West out of the always strong Tri-Valley Athletic Conference.  They are experienced and return a lot of starters.  Do they have enough to make another deep run?

Team: Clovis West HS  

Nickname: Golden Eagles

Section: Central Section, Division 1

League: Tri-River Athletic Conference (TRAC)

Head Coach: Kevin Patrick

Years as Head Coach at CW: 11

Team Twitter Handle: @cw_hardball

2017 Overall Record: 18-11-1

2017 League Record: 9-6 (3^rd)

2017 Postseason Finish: Lost in Central Section semi-finals

Team Website: Clovis West Golden Eagles

Number of Returning Starters: 6

Number of Returning Pitchers: 4

Top Returning Players:

Dusty Schramm: SR/RHP-OF - 6’2” 220, 3-year starter, has DI football offers

Rodney Wright: SR/OF - 5’10” 175, 3-year starter, Fresno State football commit

Kohl Simas: SR/RHP-1b - 6’2” 195, L/R, 3-year starter, Uncommitted

Nick Castro: SR/INF-P - 6’1” 190, R/R, 2-way player, Uncommitted

Other Players To Watch:

Karson Simas: JR/SS - 5’11” 160 - 2^nd year varsity

Jack Winn: JR/3B - 5’11” 175 - 2^nd year varsity

Season Outlook:

The city of Fresno has long been one of hotbeds of outstanding high school baseball.  There are great rivalries that go back a long time and new rivalries that have developed as the city has grown over the years.  Some of California’s top high school baseball facilities are in Fresno and you can certainly feel the passion for the game when you attend any ballgame (especially under the lights) in Fresno, whether that’s at Fresno State, Fresno City College, or a high school game.

As strong as the tradition of good high school baseball is, one school that year in and year out is contender for a conference and section title is Clovis West.  The Golden Eagles are coming off an 18-11-1 season that ended in the section semi-finals vs one of their fierce rivals, Buchanan.  Coach Kevin Patrick once again has high hopes for his squad and when asked about his expectations for the upcoming season he says, “We expect to be in every game.”

The competition in the TRAC is strong each season, with Buchanan, Clovis, and Clovis North expected to provide the biggest challenges in 2018.  Acalanes (Lafayette) and Centennial (Bakersfield) are also on the schedule, in the loaded Phoenix Coatings Central California Showcase, March 9-10. 

As for the team itself, the Golden Eagles have six returning starters, three of whom are 3-year starters.  They return three of their top five pitchers from 2017, including Dusty Schramm and Kohl Simas, both are 3-year starters, along with SR RHP Weston Summerville.  Talent AND experience are the best recipe for success at the high school level, and Clovis West has both. One of the big challenges will be replacing 2-year starting catcher D.J. Schramm, as he graduated early to enroll at Boise State to play football.

A lot of Fresno’s good senior ballplayers play junior college ball after high school and many develop into DI players at one of the regional JC programs.  This year Clovis West isn’t blessed with that present day wow-type DI talent, but they have plenty of good senior baseball players, particularly in the infield and with Karson Simas and Jack Winn they have a couple of athletic juniors who have a chance to be strong three year contributors.

With two of their top players being DI football players, we can surmise that there will be a toughness about the 2018 Clovis West Golden Eagles and teams will have to play well to beat this club.

RELATED CONTENT:

CLICK HERE to create your FREE Prep Baseball Report Profile.

California high school coaches can request a 2019 preseason questionnaire from Northern California Director of Scouting Blaine Clemmens at [email protected] or California State Director of Scouting Les Lukach at [email protected]. 

Note: The completion of a questionnaire does not guarantee we will be able to get it posted before the start of the season.