With the 2018 high school baseball season just around the corner in California, we will begin rolling out team previews from around the state.

 

In this edition we take a closer look at the Maranatha Minutemen (Pasadena, Ca.) a team loaded with talent looking to get over the postseason hump that has stalled their seasons the last few years. Led by seven Division I college baseball commits, the Minutemen look to have the ingredients to overcome a challenging schedule and make a deep run in the Division III playoffs.

Team: Maranatha

Nickname: Minutemen

Section: Southern Section, Division III

League: Olympic League

Head Coach: Matt Shupper (@coachshupe)

Years as Head Coach at School: 7

Team Twitter Handle: @mhsbaseballfam

2017 Overall Record: 22-8

2017 Postseason Finish: Lost in quarterfinals

Team Website: Maranatha Minutemen

Number of Returning Starters: 8

Number of Returning Pitchers: 4

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS:

Marco Martinez, SR/3B, Big bat who is an above average defender, USC signee.

Ben Guess, SR/RF-P, Athletic outfielder that will eat innings on the mound, Utah signee.

Dawson Netz, JR/P-SS, Legit two-way guy that runs it up into upper 80's, Arizona commit.

Max Blessinger, JR/2B-SS, Slick fielder with above average arm, Dallas Baptist commit.

Nick Iverson, JR/SS, Shows very good defensive actions with strong arm, UC Davis commit.

Luke Watson, Soph/OF, Elite defender that will continue to grow physically, Oregon State commit.

OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Charles Acker, JR/LHP-OF, Physical pitcher that runs touches 91 mph with fastball. USC commit.

Casey Popham, Soph/P-1B, One of the top sophomores on the roster. Hit .323 last season.

Dante Campione, SR/CF, A threat at the plate coming off a season in which he hit .377.

SEASON OUTLOOK:

Since 2010 the Maranatha Minutemen have won 117 games and qualified for the postseason in each season. For head coach Matt Shupper his 2018 team is loaded with talent and determined to get past the postseason hurdle that has plagued the Minutemen in the past.

Like most teams with this much talent, Maranatha enters this season with the expectation of winning at a high level. Ultimately, there's only one team holding the championship trophy at the end of the last game and that's goal for the Minutemen in 2018.

"We want to win our league and make a long run in the playoffs," said Shupper when asked what he hopes his team accomplishes this season.

While that answer is to be expected from any coach, especially one who has had such a run of regular season success as Shupper, the fact remains that without the players to do that, the statement doesn't carry weight.

Maranatha has players, that's for certain.

The old adage of pitching of pitching and defense winning championships is not lost on Shupper who made that a point of emphasis since the end of last season. While the pitching was strong in 2017, the Minutemen has a team ERA of 1.34, the defense left a little to be desired. Maranatha had some struggles in the field ending with a .919 fielding percentage finishing the season with 50 total errors.

With many of those fielders returning for the Minutemen, Shupper wanted to focus on those two areas heading into the 2018 campaign.

"We have improved our overall depth and team defense," said Shupper the seventh year head coach of one of the premier private schools in the Pasadena area.

The depth. Oh the depth. Maranatha is about as deep a team as there is in the Southern Section and with a preseason schedule that includes heavyweights like West Ranch, Loyola and JSerra. Shupper is getting his team for what potentially can be a special season.

"We want to challenge these boys to face anyone big or small," Shupper said when asked about the rigors of the Minutemen's preseason schedule. "We want to be prepared to take on the teams in our league and those we could see later on in the playoffs."

With their preseason schedule and a trip to the IMG National Classic Tournament during Spring Break, the Maranatha Minutemen will be battle tested for league play and what could be a deep postseason run.

Just like Coach Shupper wants it.

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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.