The Georgia High School Association has announced that opening day of the 2021 season will commence on Feb. 15. Programs were allowed to begin practicing in an official capacity on Jan. 18, meaning it's time for the PBR Georgia staff to break down the high school baseball scene in the state in the countdown to the first pitch thrown in 2021.Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we will be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2021 spring season, touching on programs spanning multiple state classifications, counting down the official PBR Georgia Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Team: Woodstock
Preseason Rank: 19 
2020 Record: 10-3
Region: 5-7A
GHSA Classification: 7A
Head Coach: Jeff Brown
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 4

X-FACTOR
A deep lineup and team speed. Woodstock has a veteran roster, with the majority of the lineup returning for their second or third year of varsity action. The core of the team has been battle tested and will be one of the few teams that has playoff experience throughout the lineup.

Georgia Southern commit OF Preston Gunnell (2021) and OF/C Christian Preiser (2021) have been mainstays in the outfield and the batting order for the Wolverines over the past two years. Both players made an impact with the bat last year. Gunnell hit .368 with 14 hits and two home runs, while Preiser hit .314 with 11 runs and two triples. More of the same will be expected from this year.

Preston Gunnell

One of the top two-way prospects in the region, Georgia State commit OF/RHP Kameron Douglas (2022), is also back and has taken some big leaps forward. Physically he is ultra projectable, standing 6-foot-4, 195-pounds. Douglas has an easy gap-to-gap swing and will have the potential to be a big power threat this year. He can also hop on the mound and run it up into the upper 80s.

Kameron Douglas

While the three aforementioned players will be major factors in the batting order, the Woodstock offensive capabilities do not end there. They will players up and down the lineup who are more than capable at the plate. The team's overall speed will play an important part as well. The Wolverines are going to cause a lot of problems on the base paths, and put the pressure on the defense.

OUTLOOK
For the second consecutive year, Woodstock starts the season as the Preseason No. 19 ranked team in state. The expectations are high for an experience-laden roster. As we discussed in the X-Factor, the offense will be the focal point in 2021. The Wolverines will have a balanced attack from top to bottom and should be capable of putting up lots of runs.

While we know the Wolverines will score, there remains some questions surrounding the pitching staff. Woodstock has two proven arms in Young Harris commit RHP Garrett Goblish and RHP Blake Aita. Goblish is entering his third season on varsity and has logged big innings over previous two seasons. Goblish has a whippy arm and is capable of sitting in the upper 80s. Goblish was one of the go-to arms out of the bullpen in 2020 and will see his role increase this season.

Garrett Goblish

Aita was a part of the starting rotation a year ago, logging a 2-1 record with 1.31 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched. He was a pleasant surprise in 2020, making some big jumps physically and on the mound. He will be counted on to build upon last season and carry the load this time around.

Coach Brown will need some of his newcomers to step up and fill in the voids left by the graduating seniors in the bullpen. If Woodstock can find arms to eat up some innings, they will be in store for a successful 2021 campaign.

Make sure to follow @PBRGeorgia on Twitter for the most-up-to-date coverage throughout the 2021 season.

Find more information on the 2021 Wolverines below:

+ Full Schedule
+ Team Website
+ Team Twitter

Preseason Power 25 Countdown