The 2023 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, our staff is excited for the upcoming spring season.  Players and coaches have been working all fall and through December, in preparation for the upcoming season and as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Louisiana.

Programs across the state have goals and aspirations to finish the year in Sulphur, LA at the LHSAA State Tournament, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes a reality.  We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams and players across the state, as we preview many of the great programs from Louisiana.  We will take you right up to the first pitch of this season with these team previews and we'll continue providing coverage throughout the spring. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season, as we strive to be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across Louisiana.  Each week we will release our players of the week, as well as our Power 25 Rankings, which encompasses the top 25 teams in the state, regardless of class.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.  If you did not receive a questionnaire and would like to fill one out, please send an email to [email protected].

-High School Name: Sterlington High School

-Coach’s Name: Mark Sims

-Classification: Class 3A 

-District: 1-3A

-No. of Returning Positional Starters: 7

-No. of Returning Pitchers: 4

-Team Strengths: Experienced Position Players in the Middle of the Field (SS, 2B, and CF)

-Top Returning Players: 2024 SS/RHP Sterling Sims, 2024 OF Easton Bruscato

-Top 2024 Prospects: 2024 SS/RHP Sterling Sims, 2024 OF Easton Bruscato

-Top 2025 Prospects: 2025 OF/RHP Travis Adams, 2025 OF/RHP Dylan Downs

-Top 2026 Prospects: 2026 INF Miller Sheets

 

 

Team Outlook

Head Coach Mark Sims has built quite the program up in North Louisiana at Sterlington High School.  Before last season, the Panthers had only lost a total of 9 games (not counting the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and many thought that 2022 would be a rebuilding year for the program.  The Panthers ended up finishing last season with an overall record of 26-18 and won another district championship, before falling in the semifinals of the playoffs by one run to Berwick.  The good news for Coach Sims and company is that they return starters from last year's team at key positions up the middle of the field.  Junior Sterling Sims returns at shortstop and on the mound for the Panthers this spring.  Baseball bloodlines run through the Sims household, as Sterling is the son of Head Coach Mark Sims, who was a former professional pitcher himself.  Last season, Sims racked up 10 wins on the mound for the Panthers and finished his sophomore year with a .360 batting average.  Junior Easton Bruscato returns in centerfield for Coach Sims squad this season as well.  Bruscato finished last season with a .340 batting average and only struck out an eye-popping 5 times in 107 at-bats.  There's also several underclassmen to keep an eye on for the Panthers this spring, starting with a pair of sophomore prospects in Travis Adams and Dylan Downs.  Adams, a RHP/OF, has a strong arm and pop in his bat.  Downs, another RHP/OF, worked his FB up to 82 mph this past summer and should see significant mound time this spring.  Lastly, incoming freshman Miller Sheets is another guy that looks to contribute in 2023.  Sheets is another guy with strong baseball bloodlines, as he is the son of former MLB All-Star Ben Sheets and the younger brother of Seaver Sheets, who is now at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.  The youngest Sheets has a long and lean frame with a simple and smooth swing from the left side and a "high baseball IQ" according to Coach Sims.  The Panthers will compete in the LHSAA's Non-Select Division III playoffs this coming spring that includes programs such as Kinder, Rosepine (2022 Class 2A State Champion), and Berwick, whom Sterlington fell to at last year's state tournament.  Sterlington returns starters at key positions, up the middle of the field, as well as one of their most productive arm from last season.  Coach Sims always has his players ready to play and his teams understand how to manufacture runs by any means necessary, to go along with an always solid defense.  The Panthers have made three straight trips to the state tournament and should be right in the thick of things again this season.

 

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