By John Cackowski
State Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 50 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage. The top 50 teams are picked from all classifications, and are not divided up by class level:

Team: Delta 
Preseason Rank: 50
2016 Record: 19-5
Conference: Western Slope
CHSAA Class: 3A
Head Coach: Steve Reiher
Playoff Run: Lost to Windsor in the 4A State Playoffs. 

Returning Starters: 8
Returning Pitchers: 6

TOP PLAYERS:
Damon Jensen, OF, 2017
Ethan Keller, OF, 2017
Blake Reiher, MIF, 2017
Justin Violet, 1B/P, 2017
Tristin Brown, 1B, 2017
Ty McCurdy, OF/P, 2017
Jaspar Carmichael, RHP/SS, 2018
Drake Horn P, 2017

PLAYERS THAT COULD MAKE AN IMPACT:
Dylan Hollenbeck, OF, 2018
Cameron Schaall, OF, 2018 

X-FACTOR: 
The Panthers ranked 47th out of the top 50 teams in the state in strength of schedule last year. 

STAT RAT: 
The Panthers return 150 of 151 total innings pitched from 2016

BOTTOM LINE: 
The Panthers were 12-8 in 2015 and returned in 2016 surprising 4A going 19-5 and were eliminated in the 4A State Playoffs by Windsor. At one point to end the year they won 17 of 18 games with wins against tough 4A teams Pueblo South, Erie, and Durango. The Panthers bring everyone back. This year Delta will be competing at the 3A level. Led by seniors Damon Jensen and  Ethan Keller, both hit over .500 last year and combined for 6 homeruns, 71 runs, 23 stolen bases, and 41 RBI's. You can see how they are important to the offense. Senior Justin Violet led the team with 6 homeruns last spring, and had 24 RBI's. Senior Tim Brown hit .400 with 4 homeruns and 24 RBI's Seniors Ty McCurdy and Blake Reiher both hit close to .400 with a combined 41 RBI's. The Panthers have the luxury of returning their top 2 pitchers, Sophomores Drake Horn and Jaspar Carmichael. The two had a combined 13-1 record with 86 strikeouts in 91 innings. Carmichael also hit .398 with 22 RBI's. If the Panthers can find a way to play better competition this year to help them prepare for most likely another long playoff run they can be contenders for the 2017 3A Title.