Preseason Power 25 Countdown: Ripley
January 30, 2018
The Mississippi high school season kicks off on February 26, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on January 29, getting their rosters set and finalizing their lineups.
Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will be posting high school team previews every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:
Team: Ripley
Preseason Rank: 19
2017 Record: 24-7
MHSAA Classification: 4A
MHSAA District: 2-4A
Head Coach: Joel Gafford
Playoff Run: North State Finals
2017 Final Rank: 1st in district
Returning Starters: 7
Returning Pitchers: 2
Top Players
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Drew Coombs | MS | Ripley | 2021 | RHP | - |
Reece Moore | MS |
Ripley |
2018 |
OF |
- |
Cade Davis | MS | Ripley | 2020 | RHP | - |
Ben Fryar | MS | Ripley | 2019 | SS | - |
Taylor Garner | MS | Ripley | 2018 | LHP | - |
Will Long | MS | Ripley | 2019 | C | - |
Mason McBride | MS | Ripley | 2018 | SS | - |
Cole Melton | MS | Ripley | 2018 | LHP | - |
Outlook
Coach Joel Gafford and the Ripley Tigers have high expectations coming off a strong 24-win 2017 campaign. Returning a solid core of players, the Tigers will rely heavily on senior leadership to carry them through 2018 season. Providing an offensive spark in the lineup will be Mason McBride, Will Long as well as Ben Fryar. Although the Tigers lack experience on the mound, they will turn to two-way players Reece Moore and Cole Melton to carry the load of the pitching staff.