Preseason Preview: Brophy
February 14, 2022
Opening Day is around the corner, try outs have been held, and rosters are soon to be set. The Arizona Interscholastic Association has announced that opening day of the 2022 season will commence on Wednesday, February 23rd. The PBR Arizona staff begins its 2022 season coverage starting with our preseason team previews, where we will take notes from coaches, and highlight returning players, newcomers, and some sleepers. Over the next couple weeks and leading up to opening day, we will be highlighting some of the top programs in state in our team previews. PBR will also be publishing its state Power 25 rankings that will be updated every Monday once the season begins. Throughout the season, PBR will be pumping out coverage, highlighting individual players, games, rankings, scouting reports and nominating a player of the week. PBR looks forward to getting out there this spring to see some great baseball.
Today, we look into:
Team: Brophy College Prep (6A, Premier)
2021 Record: 10-11
Head Coach: Josh Garcia
Returning Starters: 0
Returning Pitchers: 1
OUTLOOK
As we gather info from coaching staffs, and come to a conclusion with our Preseason Power 25 Rankings, Brophy is looking like a team that will be in the mix this spring. What we do know, is that Coach Garcia's roster took a big hit. After graduating 9 of his key players, and losing a hand full of others due to transfers/COVID protocols, this will be a new look Brophy Broncos team. But new looks can sometimes be good looks. This is a young team with a good mix of players that played at a high level through the fall. Brophy took the crown in two preseason tournaments against some high competition, Splinterfest Wood Bat Tournament and Woodfest Wood Bat Tournament. The Broncos played very clean baseball in these tournaments, they put together gritty team at bats, threw strikes, and played defense. They have leaders in: ace pitcher James DeCremer III (Oregon State), senior catcher Henry Chabot (Chapman), a slick fielding/smooth swinging SS Nuri Todd (Long Beach), and high hopes for 2023 OF JT Craig (uncommitted). These four guys will be the glue of this team, with the help of some very skilled underclassmen. Looking to get some quality innings from Freshman RHP Jack Lafflam, Lafflam is a 6-foot-4 right hander with a clean delivery and plus action on the ball for his age. Along with Lafflam, Brophy's 2024 class is very solid, but with youth comes inexperience. This is a skilled group with a great coaching staff, Brophy could be a team that turns some heads this spring and definitely in the future.
KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Anthony Runfola | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | C | Harvard |
Julian Alemany | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | 3B | Scottsdale CC |
Matt Graf | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | 1B | Paradise Valley CC |
Luke Odden | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | SS | Wabash Valley CC |
Jojo Estrella | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | 2B | South Mountain CC |
Masen Schechterle | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | LF | Queens University |
Jake Kingsbury | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | CF | Mesa CC |
Augie Walters | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | RHP | Holy Cross |
Nolan Lopez | AZ | Brophy | 2021 | LHP | Santa Clara |
Zach Wadas | AZ | Hamilton | 2023 | OF/1B | Texas Christan |
Mason Schmidt | AZ | Scottsdale Christian | 2022 | 3B | - |
Corwin Hemmingsen | AZ | Scottsdale Christian | 2022 | C | Hillsdale College |
Jack Budnick | AZ | Pinnacle | 2023 | 1B | - |
TOP RETURNERS:
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Henry Chabot | AZ | Brophy | 2022 | C/RHP | Chapman |
Stone Williamson | AZ | Brophy | 2022 | INF/RHP | - |
Kellen Newsome | AZ | Brophy | 2022 | INF | Northwest Nazarene |
James DeCremer | AZ | Brophy | 2023 | RHP | Oregon State |
Nuri Todd | AZ | Brophy | 2023 | INF | Long Beach |
JT Craig | AZ | Brophy | 2023 | OF | - |
Lucas Franz | AZ | Brophy | 2023 | UTIL/RHP | - |
PRESEASON MVP:
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
JT Craig | AZ | Brophy | 2023 | OF | - |
TOP NEWCOMERS:
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Willie Cornejo-Farmer | AZ | Brophy | 2024 | 1B | - |
Trey Markham | AZ | Brophy | 2024 | OF | - |
Johnny Cassale | AZ | Brophy | 2024 | LHP/1B | - |
Jack Lafflam | AZ | Brophy | 2025 | RHP | - |
UNDERCLASSMEN WATCHLIST:
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Matt Niezgoski | AZ | Brophy | 2024 | OF/RHP | - |
Jack Meissner | AZ | Brophy | 2024 | SS | - |
George Smith | AZ | Brophy | 2024 | SS | - |
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