Preseason Preview: Cienega High School
February 15, 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: Cienega High School (5A, Southern)
2021 Record: 9-9
Head Coach: Kelly Johnson
Returning Starters: 5
Returning Pitchers: 3
OUTLOOK
As we gather info from coaching staffs, and come to a conclusion with our Preseason Power 25 Rankings, we expect Coach Kelly Johnson's team to be a very fun one to watch, with high expectations. Although the competition is tough in Tucson, Cienega High has the fire power offensively to beat just about anybody. This group has a mixture of veteran players and talented youth. Arizona State commit Isaiah Jackson (2022) is without a doubt the leader offensively for the Bobcats. He'll be a staple at the top of this order, with the role of driving in a majority of their runs. But if Jackson fails to do so, Coach Johnson trusts the rest of this lineup, this is a deep order from top to bottom including: senior catcher New Mexico commit Caleb Herd, uncommitted infielder Adian Duarte, and sophomore SS Jimmy Diaz. Another piece for this team that we expect to burst onto the scene this year with a big freshmen campaign is Anthony Montez. Cienega has high expectations for themselves this year, as they should with this talented roster, but they also seem to have a bright future, with talented underclassmen falling in line for the future. Caleb Herd has a huge leadership role on this team as one of the top defensive catchers in the state. Herd will win this team ball games with his IQ behind the plate alone. We're very excited to follow Cienega High through the 2022 season, and expect them to be making some noise in the post-season.
KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Braeden Mondeau | AZ | Cienega | 2021 | SS | Pima CC |
TOP RETURNERS:
Name
State
School
Class
Position
Commitment
Isaiah Jackson
AZ
Cienega
2022
OF
Arizona St
Caleb Herd
AZ
Cienega
2022
C
New Mexico
Ryan Garcia
AZ
Cienega
2022
LHP
Regis
Adian Duarte
AZ
Cienega
2022
INF
-
Jimmy Diaz
AZ
Cienega
2024
SS
-
Preseason MVP
Name
State
School
Class
Position
Commitment
Isaiah Jackson
AZ
Cienega
2022
OF
Arizona St
Caleb Herd
AZ
Cienega
2022
C
New Mexico
TOP NEWCOMERS:
Name
State
School
Class
Position
Commitment
Anthony Montez
AZ
Cienega
2025
SS
-
UNDERCLASSMEN WATCHLIST:
Name
State
School
Class
Position
Commitment
Jimmy Diaz
AZ
Cienega
2024
SS
-
Anthony Montez
AZ
Cienega
2025
SS
-
Lute Chavez
AZ
Cienega
2025
UTIL
-
Emiliano Mejia
AZ
Cienega
2024
OF
-
James Linzmeyer
AZ
Cienega
2025
OF/LHP
-
Aiden Wach
AZ
Cienega
2025
RHP/3B
-
Joey Staiger
AZ
Cienega
2024
OF/RHP
-
Nano Lopez
AZ
Cienega
2025
C
-
Related Content
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Isaiah Jackson | AZ | Cienega | 2022 | OF | Arizona St |
Caleb Herd | AZ | Cienega | 2022 | C | New Mexico |
Ryan Garcia | AZ | Cienega | 2022 | LHP | Regis |
Adian Duarte | AZ | Cienega | 2022 | INF | - |
Jimmy Diaz | AZ | Cienega | 2024 | SS | - |
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Anthony Montez | AZ | Cienega | 2025 | SS | - |
Name | State | School | Class | Position | Commitment |
Jimmy Diaz | AZ | Cienega | 2024 | SS | - |
Anthony Montez | AZ | Cienega | 2025 | SS | - |
Lute Chavez | AZ | Cienega | 2025 | UTIL | - |
Emiliano Mejia | AZ | Cienega | 2024 | OF | - |
James Linzmeyer | AZ | Cienega | 2025 | OF/LHP | - |
Aiden Wach | AZ | Cienega | 2025 | RHP/3B | - |
Joey Staiger | AZ | Cienega | 2024 | OF/RHP | - |
Nano Lopez | AZ | Cienega | 2025 | C | - |
Upcoming Events
SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
Phoenix Rising Stars ID | AZ | 02/21 | Desert Ridge High School - Phoenix, AZ |