TN High School Team Preview: Independence Eagles
January 9, 2023
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The 2023 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Tennessee.
Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Murfreesboro at The Spring Fling as they compete for a state championship, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Tennessee. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing other pieces of content covering the Volunteer State.
Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state. Each week we will be releasing our players of the week, updating the Top 10 in each TSSAA classification as well as a Power 25.
*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.
High School Name: Independence High School
Coach’s Name: Mike McLaury
Team Twitter Handle: @wcsIHSbaseball
Classification: AAAA
2022 Record: 23-15
District + Region Number: District 12 + Region 6
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6
No. of Returning Pitchers: 8
Team Strengths: Depth on the mound
Top Returning Players:
- LHP Ben Cleaver (Kentucky)
- RHP/2B Ty Allen (Birmingham Southern)
- 1B/RHP Drew Blalock
- OF Harrison Cowdrey (Centre College)
- INF/RHP Jack McLaury (Vol St.)
- INF Mark Harrell
- RHP Saxon Roberts (Auburn)
Top 2023 Prospects:
- RHP Nick McLaughlin (Suwanee)
- C Evan Cardwell (Bethel)
Top 2024 Prospects:
- 3B/RHP Logan Money
- OF Peyton Kirton
- RHP/2B Payton Miller
Top 2025 & 2026 Prospects:
- C Cash Money
- OF Caleb King
- SS Connor Burtch
Team Outlook:
The Eagles battled it out all year in a very difficult district as they went 23-15 and their season ended in the district tourney. Historically, this district is always very competitive and it’s splitting hairs between the top teams, but some key graduations around the league will open this up and be more difficult to predict who will come out on top. However, Head Coach Mike McLaury must feel good about where his club is heading into 2023. They had tremendous pitching depth last year and that trend will continue in 2023. ‘23 LHP Ben Cleaver (Kentucky) headlines the pitching staff and could be sneaky into some draft discussions. Interesting to see if ‘24 RHP Saxon Roberts (Auburn) will be able to contribute any after an offseason surgery, but ‘23 RHP Harrison Cowdrey (Centre) is a very capable arm for district matchups. There will be plenty of veteran two-way talent in this group such as: ‘23 MINF/RHP Jack McLaury (Vol State CC), ‘23 2B/RHP Ty Allen (Birmingham Southern), and ‘23 1B/RHP Drew Blalock. McLaury and Allen will anchor the middle and play key roles on the mound while Blalock is a big bopper in the middle of the lineup. ‘24 INF Mark Harrell was a consistent contributor in the lineup and will provide very steady infield depth. ‘23 RHP Nick McLaughlin (Sewanee) and ‘23 C Evan Cardwell (Bethel) will be solid veteran pieces to contribute. There will be several junior/sophomore prospects to keep eyes on: ‘24 3B/RHP Logan Money, ‘24 RHP/2B Payton Miller, ‘25 C Cash Money, ‘25 OF Caleb King, ‘25 SS Conner Burtch, and ‘24 OF Peyton Kirton. The Eagles have a lot of veterans and hope to handle the baseball defensively, as they’ll look to push to the top of the district and deep into the postseason.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
SHOWCASE | DATE | LOCATION |
LakePoint Preseason ID | 1/7 | LakePoint Sports (Emerson, GA) |
Mid-South Preseason ID | 1/14 | University of Memphis Indoor Facility (Memphis, TN) |
Nashville Preseason ID | 1/22 | Showtime Sports Academy (Franklin, TN) |
East Tennessee Preseason ID | 1/28 | BC Athletics Facility (Knoxville, TN) |
Preseason All-State (Invite-Only) | 2/4 | Showtime Sports Academy (Franklin, TN) |