Team Preview: Olympus HS
February 8, 2021
Team Preview: Olympus HS
Players in Utah have been eager to compete for their high school programs and it feels as if we are getting close. 2020 saw the cancellation of the 2020 season, however as may approached, it began looking like Utah was going to be able to resume baseball activities with the annual American Legion season. The UHSAA has announced that the first day of official team practice/tryouts will be Monday March 1st, with the opening day of the 2021 season on March 8th. Programs have been allowed to practice since the 1st part of January, with open field workouts, however there will be a two week moratorium of practices and coach involvement, between the dates of Feb 15-28. PBR Utah will begin its 2021 season coverage starting with our team by team previews, as we highlight some of the top programs statewide in our team previews. PBR Utah 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.
Of Note: As we countdown to opening day with the team previews, we still have one big event to kick off the HS season with the PBR Utah Preseason All-State. This event will be the kick off to the season, as it's an INVITE only event of the top players in the 2021-2024 classes.
School History: Olympus High School is a public high school in the Granite School District in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.
The school opened on September 1, 1953, with an original enrollment of 1028 students. In the fall of 1960, the largest entering sophomore class (the graduating class of 1963) in Utah's history (an estimated 935) enrolled. Two years later the overcrowding was reduced when the new Skyline High was completed. In April 2013, the new Olympus High School building was opened for classes adjacent to the original school. The original building was torn down after 60 years of operation.
Throughout its history, Olympus has been one of the leading academic public high schools in the state. In 1961 its orchestral and vocal music program was recognized as one of the nation's finest by the Ford Foundation, which funded a composer-in-residence for the school, an award shared with schools throughout the Granite School district. (Wikipedia)
(2019 REGION 6 CHAMPIONS)
Head Coach: Corland Felts (Former Utah Catcher 1994-1997)
State Classification/Region: 5A / Region 6
Number of State Tourney Appearance in last 10 Years: 8
Number of Final 4 State Tourney Appearances: 1
Number of State Titles games in the last 10 Years: 1
Number of State Titles in the last 10 Years: 0
Number of Returning Position Players: 4
Number of Returning Pitchers: 3
Expectations for the upcoming season:
(From Coach Felts)
“Win Region 6 and compete with whomever we meet up with in the state tournament”
Team Strengths:
“Defensively we should be solid and we should be decent on the bases, with good team speed”
Team Weaknesses:
“Pitching depth remains to be seen”
Top Returning Players:
2022 Mic Paul, CF, 5-11 170, L-L (College Commitment: U of Arizona) #1 Ranked player in the PBR Utah 2022 Top 10 Rankings. Difference maker on both sides of the ball, with 6.5-6.6/60 yard elite speed. Will be attending the March 6th Preseason All-State Event at Hurricane HS.
2022 Ashton Johnson, OF/LHP, R-L (Not committed yet, but will have options to choose from) #17 Ranked player in the PBR Utah 2022 Rankings. Two way player, that hits from the right side and is also one of the lead arms on the mound from the left side. Will be attending the March 6th Preseason All-State Event at Hurricane HS.
2021 Josh Vandenakker, RHP/3B, R-R (Two Sport athlete - Football) Strong kid that competes on the mound with command of the zone (Uncommitted)
2023 Jacob Faust, RHP/3B/1B, R-R / Very talented sophomore that had some eye popping measurables as a freshman. (Exit velo: 100 with FB velocity in the upper 80’s) Coach Felts commented, that “He has some of the best opposite field power I have seen on a freshman and he is a legit D1 type prospect.” We will be getting our first look at Jacob, at our March 6th Preseason All-State event in Hurricane.
2021 Benson Tolman, OF, R-R
2021 Jacob Hall, 1B, R-R
2021 Zach Goodrich, SS, R-R
Who is Your X-Factor: Ashton Johnson - Because of importance to the team, as a RH bat in the lineup and a LH arm on the mound.
Summary of Your Team:
"We have a balanced team with some good senior leadership, coupled with some very talented underclassmen. We have great character kids that really like each other and like to play baseball and compete hard."