The 2024 Texas high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound 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 Texas.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Austin at the UIL State Tournament in June, 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 Texas. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, eventually releasing our Preseason Power 30 rankings that’ll carry us into the opening week of action.

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 and updating the Power 30 rankings.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: South Grand Prairie Warriors
Head Coach: Paul Ylda
UIL Classification: UIL Class 6A (District 8)
Team Strengths: Offense
2023 Record (Playoff Finish): 18-15 (6A Area Finalists)
Key Players Lost: Hayden Roop, Santiago Aravena

 

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TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

+ INF/RHP Jacob Ayala (2024; Brookhaven College) - Second Team All-District in 2023
+ INF Austin Phillips (2024; uncommitted) - Second Team All-District in 2023
+ 1B/LHP Richard Delagarza (2024; uncommitted) - First Team All-District in 2023
+ OF Noah Esparza (2024; uncommitted) - First Team All-District in 2023
+ C Adrian Lopez (2024; uncommitted) - Second Team All-District in 2023
+ INF/RHP Isaac Rios (2025; uncommitted) - District Underclassmen of the Year in 2023
+ LHP Jonathan Mendez (2025; uncommitted)
+ UTL Daylon Brooks (2026)

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TOP NEWCOMERS

+ INF Allan McDowell (2024; uncommitted)
+ OF/LHP Terron McGrew (2025; uncommitted)
+ INF/RHP Zach Scheppler (2026)
+ UTL Josiah Lucas (2026)

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FRESHMEN TO FOLLOW

+ INF Juan Ramirez (2027)
+ UTL/RHP Jose Tobias (2027)
+ RHP/OF Kaleb Carter (2027)
+ OF/LHP Matthew Smith (2027)
+ RHP/OF Brandon Mountcastle (2027)
+ INF/RHP Matthew Brinkman (2027)

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TEAM OUTLOOK

After finishing 2023 as 6A Area Finalists, Coach Paul Ylda and the South Grand Prairie Warriors return a strong lineup in 2024. The Warriors 2024 roster will be mostly comprised of upperclassmen, as they return six players who earned All-District honors a year ago, but there is plenty of talent throughout Coach Ylda’s program at each level.

Leading things off for the Warriors’ senior class is uncommitted INF Austin Phillips, who was a Second Team All-District player last season. Phillips is also currently ranked within the top 350 players nationally, and No. 40 in the state. Another Second Team All-District player returning for the Warriors senior class is two-way player INF/RHP Jacob Ayala (Brookhaven College). South Grand Prairie also brings back a pair of seniors who were awarded First Team All-District in 2023 in 1B/LHP Richard De La Garza (uncommitted) and OF Noah Esparza (uncommitted). Rounding out the senior key returners for the Warriors is C Adrian Lopez (uncommitted), who was another Second Team All-District player last season. Senior newcomer, INF Allan McDowell (uncommitted), will look to make a big impact in his first year on varsity to round out the class.

The Warriors returning junior class is headlined by INF/RHP Isaac Rios (uncommitted), who is the reigning District Underclassmen of the Year from a year ago. South Grand Prairie also returns LHP Jonathan Mendez (uncommitted), who should be a main cog on the Warriors pitching staff. Junior newcomer OF/LHP Terron McGrew (uncommitted) will look to make an impact as a two-way player for the Warriors as he enters the varsity mix for the first time in 2024.

South Grand Prairie has an extensive list of underclassmen to follow for this year and future years. A pair of sophomores are projected to have varsity roles in 2024 in INF/RHP Zach Scheppler and UTL Josiah Lucas. Within the Warriors freshman class, they boast a total of five two-way players who could potentially be building blocks for Coach Ylda in 2024 and beyond in UTL/RHP Jose Tobias, RHP/OF Kaleb Carter, OF/LHP Matthew Smith, RHP/OF Brandon Mountcastle, and INF/RHP Matthew Brinkman. The Warriors freshman class also includes INF Juan Ramirez to go with the plethora of two-ways. If these freshmen don’t see the varsity field in 2024, they will still give Coach Ylda a lot to be excited about as they begin their high school careers within the program.

With the amount of All-District talent returning, and the amount of talent they have coming up through the pipeline, look for South Grand Prairie to make some noise this year and in future years within the 6A class.

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Find more information on the 2024 South Grand Prairie Warriors program below:

+ <<2024 Schedule>>
+ Follow South Grand Prairie on X: @sgpbaseball
+ Prep Baseball Texas, Power 30 Homepage

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