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: Victoria East Titans
Head Coach: Wes Kolle
UIL Classification: UIL Class 5A (District 29)
Team Strengths: Pitching, Team Speed, and Experience
2023 Record (Playoff Finish): 21-10
Key Players Lost: N/A

 

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TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

+ UTL/RHP Xavier Ortega (2024; Houson-Victoria) - 1st Team All-District 2023
+ LHP Gage Goldman (2024; McLennan CC) - 1st Team All-District 2023
+ INF/RHP Hunter Baros (2024; uncommitted) - 1st Team All-District 2023
+ UTL John Garcia (2024; uncommitted) - 1st Team All-District 2023
+ RHP/UTL Rico Gonzalez (2024; uncommitted) Honorable Mention All-District 2023
+ LHP/1B Joey Lee (2024; uncommitted) - 2nd Team All-District 2023
+ INF/RHP Mason Sockwell (2024; uncommitted) - 2nd Team All-District 2023
+ UTL Grayson Youngblood (2025; uncommitted) - 2nd Team All-District 2023
+ OF Ryan Steele (2026) - Honorable Mention All-District 2023
+ RHP/INF Braddock Raven (2026) - 2nd Team All-District 2023
+ C Kason Kolle (2026; TCU) - *2022 PBR Junior Future Games Participant*, District Newcomer of the Year 2023

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TOP NEWCOMERS

+ UTL/RHP Braylin Vasquez (2025; uncommitted)
+ UTL Layland Ring (2026)

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TEAM OUTLOOK

Despite finishing the 2023 season with a 21-10 record, Victoria East missed out on the 5A postseason. The Titans, led by Coach Wes Kolle, look primed to make it into the postseason this year thanks to their returning pitching staff, team speed, and experienced roster.

Leading the returning pitching staff will be two seniors who are committed to playing at the next level in UTL/RHP Xavier Ortega (Houson-Victoria) and LHP Gage Goldman (McLennan CC), who were both First Team All-District players in 2023. The Titans will also have four uncommitted seniors who will be expected to help lead the pitching staff as well while also contributing elsewhere defensively in INF/RHP Hunter Baros (First Team All-District 2023), RHP/UTL Rico Gonzalez (Honorable Mention All-District 2023), LHP/1B Joey Lee (2nd Team All-District 2023), and INF/RHP Mason Sockwell (Second Team All-District 2023). Uncommitted senior UTL John Garcia (First Team All-District 2023) will round out the returning senior group for Victoria East in 2024 and will help lead the rest of the youth on the roster.

A trio of sophomores return for the Titans in 2024 after carving out roles as freshmen last year. That trio will be led by TCU commit and Coach Kolle’s son, C Kason Kolle (District Newcomer of the Year 2023), who was a PBR Junior Future Games participant in 2022, and is currently ranked No. 19 in the state and No. 203 nationally. The remaining sophomore returners include OF Ryan Steele (Honorable Mention All-District 2023) and RHP/INF Braddock Raven (Second Team All-District 2023), who is also ranked in the state at No. 88. The Titans will also have uncommitted UTL Grayson Youngblood (Second Team All-District 2023) back for 2024 as the only returning junior from last year’s squad. Victoria East will additionally feature a couple newcomers for this season in uncommitted junior two-way UTL/RHP Braylin Vasquez and sophomore UTL Layland Ring.

Victoria East should be an interesting team to follow in 2024. With their returning pitching staff, experienced roster from a year ago, and exciting young pieces, look for the Titans to bounce back this year and make some noise come playoff time.

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Find more information on the 2024 Victoria East Titans program below:

+ Follow Victoria East on X: @VEbaseball212
+ Prep Baseball Texas, 2024 Team Previews

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