Early Predictions

There will be another Eastern State Champion again in 2005.
But it won"t be Rose, it will New Bern.
With players like Pat Ball, Mike OConner,Matt Sanders,Todd Seymore,
Adam Warren, you would not expect anything less.
Watch out for the New Bern Bears they are loaded with talent.
New Bern State Champs, mark my word.

 

ncbball, i understand what you are saying about christian being down this year and struggling more than normal, but dispite the losses of fronk, bost, najaka, watson, etc they do have alot of returners and do have abunch of talent. alot of the guys had great summers and are having great falls. i guess we will see come spring time.

to be honest i totally forgot about tc roberson on the top 5 and they should be in there somewhere as well

 

I agree with you about Mathis, Jeremy is the real deal on the mound, AND he can hit, too. His performance against the eventual champion Houston Heat team in Ft. Myers -- 1 earned run in 5 innings, opened a lot of eyes. He has been steady for the O's all summer and fall on the mound. He reminds me of Ben Buchanan -- they both prove you don't have to throw 90 mph to miss bats. They are effective with location and changing speeds, they throw strikes and just get people out. Jeremy does a great job keeping the ball down in the zone.

I disagree with you, though, when you diss Coach Deming. Yes, Coach B was a great assistant and the players loved him, But Coach Deming sets the tone. He gives everyone a chance to compete for a spot, he stays calm and in control, and he wins. Sure he's not as flambouyant as several of the other SW4A coaches, but he gets his guys to play, and they tend to play loose and not so uptight like others in the conference. I could be wrong, but I believe Myers Park has only missed the state tourney one time in his 5-year tenure. We used to hear everyone say that Woodard ran the program and the team would fall apart when he graduated. Again, Robert was a great leader and set an example for the others to follow. But that example continued on after he was gone, and the team battled down the stretch last year to grab the third state playoff spot.

Coach Deming is clearly in charge and has the respect of his players.

As to the '05 team, they could sneak up on folks. I'll preview them in detail closer to the season, but Mathis, Brewer, Barker, Rockecharlie, and Drake (if he recovers from his injury) provide a solid nucleus for a pitching staff, and junior Jack Myers is as good a center fielder and lead-off man as there is in the area. He will recover from his football injury (MCL) in time for the season, and missing basketball this year may help him focus on baseball. David Castevens is also underrated -- look for him to give the Mustangs a lift on offense and to play a fine third base.

 

Ditto Dodger Blue :xyzthumbs Coach B. was a fine "assistant" coach. No doubt who "runs the program" Keep up the good work Les.

 

NW Cabarrus has a pretty big edge considering all the players returning.

Kannapolis returns 4 or 5 starters . Garrett Sherrill was a leader last year.
Ryan Query , and Eddie Boger will have to really step up and take some leadership roles this year. It would be nice to see Jeremiah Worthington become a leader.

West Rowan and East Rowan( new coach ) will also have alot to prove.

 

Where did Coach Bicknell go?

 

Christian could still win the state championship in their division in a down year. They have lots of talent in the pipe-line, but the aren't nearly as strong this year as they will be next year.

 

Other teams to watch this year:

DH Conley: Returning some key players in Aubrey Edens and Jason Cargile. They gave other teams trouble last year.

Fuquay-Varina: Frankie Lewis (SS) and Grayson Evans (OF) will have to shore up the defense and provide some offensive punch. FV always has pitchers in the wings, so they could be pretty solid.

Garner: A proven program over the years, Garner lost a lot, but still has a good nucleus. Returning players: Adam Hamrick (RHP), Marc Locklear (OF), but they lost Jeff Hatcher (RHP) and JP Primus (SS). They should be Ok, but may struggle to go far in the states.

Hickory: With Wil Boyd and Isaac Harrow returning, Hickory will be solid.

Green Hope: Decimated by the graduation of Kory Judd, Alan Deratt and Steve Newton. They have some quality players there but the losses may be too much to overcome.

Hoggard: Is absolutely loaded this year. Everyone is keeping their eye on New Bern in the east, but I'm following Hoggard. With the power returning and the stacked line-up they have, they could 10-run every team they face until late in states. Returning key players: Kyle Musselman (RHP),
Matt Rizzuto (IF), Shane Thompson, (IF), Garrett Gore (IF), Robert Branch (OF). The only key loss from last year's squad was Adam DeLeo (C) so they have to be the pre-season favorite. Garrett Gore may have the best swing in the state.

New Bern: Everyone's been talking about New Bern and how good they are going to be. They are going to be fine, but they need to support that pitching staff they've got with some run support. It remains to be seen if they have to shut everyone down to be successful. Adam Warren will carry that team to states alone. We'll see how far they go.

New Hanover: When your #1 guy on the mound is a big lefty, a coach always feels confident, especially if he has a top-notch catcher to go with him. New Hanover is in good shape to upset some people. Watch Jason Windham and Eric Bron!!! They did loose Chandler Chambers (LHP) to graduation.

Ragsdale: Jake Kensmoe (LHP) and John Polchinski (MIF) should keep them competitive but they are sure going to miss one of my favorites, Alex Sink.

RJ Reynolds: Hampton Foushee and Nick DeRose are great fun to watch. They play the game right, making RJR one of the favorites to challenge for the top spot coming out of the west this year.

Wakefield: Is absolutely loaded. They are up there with Hoggard and are probably the best team in the Raleigh area. Zack Quate, Josh Dowdy and Steve Halford will carry that team to a showdown for the East representative in the state championships.

Richmond: Was hurt badly by graduation this past year. They lost Gregory, Alfonzo and Bryant. They may still repeat but will struggle to be competitive in states.

Wesleyan: Lost virtually everything. Travis High (MLB), Ron Causey and Chris Engle. Wes Wrenn (RHP) can't pitch every tight game. They'll beat some very good teams, but can't compete in a playoff situation.

Providence: You talk about reloading, but Providence was hurt BADLY by graduation. Loosing Martin, Deitrich, Cutler and Ahern will hurt. They will make states, but not too much further. You worry about Cory Dunning playing football this fall also and hope no injury occurs the last couple of weeks of the season.

JH Rose: We always say that they just reload BUT .... look at what they lost this past year: Alex White, Kevin Hodges, Marc Letchworth. Garrett Bullock can't do it alone and he'll need more help that what we know about right now. The state championship out of the east ISN'T going through JH Rose this season. It's going through Wakefield, Hoggard and New Bern.

Orange: You are going to struggle big time when you loose players of the caliber of Daniel Hargrave (2B) and Josh Horton (SS). This leaves just too big of a hole in the middle infield and a huge hole in run production. Look for Orange to struggle a bit.

Scotland County: Edged out Richmond County last year. They lost Tio McLean, but return promising young player Parker Bangs (great name). Look for Scotland to repeat in the Mid-Southeastern Conference, but the East is just too deep for them to make a run. They got tossed last year by New Bern. It will probably happen again.

 

Does anyone have an update on Glenn for this season? They are always strong and have a great feeder program. I just haven't heard anything yet.

 

4A Predictions

Conference: 4-A, Big East
Teams: DH Conley, Havlock, JH Rose, New Bern, Northern Nash, Rocky Mount

3 way fight for the top with DH Conley, JH Rose and New Bern. Prediction: New Bern #1, Conley #2, Rose #3 but a tight race that could go any direction. One of these 3 teams may be squeezed out of the states.

Conference: 4-A, Cap 6
Teams: Broughton, Leesville Road, Millbrook, Sanderson, Wake Forest-Rolesville, Wakefield

Wakefield should run away with this one.

Conference: 4-A, Central Piedmont
Teams: Davie County, North Davidson, RJ Reynolds, South Rowan, West Forsyth

Though West Forsyth has a great program and should make states, RJ Reynolds should easily be the top dog this year.

Conference: 4-A, Meca 8
Teams: Central Cabarrus, Harding, Independence, Hopewell, North Mecklenburg, Vance, West Charlotte, West Mecklenburg

Flip your coins now between Independence and North Meck. Both could make deep runs in the states.

Conference: 4-A, Metro
Teams: East Forsyth, Grimsley, Mount Tabor, North Forsyth, Northwest Guilford, Page

Page came on strong last year, but I like NW Guilford this year. North Forsyth usually runs away with this conference. They should stay on top again, but not be quite as dominating.

Conference: 3-A/4-A, Mideastern
Teams: West Brunswick (3A), White Oak (3A), Ashley (4A), Hoggard (4A), Jacksonville (4A), Laney (4A), New Hanover (4A)

Hoggard should run away with the 4A conference title. It should be no surprise that West Brunswick took the 3A state title last year after playing in the mighty Mideastern conference.

Conference: 4-A, Mid-Southeastern
Teams: Jack Britt, Douglas Byrd, Hoke County, Pinecrest, Richmond, Scotland County, Seventy-First, Westover

Usually a contest between Richmond and Scotland County with this year being no exception. Scotland County comes out on top.

Conference: 4-A, Northwestern
Teams: Alexander Central, East Burke, Freedom, McDowell, AC Reynolds, South Caldwell, Watauga

Alexander Central has owned the conference as of late, but I expect that graduations hurt them pretty badly. They still have a core of excellent players. Look for ACHS to finish 2nd behind South Caldwell as that young team matures.

Conference: 4-A, PAC 6
Teams: Chapel Hill, Jordan, Northern Durham, Person, Riverside

I won't touch this one since Coach Evans is on the board

Conference: 4-A, Southwestern
Teams: Butler, Garinger, East Mecklenburg, Myers Park, Olympic, Providence, South Mecklenburg, Waddell

South Meck should win this one outright and it won't be as close as people think. MP/Providence fighting for the #2 spot with Providence having the edge.

Conference: 4-A, Tri Seven
Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Green Hope, Lee Co, Middle Creek, Western Harnett

One of the best baseball conferences in the state. Look out for Green Hope, but FV and Lee could be troublesome.

Conference: 4-A, Triangle Alliance
Athens Drive, East Wake, Enloe, Garner, Southeast Raleigh

I'm a Garner fan so I'll have to choose them. Don't know if they have the horses to ride yet.

Conference: 4-A, Two Rivers
Teams: Cape Fear, Lumberton, Pine Forest, EE Smith, South View, Purnell Swett, Terry Sanford

South View seems to start the season very strong and then fade a bit. I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Purnell over them this year.

Top 10 Teams in 4A (Alphabetical order)
Green Hope
Hoggard
Independence
JH Rose
New Bern
North Mecklenburg
RJ Reynolds
South Mecklenburg
Wakefield
West Forsyth