As high school basketball heads into the final week of its season, that means baseball season is just around the corner.
The official start date of the 2022 season is March 7, and there are a lot of teams to beat in each of the five classifications based on the coaches preseason rankings.
Familiar faces dot the top line in four of the five classification, as last year’s state champion in 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A were pegged the preseason No. 1 this year.
Class 2A is the only classification were that wasn’t the case, as Enterprise was tabbed preseason No. 1 instead of defending champion Beaver.
American Fork dominated 6A with a 30-1 record, and it returns eight key contributors from that team and could dominate again this year. Leading that group of returners is last year’s Deseret News Mr. Baseball recipient, Fisher Ingersoll.
“We need some players to step into roles. Pitching needs to develop, and the players need to trust each other and play together,” said American Fork coach Jarod Ingersoll.
Pleasant Grove checks in at No. 2 in 6A, but has some holes to fill after graduating all four of its players who made all-state.
Spanish Fork will open the year at No. 1 in 5A led by its two top players a year ago, Zac Dart and Easton Romero.
Perennial 6A contender Jordan drops down into 5A this year with UHSAA realignment and immediately adds more strength to the top of the classification.
Snow Canyon graduated a huge chunk of contributors from its 4A state championship a year ago, but coach Reed Secrist is confident in his newcomers who were stuck behind some outstanding seniors.
“Great group of young men. Some of them have had to wait their turn because of the solid senior class we had last year but they are ready to get their time to shine,” said Secrist.
Grantsville returns five contributors from last season’s state championship team in 3A, and it narrowly edged Carbon in the preseason voting.
Juan Diego joins the classification after dropping down from 4A, which adds another quality team to the classification.
Enterprise opens the year first in 2A with a strong group of players returning.
“We really only lost one full-time starter from last year, and we have all of our pitching staff returning. We also gain a couple of other solid younger arms. Hopefully they come ready to play, and it should be a fun season,” said Enterprise coach Kyle Bundy.
Deseret News preseason rankings
Class 6A
Team (2021 Record)
- American Fork (30-1)
- Pleasant Grove (26-6)
- Bingham (19-10)
- Riverton (20-9)
- Skyridge (16-14)
Class 5A
Team (2021 Record)
- Spanish Fork (22-11)
- Jordan (21-9)
- Salem Hills (24-7)
- Olympus (25-4)
- Timpanogos (21-9)
Class 4A
Team (2021 Record)
- Snow Canyon (28-4)
- Desert Hills (24-5)
- Dixie (17-13)
- Crimson Cliffs (15-12)
- Ridgeline (20-8)
Class 3A
Team (2021 Record)
- Grantsville (22-9)
- Carbon (24-9)
- Juan Diego (13-13)
- Juab (24-4)
- Richfield (18-10)
Class 2A
Team (2021 Record)
- Enterprise (15-11)
- Parowan (13-12)
- Beaver (19-9)
- Kanab (14-11)
- South Sevier (8-11)