With high school basketball heading into the final week of its season, that means baseball and the rest of spring sports are on deck.
The official start date of the 2023 high school baseball season is Monday, March 6, and the teams beginning the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches rankings are no strangers to success.
The No. 1 teams in 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A to open the season are all defending state champs who everyone will be gunning for this spring. As programs, Riverton, Lehi, Crimson Cliffs, Juan Diego and South Sevier learned what it takes to get over the hump a year ago, and all five hope they have the personnel to make a run again.
In 6A, Riverton graduated nine seniors and its five top Deseret News all-staters from a year ago, but it return six contributors as it looks to build upon last year’s success.
“We’re excited to get the season going as we will have new kids filling in the holes of the nine seniors that graduated last year. Players are working hard trying to get ready for the challenges that lay ahead for this year’s season,” said Riverton coach Jay Applegate.
The usual suspects of Region 4 teams and Bingham round out the top five in a 6A field that should be fairly wide open this season.
In 5A, a year after winning its first state title in 40 years, Lehi returns several key pieces as it attempts to run it back. The Pioneers return several key all-staters from last year, which gives them experience on the mound and at the plate to make some noise again.
Spanish Fork, Jordan, Olympus and Orem round out the top five in 5A, with Jordan returning the bulk of its top talent from a year ago.
In 4A, coming off its first baseball title in school history, Crimson Cliffs is loaded with talent as it seeks a repeat. The Mustangs return 10 contributors from last year’s title team, including their three first team all-staters.
“We’re excited to get started with a lot of guys returning after having good summers and experiences from last year; we look forward to having a solid team back with some great senior leadership and some underclassmen ready for the challenge,” said Crimson Cliffs coach Justin Abbott.
Southern Utah is always stacked with baseball talent, as Crimson Cliffs will face plenty of tough tests throughout region play.
In 3A, Juan Diego won last year’s state title as a No. 7 seed, and similar parity could be the theme again in a pretty wide-open 3A field; five teams received first-place votes in the coaches preseason rankings.
Headlining that list is Juan Diego, which won its first state title in 11 years last season.
“We return a core foundation of our previous year’s team and look forward to another great spring of competition,” said Juan Diego coach Taylor Berg.
Among the players returning for the Soaring Eagle this spring is the playoff standout from last year, Andrew Lombana.
In 2A, South Sevier ended its 20-year title drought a year ago, and is loaded with returning experience to chase down a repeat. Coach Eric Baker said he returns 12 contributors from last year’s team, led by playoff MVP Riley Barney.
Deseret News preseason rankings
Class 6A
Team (2022 record)
- Riverton (25-8)
- American Fork (25-8)
- Pleasant Grove (20-11)
- Bingham (23-7)
- Skyridge (18-13)
Class 5A
Team (2022 record)
- Lehi (27-4)
- Spanish Fork (22-6)
- Jordan (21-8)
- Olympus (22-10)
- Orem (22-11)
Class 4A
Team (2022 record)
- Crimson Cliffs (23-4)
- Snow Canyon (22-12)
- Dixie (23-6)
- Desert Hills (13-14)
- Ridgeline (16-11)
Class 3A
Team (2022 record)
- Juan Diego (16-11)
- Juab (21-7)
- Carbon (18-10)
- Canyon View (18-11)
- Grantsville (22-8)
Class 2A
Team (2022 record)
- South Sevier (20-3)
- Kanab (17-11)
- Enterprise (19-7)
- Beaver (15-12)
- Duchesne (17-9)