6A Baseball Preview

Arizona is consistently one of the hotspots in high school baseball. Arizona always produces MLB and division 1 athletes, consistently churning out high level talent. There are many nationally ranked teams in the Grand Canyon state this year, and there are many high level recruits on some of these teams. Today, I will be previewing 10 of the top teams in Arizona’s highest division, the 6A conference.

10 Red Mountain

Red Mountain is coming off of a 13-5 2024 campaign and return many key pieces as they look to defend their 6A East Valley region crown. Red Mountain went an impressive 10-0 in region play last year, something they look to do again this year. One of the more key pieces returning for the Mountain Lions is Arizona State commit Hagen Wright (SR), who swatted 6 homers for the team last year. Also returning for Red Mountain is Dylan Keith (SO), who pitched for an impressive 1.68 ERA and Maddox Loria (SR) who had a 1.75 ERA. Red Mountain has the capability of running through the East Valley region again and returns a lot of production from a very good 2024 varsity season. The Mountain Lions open on March 5th at home against Pinnacle.

9 Basha

The Bears are an interesting team to preview this year, coming off of a 10-8 season which included a semifinal run in the postseason. The Bears went an unimpressive 2-6 in the 6A premier region under first year head coach Eric Albright. The main piece returning for the Basha Bears is two way player Zach Bolles (JR), who had an impressive sophomore season where he pitched a 1.80 ERA and won 6A premier region pitcher of the year. Zach is not the only main piece returning as catcher Grant Smith (SR) will be behind the plate consistently for Basha this year. Basha needs to improve this year and the addition of Casteel to the region is not making things any easier. Basha opens the year on March 3rd against Highland.

8 Mountain Ridge

The Mountain Lions from Glendale will be looking to have a similar season to last year, which saw them go 12-6 in a magical run. The Mountain Lions want to show that campaign was no fluke, and Joe Forbes (SR), Arizona commit, will be a huge factor in the team’s success this year. Lucas Baughmann (JR) also returns along with Matthew Licardi (SR). These players were heavy contributors on varsity last year for Mountain Ridge and will aim to do so again this year. Mountain Ridge opens up the year at West Point as they will take on the Dragons on February 27th. 

7 O'Connor

O'Connor is coming off a season where they were the runners up at the highest level in the state, falling short to Queen Creek in the finals. O'Connor finished 12-6 on the regular season and had a very good year. The main attraction for the Eagles this year will be Carter Daly (SR). The senior batted an impressive .340 last year and was extremely productive at the plate for the Eagles, and he looks to use his senior leadership to help this team back to the finals. O'Connor will open up at home March 4th against Corona del Sol.

6 Liberty

Liberty is another team from the 6A Desert Valley, who finished at the top of that region with a 15-3 record last season. The Lions were very good last year and were a couple of runs short from making a run at the 6A state title. Returning for the Lions is UCSB commit Braden Watson (SR), who had an extremely productive year with 5 homers and a .368 average from the catcher position. Liberty will compete with Mountain Ridge, OConnor, and Pinnacle in the very difficult 6A Desert Valley region. Liberty will look to defend the region title against Tucson on March 3rd in their opener.

5 Hamilton

Hamilton is a consistent power in Arizona baseball. Hamilton has produced players such as Cody Bellinger and many other big leaguers, and they look to win a state title this year. The star for the Huskies will be Texas A&M commit Boston Kellner (SR), who batted close to .500 and hit 12 home runs for the Huskies last year. Another key returner is Arizona commit Ben Ball (JR) who batted .471 last season. Hamilton finished 11-7 last year, and came up short in the playoffs, with one of their losses including a 15-0 rout against Brophy. Hamilton will host Mountain Ridge in the opener as they look to capture another state title.

4 Brophy

Brophy had one of its best seasons ever last year, securing the 2 seed in the 6A conference, going 15-3. Brophy returns many key pieces as they had a young squad last year. The main returner on the pitching staff is RHP Jack Lafflam (SR), who is committed to play baseball for the Arizona Wildcats. Brophy is absolutely loaded this year, coming into the year as one of the best teams on the west coast. Brophy has another Arizona commit, that being Benton Hickman (JR), another RHP. Brophy returns a good chunk of their team from last year and are looking to make another deep run in the 6A playoffs. Their chances are very high as they have one of the most top to bottom rosters in the state. The Broncos will be taking the trip down to Yuma to open their season against Kofa on March 3rd. 

3 Casteel

Casteel is coming off of a 5A title run where they went 15-3 and unbeaten in the playoffs, dominating all of their opponents. This year, the Colts will make the jump to the highest conference, that being 6A. The Colts were senior heavy last year, but they are returning some absolute studs. Outfielder Ryan Harwood (JR) is one of the best talents to ever come through Arizona, and he is currently committed to the top baseball team in college, the Texas A&M Aggies. The Colts also return shortstop Ryne Barker (JR) who is currently committed to GCU for the next level. The Colts have one of the best coaching staffs in the state, and they should guide them to a deep run this year. The Colts will travel to Corona on February 27th to open the 2025 year.

2 Corona del Sol

Corona is absolutely the most stacked team in Arizona on paper. Last year they went 8-10, but some of the talent they have brought in from other schools is nothing short of remarkable. The team features many division 1 commits, including Oklahoma State commit RHP Zane Burns (SR),  Texas commit RHP Brett Crossland (SR), Arizona State commits C Cooper Clouser (SR) and RHP Ryan Caruso (SR), as well as BYU commit SS Jaiden LoRe (SR). Also, coming over from Hamilton, UTIL Conor Rae joins the squad. Many people have Corona as the top team overall in the whole state, and that is not a crazy claim this year. Corona opens up at home against Casteel on February 27th.

1 Queen Creek

Finally, we get to the defending state champions, the Queen Creek Bulldogs. The Bulldogs dominated the state last year, going to the finals with ease and dominating everybody in their path. Queen Creek is returning one of the best players in the state, OF Tait Reynolds (JR). Tait is Mr. Do it all in a way, also quarterbacking the football team for the Bulldogs. Reynolds is committed to Clemson for both sports, being a very high caliber player at the plate and in the field for Queen Creek. Oregon commit Jet Berry (JR) is also returning, along with Loyola Marymount commit Alex Gamboa (SR) to man the infield. Queen Creek is going to be the favorites going into the season, and they have earned every bit of it. Queen Creek opens the season March 3rd at Pinnacle to start their title defense.