Olympia: No. 5 in MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Preseason Baseball Rankings

Video: Olympia slideshow
See multiple images from our pro photo shoot with the Olympia High baseball team

In 2014, Major League Baseball scouts were a constant presence at Olympia games with senior shortstop Nick Gordon taking center stage and garnering most of the attention. Not surprisingly, Gordon went No. 5 overall in last year's draft.

In 2015, the scouts will continue to make a pilgrimage to the Orlando-area school. This time the focus will be senior pitcher Juan Hillman, a force on the mound who could go somewhere in the top two rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Hillman is one reason why Olympia could be a contender for the Class 8A championship in Florida this year. The Titans have averaged 25 wins a season the past three years and have five returning starters from last year's 25-3 squad.

With two of the top returning pitchers in the state, the Titans begin the season ranked No. 5 in the MaxPreps Preseason National Baseball Rankings.

Over the next two weeks, MaxPreps is counting down the top 10 teams in the preseason national rankings. The countdown will conclude on Feb. 24 with the announcement of the preseason Top 100.

See the Top 10 teams landing page here

View the gallery from the Olympia preseason photo shoot by photographer Andrew Bershaw

School size: Florida Class 8A


Enrollment: 2,959


2014 finish: 25-3


Head coach: Charles Schall


Career record: 25-3


Years at school: 2


Notable MLB players:


Brad Miller (2013-14)


Nick Gordon (No. 5 overall pick 2014 draft)


No. of starters returning: 4

Top losses:

Nick Gordon, SS, .512

Kyle Corbin, OF, .361

Patrick McClellan, 3B, .378

Michael Reiker, 1B, .317


Key returners:

Juan Hillman, P, .366 batting average, 20 RBIs, 8-1 record, 79 strikeouts, 0.73 ERA

Michael Byrne, P, 10-1 record, 0.93 ERA, 62 strikeouts

Cameron Montgomery,  OF, .379 batting average, 3 home runs, 22 RBI

Kirk Sidwell, OF, .273 batting average

Toughest game: The toughest game of the season comes early for the Titans, who play Lake Brantley on Wednesday. Lake Brantley won a state championship in 2013. Later in the season, Olympia takes on Apopka, the team that knocked Olympia out of the postseason last year.

Local outlook: Olympia sailed through district play last year, going 8-0 against the likes of Evans, West Orange, Ocoee and Apopka. Olympia has lost just one district game in the past three seasons.

Overall outlook: Class 8A has a number of contenders, including Park Vista, KIllian, Columbus, South Dade, Alonso, Lake Mary and Flanagan.

Pitching: The Titans field two of the top pitchers in Florida in Juan Hillman and Michael Byrne. The two combined to win 18 games last year with Byrne going 10-1. Hillman, however, is considered the top prospect and is targeted to go in the first couple of rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft in June.

Offense: Replacing the bat of Nick Gordon will be difficult, since he batted .512 with a team-high 28 RBIs and six home runs. However, Cameron Montgomery will likely provide most of the power this year after knocking in 22 runs and hitting three home runs as a junior. HIllman was also a threat at the plate with 20 RBIs and a .366 batting average.