College Station: No. 7 in Preseason Xcellent 25 Baseball Rankings

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

After winning the Texas Class 3A state championship without a senior in the lineup and in only the school's second year of existence, it's easy to see that there is a steep learning curve at College Station.

That type of early success will come in handy for the Cougars this year as they move up to Class 5A with the school's first senior class leading the way.

Behind a star-studded junior lineup, College Station posted a 35-6 record last year and defeated Argyle 5-2 in the Class 3A championship game. Realignment in Texas, and the addition of a senior class, moves the Cougars to Class 5A (which was formerly Class 4A in the old classification system) for a run at back-to-back state titles.

Coach Scott Holder has put together a schedule that will certainly get battle-tested before the postseason begins. The Cougars will head to the National High School Invitational in late March to face some of the top teams in the country. College Station will also travel to Flower Mound, home of the defending Class 5A (now 6A) state champions, to face some of the top teams in Texas at the Flower Mound Tournament.

With all nine starters returning, College Station begins the season ranked No. 7 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 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 College Station preseason photo shoot by photographer Jim Redman

School size: Texas Class 5A


Enrollment: 1,157


2014 finish: 35-6, Texas Class 3A state champion


Head coach: Scott Holder


Career record: 49-14 (315 career wins)


Years at school: 3 (15 total years coaching)


Notable MLB players:

College Station fields its first senior class in 2015

No. of starters returning: 9

Top losses:

None, College Station has not graduated any seniors yet.

Key returners:

Ryan Johnson, OF, Senior, .394 batting average, 7 home runs, 50 RBIs, 10 triples, TCU commit

Baylor Rowlett, C/P, Senior, .443 batting average, 50 RBIs, 9 home runs, 18 doubles, 6-0 pitching record, 46 strikeouts, .830 ERA, Oklahoma State commit

Kyle Richardson, P/OF, Junior, .287 batting average, 26 RBIs, 10-1 record, 1.89 ERA, 87 strikeouts, Texas A&M commit

MacGregor Hines, P/OF, Senior, .312 batting average, 10-2 record, 1.65 ERA, 94 strikeouts, Florida commit

Jaxxon Grisham, SS/2B, Senior, .402 batting average, 29 stolen bases, 12 doubles, 36 RBIs, Sam Houston State commit

Waker Davis, SS/P, Senior, .318 batting average, 28 stolen bases, 18 doubles, 20 RBIs, Sam Houston State commit

Mathew Bennett, 3B/1B/P, Junior, .324 batting average, 27 RBIs

Jake Georgiades, 3B/P, Senior, .278 batting average, 21 RBIs

Cole Whittlesey, OF, Senior, .271, 11 doubles, 24 stolen bases, 22 RBIs

Cody Staab, OF, Senior, .267, 21 stolen bases, 29 RBIs, Rice commit

Izzy Martinez, 2B, Senior, .328, 39 walks, 17 RBIs
Toughest game: The Cougars will travel to play in the National High School Invitational and will face some of the top teams in the country, including the likes of JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano), Washington state champion Puyallup, Tennessee state champion Farragut (Knoxville) and Georgia state champion Lambert (Suwanee). College Station opens the tournament with Trinity Prep (Winter Park, Fla.).

Local outlook: College Station moves up from Texas Class 3A to Texas Class 5A (the former Class 4A). The Cougars will be the favorite in the newly formed District 18-5A, which includes Willis, Livingston, Huntsville, Caney Creek, Bryan, A&M Consolidated and Rudder.

Overall outlook: Moving up to Class 5A means that College Station will have to fend off some of the traditional powers from the former 4A class. Those teams include Calallen (Corpus Christi), Brenham, Moody (Corpus Christi) and last year's state champion Aledo.

Defense: The Cougar lineup begins with Ryan Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder who ranks No. 6 in the state of Texas by Perfect Game. He batted .394 as a junior with 50 RBIs and seven home runs. Headed to TCU, Johnson will likely go high in the Major League Baseball Draft in June. He is a preseason MaxPreps All-American.

A Cougar who could join Johnson in the draft is catcher Baylor Rowlett. Signed to Oklahoma State, Rowlett could go somewhere on the second day of the draft. He batted .443 with 50 RBIs and nine home runs as a junior and earned MaxPreps Medium School All-American honors.

The Cougars also return all-state second baseman Jaxxon Grisham (.402, 36 RBIs) along with outfielder Cole Whittlesey (.271, 22 RBIs), third baseman Jake Georgiades (.278, 21 RBIs), outfielder Cody Staab (.267, 29 RBIs) and infielder Izzy Martinez (.328, 17 RBIs).

Johnson and Rowlett earned Class 3A state co-player of the year honors while Grisham also made the all-state first team. Hines and Richardson were both second team all-state. Davis, Bennett, and Whittlesey were both first team all-district while Georgiades was second team all-district and Martinez was district defensive MVP.

Pitching: The pitching staff is strong with a pair of 10-game winners in MacGregor Hines (10-2, 1.65 ERA, 94 strikeouts) and Kyle Richardson (10-1, 1.89 ERA, 87 strikeouts). Both Hines and Richardson are headed to Division I schools with Hines going to Florida and Richardson headed to Texas A&M.

Coach Holder also expects big things from junior Mathew Bennett, who did not throw last year but is expected to contribute this season. Other pitching prospects include Rowlett and shortstop Waker Davis.

Coach quote: "I think we have a chance to repeat as state champions this season. We are traveling to North Carolina to play in the National High School Invitational where we will be playing against some of the best in the nation. We will also play at the Flower Mound tournament where we will face some of the best in the state of Texas."
- Scott Holder