Baseball preview: Badgers open season against No. 8 Johnson County CC
With a handful of impact players returning and an abundance of talent in the freshman class,
the Amarillo College baseball team is primed to take a step forward in 2024.
Reaching the postseason and garnering a conference championship is where expectations are set.
The Badgers will embark on their second season since the reboot of athletics on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Hodgetown Stadium in Downtown Amarillo.
AC will host eighth-ranked Johnson County Community College for a four-game series, with doubleheaders beginning at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
Amarillo College head coach Brandon Rains laid out his goals for the season, stating that the talent on the roster and culture within the program has significantly progressed since the 2023 campaign ended 270 days ago.
“This upcoming season, we could do a lot of great things. The sky’s the limit. Our goal is to win conference every single year from this time forward.,” he said. “It’s an upgraded roster from a standpoint of culture and talent.”
Roster Outlook
Offensive firepower was a strong suit for the Badgers in 2023 and on paper, the Badger bats have the potential to be more potent this season.
Three all-conference selections return, headlined by outfielder Sydney Ward who hit 21 home runs as a freshman. The total was tied for the eighth-highest mark in NJCAA Division I.
Ward is joined by 2023 WJCAC all-conference honorable mention honorees Jan Avila and Grant Watkins.
Avila tallied a team-high 67 hits last season and had the third-highest batting average (.376).
In only 67 at-bats, Watkins recorded the fourth-best batting average (.376) and the second-highest slugging percentage (.627) on the ’23 roster.
Sophomore pitcher and outfielder Gabriel Watson enters the season as one of two NCAA Division I baseball commits on the Badgers roster currently, along with Avila.
Watson made a commitment to play baseball at Purdue University, beginning next fall.
The Waco, Texas native is slated to have a significant impact on the mound as one of the Badgers highest velocity pitchers.
After having thrown less than one inning last season, Watson fine-tuned his pitching skillset last summer while playing in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
Watson was selected to play in the organization’s all-star game for his stellar performance at the plate and on the mound.
Rains noted the importance of the returning sophomores and the foundation for success they laid a season ago.
“I think freshman are the lifeblood of any program and that’s how you provide your foundation for anything. Then returners, the more you develop the more you hatch those eggs so to speak. That’s where you are going to get your championship team,” he said. “You can sprinkle in a few transfers here and there.”
The resumes of the incoming freshman and transfers speak for themselves when it comes to the group’s potential.
Rains secured a trio of the best Panhandle high school stars from a year ago in Randall High’s Payton Bush and Duncan Bowles, along with Plainview’s Isaac Garza.
Bush’s track record proved he was one of the most decorated athletes in Class 4A over the past three years. The second baseman was the Amarillo Globe-News Player of the Year in 2023, the 4-4A District MVP, and was a three-time all-state selection.
As a sophomore, Bush was the only sophomore in 4A to be selected to a TSWA all-state team.
Bowles, the tallest Badger on the roster at 6-foot-6, was a two-time district pitcher of the year and an all-state selection in 2023.
Bush and Bowles helped guide Randall to the 4A state semifinals and a 38-5 record last spring.
Garza was a two-way standout for the Bulldogs, playing nearly every position on the field.
The Plainview native was named the 5A District 3 MVP in 2023 and was a first-team all-district selection as a junior.
Garza will be utilized as pitcher for the Badgers this upcoming season.
Additional names to know heading into the season include Blinn Community College transfer Chris Benavidez, third baseman and former Texas Tech commit David De Hoyos, freshman catcher Dylan Steele, and Klein Oak High School product Bret Deegan.
Benavidez earned NJCAA All-Academic First Team honors with a 4.0 GPA as a freshman at Blinn Community College. In the fall, he showed he’s one of the fastest athletes on the team via a team-best 10 stolen bases and recorded an impressive .420 batting average.
De Hoyos, who first committed Texas Tech before his senior year, flipped his commitment before his senior baseball season at Smithson Valley -- a program that advanced to the third round of the playoffs in 5A.
De Hoyos is slated to be the starting third baseman after batting the second-highest average on the team in the fall. The San Antonio native hit for a .466 average in 58 at bats.
De Hoyos was ranked as the 21st shortstop in the state by the Perfect Game and the 113th player overall in the state of Texas.
Steele will be one of two catchers deployed throughout the season for the Badgers. The freshman from Frisco Lebanon Trail High School was the 5A District 10 MVP as a senior and a first-team all-state selection in Class 5A.
In the fall, Steele hit a .390 average and four home runs.
Deegan is a threat both on the mound and at the plate, as he showed throughout the fall and high school career.
Deegan hit a .434 average in the fall and recorded the fourth-highest strikeout total as a pitcher.
In high school, the Spring, Texas native was a first-team all-district pitcher on Klein Oak’s district championship team.