2025 Citronelle Wildcats Team Preview
January 6, 2025
The 2025 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Alabama.
Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the Jacksonville/Oxford/Montgomery area at the AISA or AHSAA state championships, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Alabama. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason top-10 rankings in each AHSAA classification.
Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state.
Each week we will be releasing our Players of the Week, updating the top-10 ranks in each AHSAA classification, as well updating our Power 25 overall rankings. One thing, especially, you don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state, as well as the recaps and previews of the big games we’re covering.
*Please note the information has been gathered from head coaches across the state, based on their replies to the questionnaire we distributed over this offseason.
High School: Citronelle Wildcats
Head Coach: Cody Crowell
Classification: AHSAA Class 5A
Area Number: Class 5A, Area 2
2023 Record (Finish): 11-19 (No Postseason)
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 2
No. of Returning Pitchers: 2
Team Strengths: Strong Underclassmen Group, Talented Emerging Pitchers
TOP RETURNING PLAYERS
- SS/RHP James Reid (2025)
- OF Garrett Pitts (2025)
TOP UNDERCLASSMEN
- RHP Toby Rowell (2027)
- OF/LHP Sye Byrd (2027)
- INF CC Noyd (2027)
TEAM OUTLOOK
The Citronelle Wildcats just missed out on the Class 5A playoffs last spring finishing third in a five-team area and hope they can continue to take another step in the right direction in 2025. They lost a good bit of last year's team to graduation, with five of those players signing on to play at the next level, but appear to have some exciting younger talent that looks ready to step into larger roles at the varsity level this spring in Class 5A.
While the Wildcats finished with an 11-19 record in 2024, they did play some quality competition with many opponents going on to reach the playoffs in their own resepective classification. Finishing with a 4-4 record in their area, the Wildcats utlimately missed out on the playoffs finishing behind St. Paul's Episcopal and Mobile Christian, arguably two of the top teams in Class 5A last spring. This year, the road appears to get more difficult, as powerhouse Faith Academy drops down from Class 6A and joins their area replacing LeFlore Magnet. Coach Crowell & co. are still optimistic about this year's team, which features a talented younger group of players ready to make their impact in the Wildcats' program. There are still a couple noteworthy senior returners who are going to be expected to show those younger players the way, especially in the early part of the season. SS/RHP James Reid (2025) is one of their team leaders and will play a big role for the Wildcats both at the plate and on the mound this season. As a junior, the right-hander recorded 40 K in 40 IP on the mound and made a sizable impact at the plate. The other key returning senior in addition to Reid will be OF Garrett Pitts (2025), who is coming off a stellar junior season at the plate. In 2024, the left-handed hitting outfielder posted a .392 batting average with 6 2Bs, 12 RBIs, 25 Rs, 22 BBs, 5 HBPs, and 13 SBs. Both of these players will be relied on for production and leadership throughout this season. Looking at some of those aforementioned underclassmen this coaching staff is excited about, RHP Toby Rowell (2027) is a 6-4, 180-pound right-handed pitcher who is looking to build off of a strong freshman campaign where he went 23 IP, 34 K, 13 BB, and compiled a 1.08 ERA. In addition to Rowell, OF/LHP Sye Byrd (2027) and INF CC Noyd (2027) are two more talented sophomores who can provide value to this year's team. In 2024, Byrd hit .400 in batting average with 3 2Bs, 4 3Bs, and 14 RBIs, while Noyd added 14 SBs, 17 Rs, 11 BBs, and 5 HBPs. With a year under their belt for these sophomores, the Wildcats are hoping it will only benefit them this spring and in the years to come.
The Wildcats have a good bit to replace with two positional starters and two pitchers returning this year's team, but there's still plenty of room for optimism as those younger, talented players are looking to build off of their successes in 2024. They'll compete in Class 5A, Area 2 against Faith Academy, Mobile Christian, St. Paul's Episcopal, and Mobile Christian for a spot in the playoffs at the end of the regular season. Citronelle will hope to be playing their best baseball down the stretch once they reach area play comes up in 2025.
Find more information on the 2025 Citronelle High School program below:
+ Follow them on X: @CitroBaseball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Alabama, 2025 HS Team Previews
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