Alabama High School Team Preview: Bob Jones Patriots

The 2022 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 Montgomery 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 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 in each AHSAA classification as well as a Power 25. One thing that you especially don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state as well as recaps and previews of big games across the state.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.

High School Name: Bob Jones Patriots

Coach’s Name: Jared Smith 

Classification: AHSAA 7A 

Area Number: Area 8 

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 4 

No. of Returning Pitchers: 8 

Team Strengths: Overall Depth, Pitching Depth, Middle Infield Defense 

Top Returning Players:

• 1B/OF Gavin Moran (Coastal Alabama, 2022)
• C Ryan Revera (Wallace-Hanceville, 2022)
• OF/RHP Fisher Moss (Snead State CC, 2022)
• 1B JW Hopkins (Wallace-Hanceville CC, 2022)
• RHP/MIF Cole Molina (Wallace-Hanceville CC, 2022)
• 3B/RHP Braden Booth (Mississippi State, 2024)
• RHP/1B Sam Mitchell (Alabama, 2023)

Top 2022 Prospects:

• C Anthony Bermea (2022)
• OF Dylan Hyder (Huntingdon, 2022)

Top 2023 Prospects:

• MIF/RHP Nathan Mayfield (2023)
• RHP/OF Sammy Vander Hill (2023)

Team Outlook

The Bob Jones Patriots have consistently produced deep playoff runs throughout the Class 7A State Playoffs over the last few years, including reaching the 7A State Finals in 2019. The Patriots return four positional players and eight pitchers who saw time on last year's team, so they have plenty of experience coming back for this season.

The Patriots will look to have the same type of success that they had last spring, when they finished as runner-up in a tough area. They lose some key middle-of-the-order hitters from last year's lineup, but return nearly everyone on the mound. 1B/OF Gavin Moran (Coastal Alabama CC) has a chance to be one of the leaders offensively this year after playing a big role last spring. Other seniors like C Ryan Revera (Wallace-Hanceville CC), 1B JW Hopkins (Wallace-Hanceville CC), C Anthony Bermea & OF Dylan Hyder (Huntingdon) will also be sure to make an impact this spring at the plate. On the mound, RHP Sam Mitchell (Alabama) looks to be a prime candidate to replace Thomas Ballard as this staff's ace. Mitchell is a long 6-7, 200-pounder with an upper-80's fastball and quality secondary offerings, and commands all pitches in the zone. 3B/RHP Braden Booth (Mississippi State) & RHP/OF Fisher Moss (Snead State CC) & RHP/MIF Cole Molina (Wallace-Hanceville CC) will all have big roles as two-way players this spring, and should help bolster this pitching staff behind Mitchell. MIF/RHP Nathan Mayfield is another junior who will look make an impact this spring, while RHP/OF Sammy Vander Hill is a recent move-in from national powerhouse Orange Lutheran that has a chance to be a quality newcomer for the Patriots.

It's easy to see the amount of talent that Bob Jones has coming back, and that's one of the reasons why the debuted at No. 8 in the Class 7A in our Preseason Top-10. Pitching should be one of the main strengths of this team, but they've also got some solid options offensively. Look for the Patriots to be right back in the middle of things in Class 7A at the end of the season.

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