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Alabama HS Team Preview: Huntsville Panthers

February 3, 2024
Austin Sharp
Alabama Scouting Director

The 2024 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: Huntsville Panthers
Head Coach: Luke Lamm
Classification: AHSAA Class 7A
Area Number: Class 7A, Area 7
2023 Record (Finish): 20-11 (Eliminated in 1st Round)
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5
Team Strengths: Pitching Depth, Baserunning

 

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

LHP/1B Chase Cartron (1/6/24)

MORE UPPERCLASS FOLLOWS

Class of 2024

  • RHP Braden Bostick (2024; uncommitted)
  • RHP Sims Bowman (2024; uncommitted)

RHP Braden Bostick (8/27/23)

Class of 2025

3B Dylan Duster (1/4/24)

TEAM OUTLOOK

The Huntsville Panthers reached the playoffs competing in the highest classification in Alabama last season, and have high aspirations of another appearance this spring with hopes of potentiallly advancing further. Behind some fronteline arms in the rotation and some key returning hitters, the Panthers have a strong roster heading into 2024.

The Panthers, who finished as the runner-up in their area last season, were dealt the difficult task of traveling on the road in the 1st round of the Class 7A playoffs to face-off against Thompson, the No. 1 team in Class 7A at the time. Unfortunately, they were eliminated by scores of 6-3 and 9-1 during that series, and ended their season with a 20-11 record. They hope that experience playing in a hostile playoff environment will help them this spring with many of those players returning to this year's team. The Panthers should feature a deep pitching staff on the mound and quickness on the base paths, both of which should be team strengths this spring. LHP/1B Chase Cartron (Troy, 2024) and RHP/OF Brody King (South Alabama, 2024) are a pair of senior Division 1 signees who are coming off noteworthy performances at the North AL Preseason All-State in early January. Cartron, a towering 6-foot-6, 215-pound southpaw, has worked up to 91 mph with his fastball and posted a 1.95 ERA a season ago, while King can also operate in the upper-80's and posted a 1.70 ERA in 2023. On the offenside side, the Panthers will be glad to get SS Tyce Moody (2024) and OF/LHP Steven Cavaco (Ohio State, 2025) back for another year. Moody is coming off a junior season where he led the team with 16 RBIs, while Cavaco is a PBR Future Games alumni and posted a .379 batting average a season ago. RHP Braden Bostick (2024) and RHP Sims Bowman (2024) are a pair of senior right-handers who both could be top-of-the-rotation arms and provide depth to the staff this spring for the Panthers. 3B Dylan Duster (2025) is a multi-sport player who has good pop and quick hands at the plate, while other names like INF/RHP Owen Foreman (2025), OF/RHP Landon Scott (2025), RHP Reece Thomas (2025), and OF/RHP Josh Knight (2025) are juniors who have a chance to make sizable impacts in a variety of ways this spring.

The Panthers are hoping to build off of last season's success, and seem to once again have the talent on this year's roster to reach the playoffs in Class 7A. They'll compete in Area 7 against Albertville, Grissom, and Sparkman for a berth in the playoffs at the end of the regular season. Look for Huntsville to once again be a competitive club in Class 7A in 2024.

Find more information on the 2024 Huntsville High School program below:

+ Follow them on X: @BaseballHHS
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Alabama, 2024 HS Team Previews

FOLLOW PREP BASEBALL ALABAMA THROUGHOUT THE SPRING

+ Prep Baseball Alabama on X
+ Prep Baseball Alabama on Instagram
+ Prep Baseball Alabama on Facebook

 

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