Prep Baseball Report

Alabama HS Team Preview: Piedmont Bulldogs


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: Piedmont Bulldogs
Head Coach: Matt Deerman
Classification: AHSAA Class 3A
Area Number: Class 3A, Area 9
2023 Record (Finish): 27-10 (Eliminated in Elite Eight)
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6
No. of Returning Pitchers: 6
Team Strengths: Pitching Depth

 


TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

INF McClane Mohon (1/7/23)


TEAM OUTLOOK

The Piedmont Bulldogs experienced another stellar spring season in 2023, making another deep run in the Class 3A playoffs and reaching the Elite 8 before being defeated by Gordo in a three-game series. The Bulldogs, a continous perennial power in Class 3A in Alabama, have won twelve straight area titles and have finished as the Class 3A runner-up in 2012, 2017, 2019, and 2022. This spring, the Bulldogs once again look strong on paper and will look to capture the Class 3A State Championship.

Last season, the Bulldogs really hit their stride and started playing their best baseball at the midway point of the season and carried it into the playoffs. They were ranked inside the top-10 in Class 3A for the entirey of the 2023 season and entered the playoffs with a 22-7 record. From that team, they return six positional starters and six pitchers, but will look to newer faces to replace the production left by seniors like Jack Hayes and others who graduated. The coaching staff is excited about this year's pitching depth with plenty of returners having logged significant innings in the past at the varsity level. Beginning at the top, INF McClane Mohon (Snead State CC, 2024) is a catalyst at the top of the order and a returning four-year starter at the varsity level. The senior infielder is coming off a stellar junior campaign where he was named to the 2nd Team of Class 3A All-State. Another multi-year starter coming back this spring is UTL/RHP Kale Austin (2025), who should occupy the cleanup spot once again this season. The junior has played at the varsity level for three years and is expected to be a key contibutor both at the plate and on the mound. LHP Brodie Homesley (2025) will once again be the ace of this year's pitching staff after posting a perfect 9-0 record during his sophomore campaign. The southpaw is a crafty left-hander who was named to the 1st Team of Class 3A All-State in 2023. OF Trevor Pike (2024) is another upperclassmen returning after serving as the nine-hole hitter last season. The senior led the team in stolen bases in 2023 and is a solid defender in the outfield. 1B/LHP Cole Wilson (2025) rounds out the notable returning upperclassmen, and brings back good pop and another run-producing bat to the middle of their order this spring. SS/RHP Cole Austin (2028) is one of the lone returning underclassmen who even through he's still an eighth-grader, brings back a year of experience after starting every game as a seventh-grader last season. He should also provide depth to this pitching staff, and only recorded one loss on the mound last season in a 1-0 game to Gordo in the 3rd round of the playoffs.

The Bulldogs have consistently been one of the top programs in Class 3A, and on paper, this year's team looks to be no different. They bring back plenty of valuable pieces both at the plate and on the mound while also looking to some newcomers for production. Piedmont will compete in Area 10 this spring against Saks, Walter Wellborn, and Weaver for the rights to another area championship at the end of the regular season. Expect another successfull season for the Bulldogs once again in 2024.


Find more information on the 2024 Piedmont program below:

+ Follow them on X: @PHSBaseball_16
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Alabama, 2024 HS Team Previews


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