The Arkansas high school baseball season kicks off on Feb. 26, opening day for regular season action under AAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2024 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official Prep Baseball Arkansas Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Gentry
Head Coach: Anthony Nail (6 years at Ouachita High School, but this is my first year at Gentry.)
Classification: 4A
2023 Record: 12-7, lost in district quarterfinals

 

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2024 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Starters:

5

Top Returning Players:

Riggs Harper, SS/RHP, 2024, 5'8" 160 lb, R/L, returning all-conference player who hit .319 last year with a .556 OBP. He will be our everyday shortstop & a key relief pitcher for us along with being the backup catcher.

Drew Nash, IF/RHP, 2025, 5'11" 180 lb, R/R, didn't see much mound time last year due to injury & several senior pitchers, but he will be our ace this year. Mid 80s fastball with a changeup, curveball, and slider he feels comfortable throwing in any count.

Bennett Roberts, C/RHP, 2025, 6'0" 210 lb, R/R, will be starting catcher, hit .372 with a .518 OBP last year. He has a good chance at being the #2 starter but will definitely be in the pitching mix in some way.

Jared James, OF/RHP, 2024, 5'10" 200 lb, R/R, in the mix to start at center field. Hit .238 with a .429 OBP last year. He will throw some in relief for us.

Briar Mayberry, OF/RHP, 2024 5'11" 190 lb, R/R, in the mix for a corner outfield spot, probably left field. Hit .311 with a .439 OBP last year. He will also throw some in relief.

Top Newcomers:

Bryson Woodall, IF/RHP, 2027, 5'11" 150 lb, R/R. Talented freshman who has a good chance to find his way into the starting lineup. He will probably start on the mound in some non conference games for us early in the season with a chance to work his way into some more important innings later in the season.

Houston Nance, 1B, 2025, 6'0" 195 lb, R/R. Looks to take over the vacant 1st base position and pitch some non-conference relief.

Coach’s Insight:

“We will be very experienced at the top of our lineup with several players who will or could play college baseball after graduation. We have a roster full of guys senior through freshman who have bought into the culture we're creating, and I think that will pay dividends for our program when we inevitably hit a rough patch in the season where it feels like things aren't going our way. Depth will be an issue for us this year as we're not only trying to figure out the guys who will be in the bottom of the order for us but also who we can rely on as backups if we have guys who are injured or otherwise can't play in a given game. We will need to spend the first 4 weeks of the season finding out who our #2 starter is going to be and who our reliable relief pitchers are going to be.” – Anthony Nail, head coach

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Find more information on the 2024 Gentry program below:

+ Follow them on X: @CoachNail is my personal Twitter account but I post gameday posts and final scores for every game on there..
+ Visit Prep Baseball Arkansas’ 2024 AAA Season Preview page to learn more.

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