Players in Arizona have been eager to compete for their high school programs and it feels as we are getting close. The Arizona Interscholastic Association has announced that opening day of the 2021 season will commence on Monday, March 1st. Programs will allowed to begin practicing while holding tryouts in an official capacity before moving on to live competition. The PBR Arizona staff will start to begin its 2021 season coverage starting with our Preseason Power 25 rankings. Over the next two months and leading up to opening day, we will be highlighting some of the top programs in state in our team previews. PBR will also be publishing its state Power 25 rankings that will be updated every Monday once the season begins. Throughout the season, PBR will be pumping out coverage, highlighting individual players, games, rankings, scouting reports and nominating a player of the week. PBR looks forward to getting out there this spring to see some great baseball. 

Our Preseason Power 25 rankings coverage starts today.

Team: Basha

Preseason Rank: No. 12
2020 Record: 5-2-1
Conference: Premier
AIA Classification: 6A
Head Coach: Jim Schilling
Returning Starters: 2
Returning Pitchers: 2

OUTLOOK:

Basha comes into our Preseason Power 25 rankings at the No. 12 spot. The Bears lost quite a few big pieces from its squad in 2020. Ryland Zaboroski (GCU) & Bitner Workman moved onto DI baseball and were on tears to start the 2020 season. The leader of this team in 2021 will surly be Oregon State recruit, Tanner Smith. Although, he was recruited as a catcher, he will be playing wherever is best for the team this spring. Smith will without a doubt be in the lineup though. Smith is one of the top hitters with power in the state and it will be interesting to see how teams pitch him this season. The biggest question mark for the Bears is who else is going to step up? The squad has a ton of talent in its sophomore class and we wouldn't be surprised to see a few starters from there. Sophomore, Drew Douglas returns as a starter and we could see him locking down SS for the Bears this spring. He will also play a key role in the offense with his left-handed bat that should be followed over the next couple years. One of the strengths of this team will be its pitching staff. Seniors, Ethan Gibbs (Chandler Gilbert) & Cayden Musgrove should log significant innings and be leaders on the mound. Sophomore newcomer, Dallin Harrison could be another go to option as hes looked good in the offseason and will only get better as he gains experience. Tanner Smith should even log some innings as he can run his FB up to 90mph with a decent breaking ball. Sophomore, Jordan Vigil is one of the top defensive catchers in the state and should really help control the pitching staff and gain some more strikes from a receiving standpoint. If the youth on this team can contribute like we think it can, there is no reason we shouldn't see this team compete all season long. 

Preseason MVP:

Name	State	School	Class	POS	Commitment
Tanner Smith	AZ	Basha	2021	C/3B/P	Oregon State

KEY PLAYERS LOST:

Name	State	School	Class	POS	Commitment
Ryland Zaborowski	AZ	Basha	2020	3B	Grand Canyon
Bitner Workman	AZ	Basha	2020	SS	BYU
Noah Rodriguez	AZ	Basha	2020	1B/P	Eastern New Mexico
Blake Berrett	AZ	Basha	2020	RHP	Chandler Gilbert

TOP RETURNERS:

TOP NEWCOMERS:

UNDERCLASSMEN WATCHLIST:

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
Max Madrid	AZ	Basha	2024	OF
Jack Bleier	AZ	Basha	2024	1B
Landon Zaborowski	AZ	Basha	2024	INF
Carson Agostini	AZ	Basha	2024	OF

Related Content