The Colorado high school baseball season kicks off on March 7, opening day for regular season action under CHSAA 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 Colorado 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: Montezuma-Cortez
Head Coach: Tim Passell (7 years)
Classification: 3A
League: Intermountain
2023 Record: 22-6

Top Seniors:
Miles Frost, RHP/1B: 63.2 IP, 0.66 ERA, 15 BBs, 92 Ks, .388 BA, .994 OPS in ‘23

Top Juniors:
Samson Lein, 3B
Bobby Likes, OF
Kolby Wirth, C: .412 BA, .972 OPS in ‘23

Impact Underclassmen:
Cory Dean Carver, SS (2026): .486 BA, 36 SBs, 6 HR, 1.447 OPS in ‘23
Darren Daves, C/UTIL (2026): .424 BA, 34 SBs 4 HR, 1.301 OPS in ‘23

2024 SEASON OUTLOOK:

The Montezuma-Cortez Panthers are an exciting 3A team heading into 2024. The pitching will likely be held down by senior Miles Frost who had an outstanding season in 2023, while also being a threat with the bat. The Panthers also have some young prospects in Cory Dean Carver and Darren Daves who put up some staggering numbers as freshmen last spring. Both players have extremely high ceilings at the moment and could end up making a ton of noise in 2024 if they continue to develop. Coach Passell loves the overall experience of this group heading into the season, and believes they can be even better than their elite 8 outcome in the State Championship last year. 

Find more information on the 2024 Panthers’ program below:

+ Follow them on X: @PantherBall970

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