The Oklahoma high school baseball season kicks off on March 2nd, opening day for regular season action under Ossaa regulations. Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2021 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, leading into a countdown through the official PBR Oklahoma 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.

If you would like your team covered, please have your head coach email us at [email protected]

Our 2021 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Central High School (Sallisaw)
OSSAA Class: 2A
Head Coach: Jason Edwards
Returning Starters: 4
Returning Pitchers: 4

TOP PLAYERS

One intriguing follow story at the OSSAA 2A level this high school season will be the success of this Sallisaw team, primarily because of how young this roster is. With only a handful of starters returning, head coach Jason Edwards’ squad will rely heavily on contributions from several first year players - especially up the middle. 

Four 2024 graduates will presumably man the diamond’s most important defensive positions for Sallisaw. The up-the-middle infield duo of Maddox Edwards and Cade Tucker’s success on the dirt should be an integral part of this team’s success. Connor Walters figures to captain the defense behind the plate, while Jace Mendenhall should serve as the team’s main rover in the outfield. The type of contributions Sallisaw gets from its first-year class will ultimately determine their success in 2021. 

OUTLOOK

STRENGTHS: As a team, Sallisaw prides itself on their deep pitching staff, that returns four arms, and quality all-around defense. They feel, internally, that this is the biggest strength of their squad. Good defensively, deep pitching staff

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: Like we mentioned above, this team does lack the experience that others have - creating a pretty noticeable unknown for their overall outlook. 

Make sure to follow @PBR_Oklahoma on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2021 season.

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