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Preseason Preview: Liberty

February 18, 2022
Paul Panaccione
Arizona Scouting Director

About Us / About Us

Opening Day is around the corner, try outs have been held, and rosters are soon to be set. The Arizona Interscholastic Association has announced that opening day of the 2022 season will commence on Wednesday, February 23rd. The PBR Arizona staff begins its 2022 season coverage starting with our preseason team previews, where we will take notes from coaches, and highlight returning players, newcomers, and some sleepers. Over the next couple weeks 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. 


Today, we look into:

Team: Liberty High School (6A, Desert Valley)
2021 Record: 21-3
Head Coach: Chris Raymond
Returning Starters: 5
Returning Pitchers: 2

 

OUTLOOK

As we gather info from coaching staffs, and come to a conclusion with our Preseason Power 25 Rankings, Coach Chris Raymond and the Lions will have the tall task of living up to last years 21-3 championship season. The Lions were led by a large group of upperclassmen last season who have now moved on to continue their careers at the next level. That leaves this Liberty team with only a few returners who got significant time during last years campaign. But this team is well coached, and although they lack returning players, this does not mean they lack talent. Coach Raymond's pitching staff is young, but they're talented. The pitching rotation will be made up of a few options in: 2023 Mississippi commit Traig Oughton, 2022 Daniel Osborn, 2024 Gerardo Gonzalez, 2022 Ty Thurman, and 2024 Max Charles. Oughton will most likely be Liberty's horse this year, followed by whoever steps up down the road. 2024 Gerardo Gonzalez has shown much promise as he has been clocked up into the high 80's with a big body and a power FB. Whoever is on the mound will have much help behind him, as the Lions expect to play high level defense at all positions this year. 2024 Max Charles (#2 ranked 2024) has transitioned over to SS, where he has shown no problems moving to a new position. Charles will also carry a large role offensively for this lineup. 2022 Colorado Mesa commit Kolby Felix will carry the torch for this offense, as a guy they rely on in the middle of the order to drive in runs. Felix will spend the season in CF and carry a leadership role for this team. This will be an interesting year for the Lions, as we will get to see if their young pitching staff can blossom through the year, and if the offense can provide them run support. Team baseball will win this group a lot of ball games. 

KEY PLAYERS LOST:

Name State School Class Position Commitment
Kaden Schiefelbein AZ Liberty 2021 RHP Washington St
Patrick Steitz AZ Liberty 2021 RHP Central AZ
Braden Lovett AZ Liberty 2021 SS Otawwa
Brexten Clubb AZ Liberty 2021 UTIL Northwest Nazarene
Tyler Cowan AZ Liberty 2021 MIF Paradise Valley CC
Carson Baker AZ Liberty 2021 LHP Glendale CC
Andrew Biddle AZ Liberty 2021 OF Glendale CC

TOP RETURNERS:

Name State School Class Position Commitment
Kolby Felix AZ Liberty 2022 OF Colorado Mesa
Max Charles AZ Liberty 2024 SS/P San Diego St
Gavin Armbruster AZ Liberty 2022 C -
Daniel Osborn AZ Liberty 2022 3B/RHP -
Traig Oughton AZ Liberty 2023 RHP Mississippi

PRESEASON MVP:

Name State School Class Position Commitment
Kolby Felix AZ Liberty 2022 OF Colorado Mesa

TOP NEWCOMERS:

Name State School Class Position Commitment
Gerardo Gonzalez AZ Liberty 2024 RHP/1B -
Ty Thurman AZ Liberty 2022 RHP/3B -
Andrew Jacobs AZ Liberty 2025 RHP -

UNDERCLASSMEN WATCHLIST:

Name State School Class Position Commitment
Gehrig Nuttall AZ Liberty 2025 LHP -
AJ Haseltine AZ Liberty 2025 OF/RHP -
Braden Watson
 AZ Liberty 2025 C -
Jacob Lewis
 AZ Liberty 2024 UTIL -
Caleb Rose
 AZ Liberty 2024 C/INF -

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