The 2024 Texas high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Texas.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Austin at the UIL State Tournament in June, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Texas. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, eventually releasing our Preseason Power 30 rankings that’ll carry us into the opening week of action.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state. Each week we will be releasing our Players of the Week and updating the Power 30 rankings.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Woden Eagles
Head Coach: Brad Stevens
UIL Classification: UIL Class 2A (District 23)
Team Strengths: Pitching
2023 Record (Playoff Finish): 15-15 (2A Area Finalists)
Key Players Lost: C, Bobby Stringer (Houston Christian University), 1B, Will Stanaland, CF, Drake Pitts

 

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TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

+ INF Chris Sheffield (2024; uncommitted)
+ RHP/INF Bryce Smith (2024; uncommitted) - Second Team All-District in 2023
+ UTL/RHP Wade Stanaland (2025; uncommitted) - Honorable Mention All-District in 2023
+ LHP/OF Brayden Bridges (2025; uncommitted) - Honorable Mention All-District in 2023
+ INF Angel Velasco (2025; uncommitted) - Second Team All-District in 2023
+ OF/RHP Brayden Dichard (2026)
+ INF/RHP Jakson Ortiz (2026)

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TOP NEWCOMERS

+ C Josh Hernandez (2026)

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FRESHMEN TO FOLLOW

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TEAM OUTLOOK

The Woden Eagles, led by Coach Brad Stevens return a bunch of their pitching from a 2023 team that finished as 2A Area Finalists. The Eagles will also field an experienced roster consisting of mainly seniors and juniors that could end up being a strength of the team this year.

Senior RHP/INF Bryce Smith (uncommitted) is expected to lead the charge for the Eagles in 2024 after earning Second Team All-District honors a year ago. Smith will be joined in the senior class by a pair of infielders in Chris Sheffield (uncommitted) and Corey Dingler (uncommitted).

The Eagles’ junior class will be led by three players who earned all-district awards in 2023 in UTL/RHP Wade Stanaland (uncommitted - Honorable Mention), LHP/OF Brayden Bridges (uncommitted - Honorable Mention), and INF Angel Velasco (uncommitted - Second Team). They will also be joined by junior OF Jeremy Marble and should create a solid foundation for the Eagles to build around for this year and next.

Woden is not without promising underclassmen either. Sophomore OF/RHP Brayden Dichard and sophomore INF/RHP Jakson Ortiz return this year after getting a taste of varsity as freshmen in 2023. This duo will have company as sophomore C Josh Hernandez is projected to join the varsity squad and contribute behind the dish in 2024.

With the amount of pitching the Eagles return from 2023 and the amount of talent within their upperclassmen ranks, look for Woden to make another run at postseason play in 2024.

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Find more information on the 2024 Woden Eagles program below:

+ Prep Baseball Texas, Power 30 Homepage

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