Prep Baseball Report

2024 Utah Power 25 Rankings: Week Three Update


Cam Black-Araujo
Utah Operations

TOP 10 BREAKDOWN

To view complete Power 25 Rankings, click here.
To view upcoming event schedule, click here.

  1. Dixie (14-2/ 3-1): Went 6-0 on the week with two region wins vs. Cedar by a total score of 27-1. The Flyers then reeled off a 4-0 record to win the Red Rock Classic as the host school. The four wins came over American Fork and Pleasant Grove in front of sold out crowds at Flyer Field and then 2 victories over Taylorsville and Timpanogos.
  2. Snow Canyon (10-3/2-0): Decisive blowouts with a total score of 39-0 over Hurricane and then win the Buck’s Ace Tourney with a split of Lone Peak and wins over Salem Hills and Woods Cross.
  3. Mountain Ridge (3-1):  The Sentinels went 1-1 on the week and are just getting their season underway, but the power bat of Remington Edwards, coupled with DI commits in C Austin Ellis, RHP/OF Jaxson Reiser and LHP Dylan Singleton should carry this group deep. 
  4. Riverton (4-1): The Silverwolves went 2-0 on the week with wins over Cyprus 9-5 and a 7-4 victory over Jordan.
  5. Maple Mountain (7-2): 7-2 with a run rule 10-0 victory vs Herriman.
  6. American Fork (3-2): The defending 6A state champs went 3-1 on the week with their lone loss to new No. 1 Dixie and then ran off three in a row vs. Timpanogos, Coronado and Desert Oasis out of Las Vegas.
  7. Desert Hills (11-4/1-1): One of the more surprising teams to start the season as they went 4-1 on the week with their lone loss to a split of No. 7 Crimson Cliffs, along with three wins over Union, Cedar Valley and defending 3A champion Juab.
  8. Crimson Cliffs (10-4): The two-time defending 4A State Champs went 2-1 on the week with lopsided splits with Desert Hills and a decisive 20-0 blowout of Canyon View.
  9. Pine View (11-2/2-0): 5 wins vs 5A teams and 2-0 in 4A Region 9. Went 2-0 on the week with wins over Canyon View and Hillcrest.
  10. Orem (6-2): Went 3-0 on the week with wins over Alta, Bountiful and Brighton. 3B Merrick Bostock hit for the cycle this past week and ASU commit RHP Easton Davies has started off strong for the Tigers. 

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SCOUTING DIRECTOR (BIO)

Scholzen comes to Prep Baseball after serving 9 years as the "Four Corners" Scouting Supervisor with the Milwaukee Brewers (2011-2020). Prior to his run with the Brewers, Scholzen worked for the Los Angeles Angels for 11 years (1999-2010), serving in the same capacity as the "Four Corners" Scouting Supervisor (UT, WY, So-ID, Las Vegas, AZ, CO, NM and El Paso). Scholzen received a 2002 World Series ring for his contributions as a scout with the Angels. 

With the Angels, Scholzen created an Angels Scout Team, in which he coached the following MLB players: Kris Bryant, Kevin Gausman, Greg Bird, Tyler Wagner, Aaron Blair, Joey Rickard, Donn Roach, Johnny Field, Taylor Cole, Andy Burns and Paul Sewald to name a few.

During his run with the the Angels, Scholzen also served as the hitting coach for the Angels rookie ball affiliate in the Pioneer League, the Orem Owlz, helping guide the Owlz to the 2005 and 2007 Pioneer League titles, which earned Jeff two more championship rings.

In Scholzen's 20 year scouting career, he was credited with the signing of 6 MLB players starting with: Brandon Wood, SS, Angels 2003, 1st Rd ~ Efren Navarro, 1B, Angels 2007, 50th Rd ~ Donn Roach, RHP, Angels 2010, 3rd Rd ~ Tyler Wagner, RHP, Brewers 2012, 4th Rd ~ Payton Henry, C, Brewers 2016, 6th Rd ~ Ryan Aguilar, 1B/OF - Brewers 2017, 31st Rd ~ Scholzen also had an additional 3 players added to various clubs 40 man MLB rosters over the years. Currently 2019 (14th Rd) draft pick, RHP-Paxton Schultz from Utah Valley U, is currently in AAA with the Toronto Blue Jays, and former 40 man Brewes rostered RHP (Utah Tech) just recently returned from Korea and signed with the NL Champion Arizona Diamondbacks and will most likely start the year in AAA and once stretched out after an injury plagued 2023, File will move up to AAA!

Prior to becoming a professional scout, Scholzen served as the head coach at Southern Utah University between 1993-1997. At the time, Scholzen was the youngest Division I head coach in the country, when he was first hired at 24 years old. The Southern Utah baseball program was dropped after the 2012 season. While coaching at Southern Utah, Scholzen served as the hitting coach for the Alaska Goldpanners in 1995, as they won the Alaska League Championship. Scholzen also recruited and coached World Series RHP-Ryan Jensen of the San Francisco Giants, who would earn a top 5 finish for NL Rookie of the Year in 2022. Scholzen and Jensen had the unique opportunity, to be on opposing sides of the ledger, when Scholzen's Angels and Jensen's Giants squared off in the 2002 MLB Fall Classic.

Scholzen also had the pleasure of coaching Jensen's roommate and back up catcher, Kyle Turner who has worked in professional/major league baseball for 24 years. Kyle currently is in his 14th season with the big league Kansas City Royals and serves as the clubs Head Athletic Trainer. Turner was instramental, while a young player for Scholzen at Southern Utah, in introducing Scholzen to his first wife, the late Heidi Dalton Scholzen, who passed away in December of 2014. A native of Utah, Scholzen played at Hurricane HS and was twice named 1st team All-State and an AAU HM All-American, before moving on to Utah Valley CC and Eastern Oregon University, earning All-Conference honors on three separate occasions. Scholzen played in the Angels’ organization in 1991.

Scholzen was married to his late wife Heidi for 20 years and their union produced four children - McKyla 27, Miranda 24, McKenzie 22 and the couples only son, Grant Scholzen 19, who is a freshman 2B at D1 WCC school, the U of the Pacific (Pacific Tigers) on scholarship. After Heidi's passing in 2014, Scholzen married Cami Macias Scholzen, a widow herself and the same age as Heidi and the couple now have been married 8 years. Between both families, Jeff has 3 grandchildren and 5 step grandchildren (8 total) and the Scholzen's reside in Hurricane, UT in the bottom left SW corner of the state near the most iconic and scenic national parks in the country.