Opening Day is a little less than 3 weeks away. Jeff Scholzen (Utah Scouting Director) jumps in to the 2025 season coverage with our annual preseason team previews, where we will take notes from coaches, and highlight returning players, newcomers, and some sleepers. Over the next couple of weeks and leading up to opening day, we will be highlighting some of the top programs in the state with our team previews.

As our ardent readers are aware, Team Previews are answered by the Head Coaches of those programs and the scouting reports embedded in the PBR player profiles of the top players, are written by state scouting director Jeff Scholzen, the states only full-time MLB Area Scouting supervisor ever. 

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This season as in every past season, stats are collected across the state at the end of that week's play, with input from coaches, assistant coaches and ultimately myself in putting together comprehensive player content on a weekly basis with the following. 

1. Weekly Utah Power 20 Overall Team Rankings (Monday)

2. Player and Pitcher of the Week, along with other notable player performances (Tuesday)

3. Player Spotlights throughout the spring of top players who are making their mark on the HS scene in capturing college recruiting looks. 

4. I will be scouting games throughout the Southern Utah area and Grant Scholzen will be covering Salt Lake and Utah County areas as a video scout and posting player videos on X/Twitter for college marketing purposes on a weekly basis. 

Quick Footnote: Only 7% of all HS baseball players will play college baseball and the elite of that group, which consists of only 2% will play at the D1 level. These are the players I’m watching and gleaning information on. This is determined by objective data from events, as well as the subjective eye evaluations, honed from my 30 years at the college and professional level. 

Warriors by the Numbers:

Head Coach: Reed Secrist (21st Year)

(3A/4A Coach of the Year numerous times) 

5 State Championships 

Class: 4A

Region: 9

What was your 2024 Win-Loss Record: 25-7

2024 4A State Champions - 4 Straight State Title Appearances

How many State Playoff Appearances in the last 10 years: 9

How many State Title Appearances in the last 10 Years: 5

How many State Championships in the last 10 Years: 2

2025 Preseason PBR Ranking: TBD

Key Returners with Grade/Class/Position

Key players lost to graduation

Everyone! - Lost 6 to College Baseball

Who is your X-Factor to your Success

Players who graduated in 2021-2024 and are now playing college baseball or "Committed"

14 College Baseball Players

Landon Frei, 2B (Utah > Utah Valley)

Mason Strong, C (BYU > Oklahoma > Utah Valley)

Carsten Herman, LHP (Utah Tech > Utah Valley)

Isaac Lyon, RHP (Grand Canyon) 2025 Preseason WAC Pitcher of the Year

Luke Anderson, OF/2B (BYU) 2022 PBR Utah Player of the Year

Braden Loveland, OF (Colorado Northwestern)

Crew Secrist, SS/2B (CSI) 2024 Region 9 Player of the Year

Hayden Smith, C (Glendale CC, AZ)

Jackson Kirby, RHP (Glendale CC, AZ)

Talan Kelly, RHP (Utah Tech)

Kyson Goates, RHP (Lassen CC)

Darius Henderson, RHP (Salt Lake CC)

Andrew Lyon, RHP (Grand Canyon - Signee)

Dewy Gibb. RHP/1B (CSI - Signee)

List players you feel have college baseball potential

Ledger Shipp

Trey Vaughn

Logan Ross

Braden Mugavero

Talan Hansen

Zac Beck

Trent Chris

Jagger Mugavero

Willie Shewmake

Cash Ence

Carson Espley

Reggie Ence

List the names of returning players who were named All-Region / All-State and their graduation year (Please specify either award or both awards)

Andrew Lyon (All Region, All State and State Tournament MVP)

Ledger Shipp All Region

Please provide a summary of your teams outlook and preview to your upcoming season 

Even though we don't have a lot of varsity experience we still have a lot of quality underclassmen that will compete in this region. We expect to continue with the tradition that has been set forth in this program.

~~ Head Coach, Reed Secrist

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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.

2019 (14th Rd) draft pick, RHP-Paxton Schultz from Utah Valley U, is currently in AAA (Buffalo Bisons) with the Toronto Blue Jays, and former 40 man Brewers rostered RHP (Utah Tech) Dylan File, just recently signed a AAA contract with the Seattle Mariners.

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 2002. 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 28, Miranda 25, McKenzie 23 and the couples only son, Grant Scholzen 19, played 2B/3B at D1 WCC school, the U of the Pacific (Pacific Tigers) on scholarship, in 2024 and transferred to Salt Lake CC.

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 9 years. Between both families, Jeff has 3 grandchildren and 5 step grandchildren (8 total). 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.