Prep Baseball Report

Alabama HS Team Preview: Saraland Spartans


Austin Sharp
Alabama Scouting Director

The 2024 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds 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 Alabama.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the Jacksonville/Oxford/Montgomery area at the AISA or AHSAA state championships, 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 Alabama. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason top-10 rankings in each AHSAA classification.

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, updating the top-10 ranks in each AHSAA classification, as well updating our Power 25 overall rankings. One thing, especially, you don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state, as well as the recaps and previews of the big games we’re covering.

*Please note the information has been gathered from head coaches across the state, based on their replies to the questionnaire we distributed over this offseason.

High School: Saraland Spartans
Head Coach: Brett Boutwell
Classification: AHSAA Class 6A
Area Number: Class 6A, Area 1
2023 Record (Finish): 27-10 (Eliminated in Elite Eight)
No. of Returning Positional Starters: 8
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5
Team Strengths: Returning Experience, Team Speed, Top of the Lineup, Top Returning Pitchers

 


TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

OF Santae McWilliams, Jr. (2/24/23)


MORE UPPERCLASS FOLLOWS

Class of 2024

  • RHP Brodie Lloyd (2024; uncommitted)
  • RHP Daniel Osborne (2024; uncommitted)

Class of 2025

C Myles Davis (1/7/24)


TOP UNDERCLASSMEN

C Hudson Robbins (1/7/24)


TEAM OUTLOOK

The Saraland Spartans enter the 2024 season with yet another strong roster full of talented players who have multiple years of varsity experience, and hope those players can help this year's team bust the door down and reach the Class 6A State Finals. It won't be easy with tons of equally talented teams in Class 6A this spring, but the Spartans certainly look to be shaping up as one of the main favorites in 2024.

The Spartans enjoyed another deep playoff run in 2023 reaching the Elite 8 before being eliminated by Spanish Fort, who went on to finish as the runner-up in Class 6A, in an incredible three-game series. This year, they'll have to find the pieces to replace LHP Bryson Goff who was their unquestioned ace of the pitching staff, but they seem to have some players who may be unproven at the varsity level, but certainly have the talent to step in and do the job. Offensively, they boast eight returners from last year's lineup and should be able to generate runs at the premium with different players who can do different things to generate scoring. OF Santae McWilliams, Jr. (2025), who also is a football prospect that holds Division 1 offers, is a spark plug hitting at the top of their order and returns after hitting .339 in batting average and swiping 28 bases as a junior. SS Brooks Womble (2024), one of the top uncommitted seniors in the state of AL, will be another leader of their offensive and brings back a .404 batting average with 10 2B's, 5 3B's, 3 HR's, and 34 SB's in 2023. 1B Cam Laffitte (2024) and OF/RHP Jamison Curtis (2024), who signed to play football at Vanderbilt, are two more senior returners who posted a batting average north of the .330 mark last season, while RHP/3B Evan Hilliard (East Mississippi CC, 2024) and RHP/INF Cam Warren (East Mississippi CC, 2024) are two key pieces who have multiple years of starting experience at the varsity level and will help lead the way at the plate and on the mound. Hillard posted an 8-2 record with a 1.83 ERA and 59 K's last season, while Warren went 3-3 on the mound with 44 K's and added 10 2B's and 27 RBI's at the plate. OF Mike Smith (2024) and 3B/RHP Fuller Chisholm (2025) are two more returning upperclassmen who hit over .280 last year and are expecting big things this season. On the mound, RHP Brodie Lloyd (2024) and RHP Daniel Osborne (2024) got experience out of the bullpen last season and need them to have bigger roles this spring order for the Spartans to achieve the success they want to have. Some other upperclassmen who have a chance to be an impact this spring are C Myles Davis (2025), RHP/1B Cooper Henson (2025), RHP/SS John Abston (2025), and RHP Jaxon Roberts (2025), while C Hudson Robbins (2026), RHP Jacob Rowell (2026), and RHP D'tric Butler (2026) are sophomores, but have the talent to make some sort of contributions to this year's team.

It's easy to see the Spartans return a ton this year, especially on the offenside side, and look primed for another strong season and potential deep run in the playoffs this spring. They'll compete in Area 1 against Theodore, Faith Academy, Blount and Murphy for a berth in the playoffs at the end of the regular season. Saraland starts out at No. 4 in the preseason top-10 in Class 6A, and will look to finish as the top at the end of the season.


Find more information on the 2024 Saraland program below:

+ Follow them on X: @SaralandB
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Alabama, 2024 HS Team Previews


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