By John Cackowski
State Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 50 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage. The top 50 teams are picked from all classifications, and are not divided up by class level. To see the entire list click here

Team: Mountain View
Preseason Rank: 15
2015 Record:12-8
Conference: Northern
CHSAA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Brian Smela
Playoff Run: Lost to D'Evelyn 7-2 in Class 4A District 4 Championship
2015 Final Rank: 67
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 5

TOP PLAYERS:
Locke Bernhardt, SS/RHP, 2016
Holden Bernhardt, P/OF, 2016
Taven Whitehurst, 1B/P, 2016
TJ Felton, OF, No. 130 2017
Danny Noursen, INF/OF, 2017
Michael Felton, C, 2018

OTHER PLAYERS THAT COULD MAKE AN IMPACT
Braden Barker, P, 2017
TJ Mendoza, P, 2017

X-FACTOR:  
Whoever wins the 4A Northern League should be a host site, and will have an inside track to hosting for Districts. 

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Chad Riggenbach: Graduated

STAT RAT: 
The Mountain Lions have four players returning who hit over .300 last year, and 3 players who hit over .350. They also return 70 innings of experience on the mound. 

BOTTOM LINE:
The Mountain Lions are our "Flying Under the Radar" team of 2016. They have 6 returning starters, and 5 pitchers coming back to compete for the 4A Northern Championship which has traditionally been a tough league. The Berhardt brothers return for their senior year. Locke Bernardt hit .359 as a junior leading the team with 15 RBI's last year and also went 2-1 on the mound in 27 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts. Holden Bernhardt threw 21 innings with 33 strikeouts and and a 2.26 ERA. 2017 Danny Norsen led the team with a .440 batting average while hitting 5 doubles. Norsen will also spell some innings on the mound. In 8 innings pitched last year Norsen had a 0.88 ERA.  2017 OF TJ Felton hit .352 last year, and was tied for the lead with 7 doubles. 2018 C Michael Felton got a chance to start as a freshman last year and returns. Recently at our Underclass Invitational Felton registered an 89 mph exit velocity and showed very good skills behind the plate. Big 2016 Taven Whitehurst stands in a 6-foot-6, 220 pounds and is another plus .300 hitter coming back for his senior year who can also pitch. The Mountain Lions will be a 4A team to be reckoned with in 2016, and they have a legitimate chance to advance to the 4A Final 8, especially with their history of state championship success. 

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