The Georgia High School Association has announced that opening day of the 2021 season will commence on Feb. 15. Programs were allowed to begin practicing in an official capacity on Jan. 18, meaning it's time for the PBR Georgia staff to break down the high school baseball scene in the state in the countdown to the first pitch thrown in 2021.Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we will be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2021 spring season, touching on programs spanning multiple state classifications, counting down the official PBR Georgia Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Team: Loganville
Preseason Rank: 10
2020 Record: 9-5
Region: 8-5A
GHSA Classification: 5A
Head Coach: Jeff Segars
Returning Starters: 8
Returning Pitchers: 5

X-FACTOR
Depth. Loganville returns as many as 10 players who saw meaningful time at the varsity level along with five arms who saw significant time. They will not be short on talent or experience in 2021. 

The offense brings back three three year varsity starters, Georgia commit 1B/OF Daniel Braswell (2021), Walters State commit OF Brocker Way (2021), and OF Jackson Daniel (2021). Braswell has one of the top left-handed swing in the state and has been a major offensive contributor for the past three years. Way is another left-handed impact bat with some serious tools. these two will form a threatening duo at the top of the order for the Red Devils.

Daniel Braswell

Brocker Way

The pitching staff is a bit younger, but is not short on experience. Loganville is fortunate to have two of the top left-handed arms in the region in LHP Riley Cruce (2022) and Tennessee commit LHP Dawson Coe (2022). Cruce is a high pitch-ability arm. He led the Red Devils in innings pitched, strikeouts and ERA before the season was shutdown.

Riley Cruce

Coe on the other hand is more of a power arm. He can sit in the upper-80s, touching the low-90s with his fastball and has two swing and miss breaking balls. His slurve-like breaking ball is a true out pitch, showing sharp action. What has really elevated his game, other than the velocity gain, is the addition of a cutter. Look for Coe to put up some big strikeout numbers this season.

Dawson Coe

RHP Trenton Burnett (2022) gives Loganville an ever important third arm. Burnett has been pitching on varsity since he was a freshman, which will give him a leg up. A long, lean 6-foot-3, 170-pounds, Burnett could be poised to have a breakout 2021. He can sit in the mid-80s and control the zone with a three pitch arsenal. He has a chance to be an influential arm this season.

Trenton Burnett

OUTLOOK
Loganville appears to be ready to once again sit atop of 5A when it is all said and done. They have an experienced group with talent all over the field. We talked about the impressive depth of this team in the X-Factor, specifically those impact returning players. 

The offense will be capable of putting up big runs with the likes of Braswell and Way swinging the stick. And the Red Devils have three experienced front line arms that can lead their rotation. Who will be picking up the scraps and providing the support though? We mentioned Jackson Daniel earlier, the three year varsity starter. There is also returning starter C/INF Will Cawthon (2022). Cawthon is a lean, lanky prospect who can work the gaps with a smooth swing. With the loss of three year starter C Ian King, Cawthon will also be given the opportunity to earn the starting catcher spot.

Will Cawthon

There will be some newcomers who will also compete for that starting catcher job along with Cawthon.  C Nash Beck (2022), C Joe Johnson (2023), and C Davis Roesler (2023) are also in the mix for the position, and will help provide some much needed depth there. Another newcomer who has some serious hype around him is SS Sherman Johnson (2023). Johnson is a toolsy right-handed hitter who has all the ingredients to be a big time middle infielder at the next level. Watch for him to make an immediate impact at the varsity level.

As we said earlier, this pitching staff is going to have three more than capable shutdown arms in Cruce, Coe and Burnett. Some newcomers will provide additional support. RHP/INF Matthew Heard (2022) is a mid-80s arm, who will also get a chance to swing it, and RHP Pearson Hewatt (2021) will also factor in. Freshman LHP JP Myers has advanced stuff and will add a third southpaw to the pitching staff. Myers has been in the mid-80s during the preseason and has a potential swing and miss breaking ball.

There is an excitement about this team, and rightfully so. If they can stay healthy and avoid any hiccups caused by COVID, the Red Devils will be competing for a region title and be in good position to make another title challenge. 

Make sure to follow @PBRGeorgia on Twitter for the most-up-to-date coverage throughout the 2021 season.

Find more information on the 2021 Red Devils below:

+ Full Schedule
+ Team Website
+ Team Twitter

Preseason Power 25 Countdown