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 Louisiana.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Sulphur, LA, home of the LHSAA 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 Louisiana.  We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, followed by our Power 25 Rankings release, and our popular Game of the Week segment. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the bayou state.  Each week, we will be releasing our players of the week, updating our Power 25 Rankings, and many more pieces of content.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.

 

High School Name: Benton

Head Coach: Dane Peavy

Classification: Class 5A (Non-Select D-I)

District: 1-5A

2023 Record: 21-17

2023 Playoff Finish: Lost in 2nd Round vs. Sam Houston

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5

No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

Team Strengths: Pitching & Defense

Top Returning Players: 2024 LHP/OF Bryson Pierce (Louisiana Tech signee), 2024 MIF Hudson Brignac (Northwestern State signee), 2025 C Griffin Sibley (Louisiana-Monroe commit), 2025 LHP/OF Jackson Jones, 2025 RHP Thomas Allen, 2025 RHP Tanner Webb

Top Newcomers: 2024 OF Cody Wilhite, 2024 RHP Brooks Prewitt, 2024 OF Blake Warner, 2025 LHP/OF Kade Bryant, 2025 RHP/1B Jax Prewitt, 2025 UTIL/RHP Colton Birdsong, 2026 INF Case Jorden

 

Team Outlook

Benton finished the 2023 season with a 21-17 overall record and won the District 1-5A title.  The Tigers entered the LHSAA Non-Select D-I playoffs as the #20 seed and went on the road in the first round to defeat #13 seed Natchitoches Central.  Their season was then ended in the second round, at the hands of #3 seed Sam Houston.  Head Coach Dane Peavy return five position players and three pitchers from last season, and Coach Peavy believes that the strengths of this year's team is going to be pitching and defense.  We also like the Tigers pitching staff heading into the spring, as they return the likes of senior Bryson Pierce and juniors Thomas Allen and Tanner Webb.  Pierce finished last season with a 3-5 record and 4.20 ERA with 49 K's across 33 1/3 IP.  The Louisiana Tech recruit sits in the mid-upper 80's with his FB, occassionaly touching 90 mph, while mixing in a CB, SL, and CH.  He pitched well down the stretch last season for Benton and Coach Peavy believes that he's going to have a big senior campaign.  Allen was a member of our Future Games team this past summer and he returns this season for the Tigers, after going 1-2 with 1 save and a 0.95 ERA last year.  Webb had a stellar outing at our State Games event this past fall, where he worked his FB up to 88 mph, while landing his CB and CH for strikes.  He finished last year with a 2-1 record and 0.76 ERA with 21 K's across 18 1/3 IP.  Junior Jackson Jones is another southpaw that we've heard good things about over the off-season, and he along with senior Brooks Prewitt, juniors Kade Bryant, Colton Birdsong, and Jax Prewitt should round out the pitching staff for Benton.   Offensively, Coach Peavy is looking for Pierce to have a breakout year at the plate, after hitting .324 last season with 2 HR and 30 RBI.  Jones also had a nice sophomore season with the bat last year (.300 avg, 13 RBI, 19 R) and will be relied upon even more this spring.  Senior Hudson Brignac is another guy that the Tigers are excited to have back for another season.  Coach Peavy told us that the Northwestern State recruit is a fierce competitor that is one of the unquestioned leaders of the team.  Brignac hit at a .300 clip last spring with 25 RBI.  Returning at catcher for the third straight season will be junior Griffin Sibley.  The Louisiana-Monroe recruit finished last year with a .327 avg. and 10 XBH's.  Seniors Cody Wilhite and Blake Warner, along with junior Kade Bryant should see time in the outfield.  A young guy to potentially keep an eye on is sophomore 3B Case Jorden, who's an excellent defender and takes quality at-bats.  The Tigers will have to replace 65% of their offensive production from a season ago, but Coach Peavy and company believe that between their returning starters and talented newcomers, they'll be able to do just that.  Benton looks to have one of the deeper pitching staffs in the state with a good combination of left-handers and right-handers, so we fully expect for the Tigers to be one of the better teams in the northern part of the state, with the potential to make some real noise come playoff time.

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS 

+ 2024 LHP/OF Bryson Pierce (Louisiana Tech recruit)

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