Prep Baseball Report

2023 Team Preview: Plano East Panthers


Brandon Gowins
Texas Scouting Director

The 2023 high school baseball season is underway with practice having started 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 Texas

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in the Austin at the State Tournament, 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 Texas. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and eventually releasing our preseason Top 30 teams in the state.

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 and updating the Top 30 teams in the state.

*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: Plano East

Coach’s Name: Michael Martinez

Classification: 6A (District 6)

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 8

No. of Returning Pitchers: 10

Team Strengths: Pitching

 

Top Returning Players:

2023 OF Dasan Harris (University of Oklahoma)

2023 C Jacob Stewart

2024 RHP/OF Drew Devillier (TCU)

2024 RHP/OF Brayden Bergman (Baylor)

2024 RHP Grant Origer (Texas Tech)

2024 RHP Aythan Hornung

2024 MIF/OF Connor Cox

2024 INF/RHP Brody Waid

 

Top 2023 Prospects:

2023 OF Dasan Harris (University of Oklahoma)

2023 C Jacob Stewart

2023 RHP Drew Conner

 

 

Top 2024 Prospects:

2024 RHP/OF Drew Devillier (TCU)

2024 RHP/OF Brayden Bergman (Baylor)

2024 RHP Grant Origer (Texas Tech)

2024 RHP Aythan Hornung

2024 MIF/OF Connor Cox

2024 INF/RHP Brody Waid

 

 

Top 2025 Prospects

2025 SS Jackson Hays

2025 OF/RHP Kendall Keierleber

 

Team Outlook:

One of the most interesting teams coming into the 2023 season are the Plano East Panthers. The '22 version saw them get off to a slow start and in District 6-6A it is tough to recover.  But this year's team has a lot of ingredients to be dangerous and have a chance to be the dark horse in 6-6A.

On the mound, they have 3 Big 12 commits to lead their staff. TCU commit Drew Devillier is a 6'5 righty with an upper 80's fastball and tremendous upside.  He also has offers to play QB at the next level.  Brayden Bergman is another RHP that is committed to Baylor and has seen his fastball continue to make big jumps.  I would be surprised to see some mid 90's readings from Bergman this spring.  The third arm of the trio is Texas Tech commit Grant Origer.  Origer was a standout at the Texas State Games and will feature a fastball that gets into the low 90's and a high spin Slider that is a true put away pitch.  If these 3 fill up the strike zone consistently, they will be one of the tougher staffs to score runs off of in the Region. Jr. RHP Aythan Hornung and RHP Brody Waid also looks to provide some quality innings. 

Offensively, the Panthers have one of the best leadoff hitters around in SR. CF Dasan Harris. I have been a big fan of Harris since I saw him early last spring, and he gets better every time we see him. The OU signee went off at the Texas State Games showing elite athleticism and an above avg hit tool. Bergman and Devillier will look to provide some thump in the middle of the order and should handle some OF duties.  Sr. C Jacob Stewart provides senior leadership behind the dish.  Connor Cox will provide a steady glove up the middle and a quality bat.  

Coach Martinez and his staff have a lot of pieces on this years team.  They play in one of the most competitive districts in the state and there are no easy wins.  They have the stable of arms and an elite table setter at the top of their lineup that make Plano East one of the most intriguing teams in 2023.

 

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UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Houston Rising Stars ID TX 02/25 Cotton Ranch Sports Complex
DFW Rising Stars ID TX 04/08 Lake Dallas High School - Corinth, TX
DFW Summer Open TX 05/30 Lake Dallas High School - Corinth, TX
East Texas Summer Open TX 06/14 Tyler Junior College (Mike Carter Field) - Tyler, TX

 

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