The 2024 Texas high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound 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 Austin at the UIL State Tournament in June, 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, eventually releasing our Preseason Power 30 rankings that’ll carry us into the opening week of action.

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 Power 30 rankings.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Prosper Walnut Grove Wildcats
Head Coach: Mark Cain
UIL Classification: UIL Class 5A (District 10)
Team Strengths: Pitching and Defense
2023 Record (Playoff Finish): *First Year Program*
Key Players Lost: N/A

 

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TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

+ LHP Trent Collier (2024; Weatherford JC)

*2024 Trent Collier*

+ C Ethan Ho (2024; Paris JC) - First Team All-District in 2023
+ OF Enoch Alvarenga (2024; Western Texas College)
+ OF/INF Joshua Viars (2026) District Newcomer of the Year in 2023, *2-Time PBR Junior Future Games Participant*

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TOP NEWCOMERS

+ LHP/OF Seth Yeamans (2025; uncommitted)
+ RHP/INF Hunter Opoien (2025; uncommitted)
+ RHP/INF Jacob Reish (2025; uncommitted)
+ RHP/INF Jack Jones (2025; uncommitted)

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FRESHMEN TO FOLLOW

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TEAM OUTLOOK

2024 will mark the inaugural season for the Prosper Walnut Grove Wildcats baseball program and Coach Mark Cain. The Wildcats will be members of District 10 in the UIL 5A Class, and look to make noise right away this season. Pitching and defense look to be the strengths of this new team and they have some firepower in each area entering 2024.

Leading the way on the bump for the Wildcats this season will be Weatherford JC signee, LHP Trent Collier (2024). Collier was very impressive this past fall at our Texas State Games, where he consistently worked his high-spin (avg. 2237 rpm) fastball in the upper 80’s, while touching 90 mph. Collier is currently ranked No. 97 in the state, and should be the Wildcats’ ace this spring.

Collier’s lead battery-mate will be reigning First Team All-District player in C Ethan Ho (2024), who signed on to play his college ball at Paris JC. Ho was another State Games standout where he produced an average exit velocity of 90.3 mph during bp, and showed off athleticism behind the dish to the tune of a 1.95-second pop time and a strong arm to pair (77 mph). Ho is currently ranked No. 150 in the class.

The Wildcats bring in a pair of outfielders that should help anchor the Wildcats defense and lineup in 2024. Western Texas signee, OF Enoch Alvarenga, should lead the way for the Wildcats in the outfield, while being joined by reigning District Newcomer of the Year, OF/INF Joshua Viars (2026). Viars was a back-to-back Junior Future Games representative for the state in 2021 and 2022, leading to a ton of exposure by the Prep Baseball staff that has resulted in him being ranked as a top-20 player in the state, as well as ranked No. 210 in the nation. Viars should give Coach Cain a lot to be excited about for this year and future years as a building block for his program.

The Wildcats are also expecting to get contributions from a quartet of juniors, projected to have roles as two-way players for the 2024 squad. This group includes LHP/OF Seth Yeamans (uncommitted), RHP/INF Hunter Opoien (uncommitted), RHP/INF Jacob Reish (uncommitted), and RHP/INF Jack Jones (uncommitted). These four, along with the previously mentioned Viars, will be foundational pieces for Coach Cain as the program gets started in 2024.

With the amount of pitching depth they should have, paired with the talent they have on the defensive side of the ball and in the lineup, the Wildcats could be a real factor within the 5A class should they make it into the postseason in 2024.

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Find more information on the 2024 Prosper Walnut Grove Wildcats program below:

+ <<2024 Schedule>>
+ Follow Prosper Walnut Grove on X: @Baseball_WGHS
+ Prep Baseball Texas, Power 30 Homepage

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