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By Greg Williams
WV Director of Scouting

With the start of the high school season is less than a month away we will be previewing each region in each classification statewide. In addition to a look at the top teams we will also highlight some of the top prospects in each region. Look for our initial Elite Eight team rankings in each classification to appear later this month.

                 Class AAA - Region III

Preseason Favorites

George Washington (21-14) / Woodrow Wilson (20-10) / Ripley (21-12)

Region III produced a state finalist last year with Riverside advancing to the title game following a semifinals win over Wheeling Park. The race for the region crown appears to be a three-dog race heading into 2015 with George Washington's roster being bolstered by the addition of all-state transfer Drew Bowen. Ripley has made strides the past two seasons with a very young lineup and appears primed for a deep run in the postseason. Woodrow Wilson could also have a say in the final outcome of this region if they can find enough pitching to compliment a talented returning offensive lineup.

Preseason Player of the Year

Christopher Jordan, SS, Ripley HS (Class of 2016)

Jordan turned in an all-state performance as a sophomore and should only continue to improve in his final two years of high school baseball. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Marshall commit hit .435 in 2014 with 12 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 26 RBI. Jordan was also busy scoring runs crossing the dish 39 times while swiping 28 stolen bases. The shortstop has been a 2nd Team all-state selection in each of his first two campaigns and will lead a now experienced Ripley roster that has designs on competing for a birth in the state tournament in June.

Top Prospects

Capital

* The cougars graduated much of their lineup from 2014 including C Seth Roadcap, a 39th round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds.         

George Washington

     Anderson              Moffatt                Wong                Bowen

Clayton Anderson, OF/RHP (Class of 2015, ranked No. 26 in class)
Connor Moffatt, C (Class of 2015, ranked No. 21 in class)
Garrett Vogelbach 3B/OF (Class of 2015, ranked No. 14 in class)
Jeff Wong, RHP/1B (Class of 2015, ranked No. 35 in class)
Druw Bowen, RHP/SS (Class of 2016, ranked No. 2 in class)
Josh Petit, SS (Class of 2017, ranked No. 1 in class)

Greenbrier East

        Boone             Canterbury          Johnson

Ethan Boone, RHP/1B (Class of 2015)
Tyler Canterbury, RHP/2B (Class of 2015)
Colby Johnson, LHP/OF (Class of 2016)

Oak Hill

* The Red Devils come off a 15-19 campaign in 2014.

Princeton

* The Tigers finished 2014 with a record of 10-18.

Ripley

    
        Berry                 Koontz               Jordan                McCoy                Casto

Easton Berry, LHP/OF, Class of 2015, (4-2, 42 K's in 2014)
Isaac Koontz, LHP/OF, Class of 2015 (.316, 29 RBI in 2014)
Trevor Tucker, OF, Class of 2015 (.340, 20 RBI in 2014)
Christopher Jordan, SS, Class of 2016 (2-Time 2nd Team All-State selection, Marsall University commit)
Logan McCoy, LHP, Class of 2016 (7-3, 1.89 ERA in 2014)
Lane Casto, 3B/RHP, Class of 2017 (.318, 2 HR, 16 RBI in 2014)
Anthony Jarvis, C/1B, Class of 2017 (.340, 20 RBI in 2014)

Riverside

               

Brady Wilkinson, LHP (Class of 2015, started Class AAA state title game on mound in 2014)

Shady spring

Zach Harvey, SS/RHP (Class of 2015, special mention all-state in 2014)

South Charleston

  
      Brown                  Pauley               Lanier

Antonio Brown, 1B/OF (Class of 2015, honorable mention all-state 2014)
Jonathan Pauley, 3B/RHP (Class of 2015, special mention all-state 2014)
Brandon Knapper, SS (Class of 2016)
Cole Lanier, C (Class of 2016)
Jacob Marler, OF/RHP (Class of 2016)  

Woodrow Wilson

   
      Halstead              Knapp               Chandler              Foster

Hunter Halstead, 1B/2B (Class of 2015, ranked No. 31 in class, WV Tech commit)
Brady Knapp, LHP/OF (Class of 2015, ranked No. 34 in Class)
Brandon Chandler, RHP/3B (Class of 2016, ranked No. 26 in class, special mention all-state in 2014)
Dylan Foster, C, (Class of 2015, ranked No. 37 in class) 

>> View all region previews & preseason players of the year by region

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