Coach23

I know Collins anchors the team....and Rutledge had a good year last year....but who else are the difference makers. Who is the ace and where does she play outside of TSSAA? Just looking for info?

Natalie(Goodpasture) is a phenom....and has been for years. She MAY be eclipsed only by Sarah Vaughn of Lenoir City at SS. Sarah is a UT signee....and I heard that Natalie may be on her way to UT as well. I hope so, these are the best TN has to offer...they have proven themselves worthy to compete with the best in the nation.

Yes ladyad19, I was referring to Becky....I hear she provided a good dose of leadership as well as a good bat....and that will be hard to replace. I am sure Josephson and Howard will still produce....they are tremendous athletes, but I don't see them much on the summer circuit...Not trying to knock Farragut, they have a great program and great players...but I believe the AAA competion is only getting tougher. Good luck with the race ladyad19....Karns, Powell, Bearden, and Central (among others) are all gunning for you. Let's play ball!

Nikki is a stud...and proved so last year leading Soddy to a 2nd place finish as a freshman. Don't overlook Ootlewah Freshman Holly Thomas this year though. This kid is soooo good and soooo young, she will surprise many. And the kid can mash too. Adding her to Rice at Ootlewah will give problems to many in Chatt.....even Soddy!

Good comments TNT. It will be interesting to see where Farragut ends up, I believe they lost a big offensive weapon...but returned many. I am not sure they are MUCH better than last year...and others ARE...but it may be hard to dethrone them. You are right on with Central...Irwin returns and likely IS the best in the state, but they lost 5 senior starters. Don't count them out though, Irwin carried them to a 4th place finish in state last year with a team batting average of 160 (at state)...I don't think they could hit much WORSE. Powell picked up Broyles to compliment Sutphin on the mound...which will make for a great pitching tandem. Karns is my favorite for the area, Good pitching, Good defense, Good offense, GREAT athletes (Blosser, Ogg, Varsalona sp?)...if the coaches can get them to play together, they are state bound. My sleeper is Bearden. With the departure of Broyles, Gale will carry nearly all of the mound time. She has always been a stud (ERA of less than 1.00 for her TSSAA carrer (I think))....but sharing time may have held her back. Look for her to stand in the spotlight and explode this year...her senior year...and make a strong run at state.

Last I heard, Nikki will play for Austin Eagles 18 (Hutchins sp?). My summer team has played against them the past couple years...great pitcher. Stacy supposedly bailed out on the Austin Eagles 16 (Pickett) due to lack of pitching time/competition with Holly Thomas (Ootlewah) and Kaitlin Holloway (GPS). Holly is the real deal and may put Ooleway over the hump. The Rice/Thomas combo on the mound will likely give trouble to most in Chatt.....Maybe the best combo in the state? The Holloway twins (soph), plus new fresh (Phillips, Chester, Cambell) should make GPS a top 4 at state this year.

AA in East TN will be VERY interesting this year. Defending state champion Lenior City should be down slightly this year with the departure of Tommie Hicks...but don't count them out. Pitching will hurt them...but they still have UT signed Sarah Vaughn, who is FAR AND AWAY the best offensive weapon in the state. District 3 will be tight. Perennial power Gibbs will always be in the race as long as Mitchell is coaching. Last year was the first year in 15+ years Gibbs did not travel to state, and they do have a very good freshman pitcher in Thomas contributing this year, but this district is not the same pushover it always was. Alcoa....well in one word HOLIFIELD. Although Alcoa has made great strides over the past couple of years, Holifield is the key to this team. This kid makes the best offensive teams squirm...at 62+mph, when she is on...she is overpowering. Seymour stands to have their best year ever this year, senior leadership, new offensive power, returning strong pitching from sophmore Monday....they are my favorite for District 3 (oh and by the way maniakjp, Seymour split with Pigeon Forge, winning at home in a rout and losing away without Monday on the mound). I agree with TNT, Walker Valley was impressive in the fall. Bain is great pitching and they have offense to boot. Don't know much about middle-west TN but it could easily be another E.TN State championship year.

From what I know, the pitchers from Heritage have not been involved in true "A" ball, zeroedge, at least at the level your team plays. I will say, that is not a mandatory requirement from what I have seen to be successful in high school ball. Of course, a successful "A" pitcher will always carry over to high school, but the talent of the remaining players on the team will VERY much influence the sucess of that pitcher. Probably of equal importance is the catcher. I have seen several top "A" pitchers struggle in high school due to the lack of an experienced catcher. So, if you have a good "A" catcher on your summer team....you may want to move her into your pitchers school zone!??!!? Anyway, I hope you did not take offense to my comments earlier...it was not my intention. I agree with you later comments but I was commenting on the fast ball...the most common measure of true speed. It seems that numerous pitchers claim to break 60...but only a few truely due as evident by the stat reports issued by NFCA. I believe the last time I saw KAT pitch was 12&U state, so I may have been out of line. I have watched her since her Thundercat days and she has always been impressive.

I agree with those who believe Knox Central is state bound this year. Baring massive team errors, they may be a lock with Irwin on the mound....but with Powell ?, Farragut?, and don't forget about Karns and Bearden. Powell is as balanced as I have ever seen them. With the Wamp on the mound they are tough, and they actually have some relief for her this year with Sutphin (3rd best pitching tandem in Knoxville). Farragut may be the best coached team in Knoxville 3A, but one pitcher makes for a long year. Karns is still working out the kinks, but they have good pitching and a load of athletes (Stevens, Blosser, MacNew sp?). Then there is Bearden, who probably has the only two pitcher staff to rival Central. The only reason Bearden didn't go to Memphis last year was Gretchen Prugh and a great hitting Jeff County team. Oh, and by the way, I would not be out on limb in saying Jeff County is favored for a return trip to Memphis. I am not sure they lost anyone (critical)....and have reloaded with freshman. These teams w/ the strength in Chatt, looks like a good year for 3A in East Tennessee.

The best shortstop in the Knoxville area is most likely Sarah Vaughn of Lenior City. The has the best range of any highshool shortstop that I have seen. Plus she would be a 3 or 4 power hitter on most any team.

I have seen at least one of these 8th graders...Hosefield.....in a game or two. She was playing against the Austin Eagles of Chatt. I believe she does flirt with the 60 mph pitch, but I am not sure she makes it consistently. As for the others, do they all play for the Xtreme Edge? If so, I would say the same for all. I am not knocking the girls, they are very good pitchers, and will all be impact players for High School ball. However, I have seen them (Edge pitching) hit....and hit often, especially in the Austin Eagles game(s). Also, during one game, I saw Eagles pitcher Holly Thomas who is also out of Hunter Middle in Chatt (zoned for Ootlewah sp?). She consistenly reaches 60-62 with a great change, so I know the 60 mph mark is possible for an 8th grader, albeit a small percentage. Holly looked to be 5'10 or better and very athletic....so the physical attributes are there. She led the Eagles for a 5th place finish at the 14&U Nationals with wins over some powerhouse California teams. The scary thing is...I think she could have played 12&U. BUT, speed isn't everything, as jeffersonairplane knows. Jeff County's pitcher K Jett, and another good pitcher H. Broyles of Bearden make their living quite well with 55 mph speed, great location, and wicked movement. It took Jett to a good run at Memphis with only 1 or 2 losses for the entire year. Not to shabby by me. Anyway, with all these girls coming in, it does look like hits will be harder to come by next year. Kudos for all the hard work pitchers.

I have seen excellent mound work already this year from Sally Gale - Bearden, Ally Long - Notre Dame, and Amanda Wampler - Powell. These girls have tremendous confidence, control, and overall mound presence and are true team leaders. Others to watch are the overpowering B. Holifield at Alcoa, solid K Jett at Jeff Co., and up and coming freshmen S. Sutphin - Powell and C. Monday - Seymour. But, watch out for Freshman K. Irwin of Central. I have yet to see another equal her dominance already this year. A true stike out pitcher to rival the touted M. Rhodes of Lipscomb. Look out 3A....if she is this good as a Frosh....she may be unhitable in 3 years.