Top 10 teams in Chattanooga Area for 2013 Season

[Oop]

List the top 10.

[Indian]

What are your picks?

[NoogaSoftball]

I'll take a hack at the Top 5 Teams in the Chattanooga area this upcoming spring.

 

1. Baylor - Hands down I think this team has to be at the top of the list. They're loaded with many weapons and possess a roster full of college commits. Key Players: Moore (Berry), Birdsong (MTSU), Pickett (ETSU), Winkles (Kennesaw State). Of those four only one of them is a senior. They will duplicate the success they had this year and I think they will be able to make a run at a spot in the ESPN Rise National rankings.

2. Soddy Daisy - Soddy loses one of the best pitchers to come from this area (Kelsey Nunley), but I think Coach Skiles will have Soddy playing like Soddy. They played alot of underclassmen last year, so offensively they will be much better. I think the key question for Soddy is can either of their pitchers step up and be consistently solid? Key Player: Cassidy Hackney (Tn Tech)

3. Walker Valley - Walker Valley had a good year last year making it to region, after finishing 2nd in District 5-AAA. They have senior Sidney Hooper (Austin Peay Commit) leading them and are returning all of their key players from last year. Having had four freshmen contribute consistently to the success last year, they will be much improved this year. They definitely have a legitimate chance for the District Crown.

4. GPS - GPS will be solid like usual, they return a solid group of players. Of the five teams I have listed here GPS would be the team that I haven't seen play much, so someone on the board may be able to fill us in a little more!

5. Rhea County - I think Rhea may be dark horse for a region berth out of District 5-AAA. Alot of the talk at the beginning of the season will be about Soddy Daisy and Walker Valley. However, Rhea returns a strong core of players and displayed a great showing at the District tourney last year. They really progressed throughout the season in my opinion.

[Oop]

Baylor, Soddy Daisy, East Hamilton, Grace, Walker Valley, Marion Co., Rhea Co, Sale Creek, Sequatchie Co, and East Ridge

[Indian]

Ooltewah, Central, Whitwell, a few that haven't been mentioned already.

[NoogaSoftball]

I don't think that Ooltewah will be that good this year. I believe they will be solid, but not as good as they have been in past years. They have solid hitting, but pitching will be a struggle for them with the loss of Baird. I certainly think that Grace, Whitwell, and East Hamilton will be good teams in their respective classifications.

[Hawg]

It looks like this year pitching will be down from last year. Soddy, Central, Baylor, Ooltewh and I also think Grace, not a 100 percent sure, all lost starting pitchers. I haven't heard who will likely be in the circle for each of these teams. It's hard to rank them with that many teams starting new pitchers.

[quaddad]

It should be an interesting season. Some teams have lost some very good pitchers, and I do not know who might have a Freshman that could come up and make a difference on the mound.

 

One team not mentioned that I think could be very good in Meigs County. I do not believe they lost any starters, and they have a pitcher that moved into Decatur from Sweetwater.

 

See you guys in a few months.

[NoogaSoftball]

Good mention quaddad. Meigs will definitely be strong this year, I think they'll be keeping the ball rolling on the recent success they've had lately.

 

As far as pitching, I think prep ball pitching in the Chattanooga area will be weak this year compared to recent years. However, I believe that the next year we will see a new crop of pitcher when underclassmen get a little experience.

[tnsoftball]

- Baylor - Good team, solid bats, pitching just ok.

 

- Walker Valley - Good pitching Senior, solid bats 1 through 4, not deep, not enough girls play travel ball.

 

- GPS - Ok pitching, good bats, cant use the we are young excuse anymore. Looking for them to play Baylor tougher.

 

- Rhea - decent pitching Senior, decent bats, they play good as a team.

 

- Soddy & Ooltewah - toss up, both lost starting pitchers and strong hitting. Ooltewah has Hicks that throws hard and Soddy has Tori that is solid but hittable. Soddy won a third of their games last year by 2 runs or less. Tells me how important Skeeter was to them. Will Ooltewah decide to move Chernack to catch from short now that Abbys not behind the plate?

 

- Coffee seems strong to me.

 

What about Hixon, East Hamilton and Grace. Did they lose many seniors? what are we to expect out of them this season?

[Hawg]

The only team from Tennessee ranked in the preseaon top 50 was Soddy at number 37.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Hawg

[COACHRUSTY]

Cookeville High isnt on anyones radar but they may surprise some teams this year. For the first time in a long time they will be represented by quite a few players from A level travel teams ( Fury,Frost Falcons, Nighthawks, Force Elite and Crush. This years team will have a lot more depth at pitching as well as in the lineup.