Hopes are high as the 2025 baseball season gets underway, with several area programs looking to repeat on the success they enjoyed in 2024.
Five of the seven southern Denton County teams reached the postseason and four went more than one round, including two state tournament appearances.
With a wealth of returning talent, 2025 could be an even better season than 2024.
The Argyle baseball team has become synonymous with greatness, and coach Ricky Griffin said he expects more of the same this year.
Some of the Eagles stronger returning players from last year’s team include junior shortstop Grady Emerson, senior pitcher Baron Mannis and junior outfielder Jaxon Casselberry.
Argyle finished 29-9 overall last season, won bi-district, area, and regional quarterfinals championships and reached the regional semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Grapevine.
Griffin said the goal for this season is to win a state championship, and said he will need some players to step up.
“We’re a very inexperienced team, but chemistry is very good,” Griffin said.
In order to achieve the goal of winning state, Griffin said it basically boils down to two things.
“Inexperienced players must grow up fast and pitchers must throw strikes,” Griffin said.
Up the road at Liberty Christian, the Warriors went 5-0 prior to entering the tournament season, and coach Billy Jordan said he likes what his team is showing him.
“The season is looking like a strong one,” Jordan said. “After a final four appearance last year, we return seven starters and are excited for another deep run.”
The Warriors return Brady Janusek, Hogan Nelson, Caleb Ruiz, Drake Hawpe, Zach Drew and Colton Zahorik.
Liberty Christian went 27-11-3 with a 9-3 mark in district last season, winning a district championship along the way.
Jordan said the objective this season is to let his core of strong returning players set the tone for the rest of the team.
“We want to lean on our veteran returners to make another deep playoff run and get back to the state tournament,” Jordan said.
To pick up where the team left off in 2024, Jordan said his players need to do two things.
“If we can get players to understand the ‘team’ is the most important thing and when we all understand our roles, it will be a special season,” Jordan said.
Over in Flower Mound, the Marcus baseball team finished third in district last season and lost in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
Coach Jeff Sherman said his team lacked experience in 2024 and said this year should be better.
“We were very young last year with a very hard schedule,” Sherman said. “I feel like we have already been battle-tested and are progressing to the plan.”
Sherman said he will look to Rock Duer to lead the way for Marcus this season.
The Marauders finished 16-14 overall in 2024, and Sherman said he is trying to get his lineup just the way he wants it.
“We still have some guys competing for some positions and we’re hoping guys step up into those roles,” Sherman said. “On the mound, we have about 4-5 guys trying to solidify the 1 or the 2. We have very competitive players.”
Sherman said to have another successful season, his team will have to remain “healthy, gritty and keep improving on our toughness,” throughout the season.
“If we come together as a team and play for each other, we have a chance to be very good,” Sherman said. “But time will tell. We have team speed and pitching depth. I really like our athleticism.”
Across town at FMHS, the Jaguars are coming off of a phenomenal 2024 season in which they went 40-5 and lost in the state tournament.
Coach Danny Wallace said his team was hit pretty hard by graduation and right now it’s still up in the air in terms of how things are shaping up for 2025.
“It’s really not possible to know until we start playing,” Wallace said. “We are replacing a large amount of starters.”
The Jags do return standouts Cooper Harris, Shane Ferris and Adam Hawrylak.
Flower Mound went undefeated (14-0) in district last season and won a district championship, and Wallace said the objectives this season are similar.
“We want to win the district and make a run in the playoffs,” Wallace said.
To have another long run in the postseason, Wallace said his team will need to make progress.
“We need to stay healthy and improve each week as we gain experience with new players,” Wallace said.
For the Coram Deo Flower Mound baseball team, finishing fourth in district last season was a disappointment, but coach Jeff Luterek said he was proud of the way his team fought until the very end.
“While we did not make the playoffs, our team was eliminated in the final game of the season,” Luterek said. “We lost two district games by one run, signaling the potential of our young group of players.”
Luterek said this season Coram Deo is off to a great start.
“We are a young, developing program whose foundation is built on fundamentals, defense, and excellent pitching,” Luterek said. “On offense we are aggressive, attacking anything in the zone, along with opportunistic base running.”
The Lions return seven starters from last season’s team including second team all-state selection Sebastian Young.
“He dominated last year for us at the plate and on the mound,” Luterek said. “Offensively he hit .375 with 6 doubles and 4 triples, and on the mound he threw 57 innings, with 76 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.09.”
Also returning is all-district selection Grant Edens, as well as all district centerfielder Sebastian Luterek, and Ephraim McNamer, “an excellent defensive catcher with pop at the plate.”
The Lions finished 12-16 overall last season with a 4-8 district record, and Luterek said the objectives for this season are to glorify God and focus on taking the next step and earning a playoff spot.
“Last year we knocked on the doorstep but could not push our way through in close games,” Luterek said. “This year we are aiming to take another step.”
To get over the hump in 2025 Luterek said he wants his players to focus on four areas.
“It will take excellent pitching, strong fundamental defense, timely hitting and making the pitcher work and at bat,” Luterek said.
Up in Denton, the Guyer baseball team finished 7-7 in district and lost in a play-in game to just miss the playoffs.
Coach Patrick Watson said he is impressed by the improvement he has seen from his team early on this season.
“For the first four weeks of the year I think we have continued to get better as a team in each scrimmage that we have played so far,” Watson said. “If our pitchers are able to throw strikes, I think we will be good defensively and on offense. We don’t have any over-powering arms, so we will need to rely on location and mixing speeds up, and not giving up free bases from walks and hit batters will be key to our success.”
The Wildcats return seven starters from last year a year’s team including all-district selections right fielder Jody Murillo, catcher Isaac Calderon and pitcher Davin Seale.
Guyer finished 19-13 overall for the season in 2024, and Watson said the objective for this year is to improve in each game and play up to expectations.
“First and foremost is making it into the playoffs where anything can happen and hopefully you get hot at the right time,” Watson said. “We have several of our guys who we brought up to the varsity for the 2023 run in which we lost to the eventual state champions in the regional finals.”
Over in Justin, the Northwest baseball team went 16-16-2 last season, with a 6-6 mark in district competition and lost to eventual state champion Grapevine in the area round of the playoffs.
Strong returners include pitchers Reid Brezina and Cooper Davidson. Strong returning position players include Ricky Morgan, Jackson Merritt, Noah Murphy and Trey Poe.
The coaching staff said the objectives for 2025 are “to keep the game simple while playing an extremely competitive, hard-nosed style of baseball. We will rely on our experienced defense and pitching staff to help us win games.”
The Texans return eight starters from a year ago and have a large senior class of 16 players.
