CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — 2000, 2005 and 2008, those are the years the Calallen baseball program won the UIL State Championship. Last season the Wildcats fell short of their goal, but this year they're ranked No. 1 in 4A for the THSB preseason poll.
"It's still with us to this day," said Calallen senior infielder Jaydon Cruz. "It's very sad and an exciting moment, but as we carry on through practices we try to think about like what happened. Like what we did wrong and what we did right. How can we improve to get there and win on the last day. I think we're ready."
Calallen's motto every year is finish on the last day. It starts with hard work and building a starting lineup. Wildcats' head coach Steve Chapman is returning big bats and a strong pitching staff.
"The diversity," Chapman said. "We've got left handers, we've got right handers and we've got guys that throw from the side."
The Wildcats return six starters after finishing last year's season with a (37-10) record. They're building chemistry with a new starting catcher, and Coll Carroll says its a battle for the job.
"They're stepping up a lot," Carroll said. "From losing JC last year. Just caught every game. Now we have Josh and Mikey and they're doing pretty great."
Second base also opened up, but Cruz has experience. Last year he split time with his older brother R.J.
"Means a lot. Me and my brother have been playing together with each other since we were 5-years-old," Cruz said. "Taking his spot, trying to carry on his legacy, it feels amazing."
A few of the players are not the only thing that's new in Calallen. Over the offseason they switched from grass to turf and it's been a game changer.
"We haven't missed a day and it's obviously a lot less stress on me and my coaching staff to have to prepare it each time for games or practice," Chapman said.
After a few scrimmages Calallen will start start their season at the McAllen ISD tournament Feb. 20.
Just a reminder the top four teams still make it to UIL playoffs, but the larger two schools will split to Division I and the smaller two schools in the district will go to Division II.
UIL 4A Coastal Bend Teams in THSB Preseason Poll
No. 1 Calallen (6 returning starters (37-10) State Runner-Up team)
No. 5 Tuloso-Midway (9 returning starters, (30-7) Regional Quarterfinalist)
No. 7 Sinton (8 returning starters, (25-10) Area Finalist)
