CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Calallen baseball coach Steve Chapman again has his Wildcats pointed for success.
The legendary Steve Chapman is suiting up for his 39th year at Calallen and he 59 wins away from becoming the winningest coach in Texas high school baseball history.
The Wildcats look loaded again as they enter the season ranked number one in the state in Class 4A, according to the coaches' poll.
"We have some really great kids and it's been a fun group to work with," said Chapman. "Most of them were sophomores last year and some were juniors and they are all back and it's been a very productive effort in practice so far."
Justin Lamkin returns as one of the top pitchers in the area.
Lamkin compiled a combined 14-1 record through parts of two seasons in the program.
"It's very exciting being ranked number one but those rankings really don't matter much this early in the season," said Lamkin, who starts his junior season with the Wildcats. "It all falls at the end of the season in June at the state championship."
Senior Luke Smith returns at shortstop, providing stability to the middle of the Wildcats' defense.
Smith said expectations at Calallen are always high.
"We are out here to win a state championship and we are going to do whatever it takes to get there," Smith said. "We might be number one now but we want to be number one at the end of the state tournament."
The Wildcats are competing in the newly formed District 31-4A against Robstown, Alice, Kingsville, Tuloso-Midway and Zapata.
