Prep Baseball 2012 - Teams To Watch

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY - Coach Bret Hoyer's 20th season as head of the Cougars program should be another good one. Kennedy won the Class 4A state championship in 2010 and went 31-9 last season, losing in the quarterfinals to Fort Dodge. Cougars have been to state five of last six years. There are eight returning starters, led by senior third baseman Devon Jacobus (.377, 10 home runs), who is a four-year starter, senior outfielder Cody Bell (.381) and senior pitcher Alex Hayden (8-1 record, 3.22 ERA). The junior class won Mississippi Valley Conference and Metro Tournament sophomore titles in 2011.

DYERSVILLE BECKMAN - Traditionally strong program with every starter back but one for a head coach with 906 career victories? Yeah, the Blazers are a team to watch. Beckman went 28-16 last season, 22-8 in the Wamac Conference. Senior outfielder Robbie Anstoetter earned all-state honors in Class 2A after hitting .487 with 30 stolen bases. Senior catcher Lucas Jacque also was an all-stater after hitting .434 with 55 RBIs. That was second on team to Nate Steger's 62. He's back, too. Coach Tom Jenk Jr. should have a lot of fun with this team.

IOWA CITY REGINA - Start with ace pitcher Danny Pacha (12-0) and work your way forward. He's one of four all-district returnees, with first baseman George Sehl (.436 average), second baseman Riley Dixon (.381) and shortstop Nate Streb (.387) the others. Regals went 23-13 last season, losing in substate final to eventual state champion Davis County.

IOWA CITY WEST - Trojans have done everything but win it all last couple of seasons. West lost to Kennedy in 2010 4A state tourney finals and to West Des Moines Dowling last season in 4A state tourney semifinals, finshing with 32-11 record. Great senior class graduated, but veteran head coach Charlie Stumpff has a lot of returning talent, especially on the mound (Luke Crimmins, Kellen Yoder, Nick Grimsaman). Crimmins has committed to pitch at D-II Winona State. Returning position starters include Ezra Reiners, Colin Baker and Ryan Siems, a second-team all-conference and all-district pick.

MARION - Indians made it to the Class 3A state tournament semifinals before losing to eventual champion Solon. The good news is Coach Steve Fish (who won his 500th career game last season) has a whole bunch of pitchers returning. That includes senior Tyler Hedtke, a second-team all-stater who went 11-3 last season, including a shutout of Storm Lake in the state tourney quarterfinals. He's a lefty, as are returnees Levi Lochner, Nic Connolly and Cale Cannoy. The top position players back include Mitch Wagner (.384 average), Josh Davila, Trev Biery and catcher Addison Johnson.

WASHINGTON (Iowa) - Went 30-8 last season, losing in the Class 3A state tournament semifinals. Quite a bit of top talent has graduated, but there are seven returning letterwinners. Heading the list is senior outfielder/pitcher Jake Redlinger (.333 batting average, eight triples, 17 stolen bases), senior third baseman/pitcher Colin Steele (.309 average, 6-0 record) and senior pitcher/utilityman Jared Henry (.304 average, 4-1 record). Senior shortstop pitcher T.J. Rausch comes back after missing last season with ACL injury. He was first-team all-Southeast Seven Conference in 2010.

OTHERS BEARING WATCHING (In no particular order): BGM, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Cedar Rapids Xavier, Decorah, Linn-Mar, North Fayette, Western Dubuque.