Weese: Breaking down the Brazos Valley baseball playoffs

Last week, we broke down the UIL softball playoffs ahead of bi-district and, as promised, we're doing the same for baseball in this week's high school column.

We've all slept since then, so as a refresher, we'll take a look at who's in, who are some key players across the Brazos Valley and even make a prediction or two.

Where do things stand locally: Bryan-College Station will have plenty to cheer for in this year's playoffs with a team from both cities representing. Bryan is in the Class 6A Division I bracket, while College Station is in 5A-I.

The Vikings (11-15) are making their first playoff appearance since 2023 and will face No. 7 Waxahachie (31-2) in a best-of-three series. Game 1 is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Waxahachie. Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Viking Field. If necessary, the third game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Waco Live Oak.

College Station (12-17-1) is back in the playoffs for the second straight year and will face Crosby (25-7-1) in a best-of-three series at Cypress Ridge High School. Game 1 is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, while Game 2 is at 7 p.m. on Friday. If necessary, the third game is set for noon on Saturday. It's a rematch from last year as College Station was swept 5-3, 5-0.

What about the rest of the BV?: Here's who else from the Brazos Valley is in.

5A: Brenham will face Dayton in 5A-II.

4A: Navasota will face Fort Bend Crawford in 4A-I; Madisonville will face Silsbee in 4A-II.

3A: Rockdale will face Groesbeck in 3A-I; Franklin will face Buffalo in 3A-II; Anderson-Shiro will face Wallis Brazos in 3A-II.

2A: Centerville will face Mount Enterprise in 2A-I; Normangee will face Cushing in 2A-I; Mumford will face Danbury in 2A-I; Iola will face Sabine Pass in 2A-I; Milano will face Dallardsville Big Sandy in 2A-II; Burton will face Evadale in 2A-II.

Players to watch: Let's go classification by classification and name at least one player to watch in the Brazos Valley.

5A: Brenham senior outfielder Drake Bentke has been on varsity all four seasons and looks to go out with a bang. The Penn signee has already made plenty of noise this season as he has nine home runs.

Another name to know in 5A: In the playoffs, everything gets a little tighter and every at-bat means just that much more. For College Station, they'll look to set the tone with senior outfielder and leadoff man Blaise Sanger leading the way. Sanger is batting .394 and is on a 23-game on base streak.

4A: Speaking of players that are red hot, look no further than Navasota senior utility Kane Keyser. In the final district series against Giddings, Keyser walked off Game 1 and then hit two home runs in the finale. All in all, he was 3 for 7 with seven RBIs and a walk.

Another name to know in 4A: Over in Madisonville, the Mustangs are hoping last week's momentum continues. Madisonville not only won its last two games but also celebrated a pair of seniors in first baseman Clayton Nash and catcher Jaden Pope who signed to play college ball last week. Nash is headed to Dallas College Mountain View, while Pope is headed to Arkansas State University-Mountain Home.

3A: You could pick a lot of talented players here, but we'll go with Franklin senior pitcher Carter Johnson. In his last district start on April 14, Johnson pitched a no-hitter as Franklin run-ruled Little River Academy. He also hit a three-run home run to help himself out.

Another name to know in 3A: In Anderson-Shiro's regular season finale, senior Aidan Moyers shined at the plate in a 10-4 win over Rosebud-Lott. The designated hitter was 4 for 4 with two RBIs and scored two runs.

2A: Iola senior pitcher Brody Vaughn is my pick here and his numbers do all the talking for me. Vaughn finished the regular season at 10-0 with 105 strikeouts and just two earned runs and six walks in 49 innings.

Another name to know in 2A: Defending state-champion Centerville has to be on this list but who? Let's give the nod to Centerville senior pitcher/shortstop Blake Boyd. In the team's district-title winning game against Normangee on April 17, Boyd pitched a complete game and gave up just two hits, two walks and struck out four.

Latest baseball state rankings. In the latest baseball state rankings, Franklin is the only team ranked as the Lions held firm at No. 3 in the 3A poll.

TAPPS playoffs underway. The TAPPS baseball and softball playoffs are underway for both St. Joseph and Brazos Christian this week.

St. Joseph qualified in both baseball and softball, while Brazos Christian qualified in baseball.

All three teams earned first-round byes, so they'll begin play in the area round this week. The St. Joseph baseball team got rolling first in the Division V bracket on Monday in a game against Divine Savior that finished before press time.

In Division III, Brazos Christian is hosting Houston Westbury Christian in a best-of-three series at Travis Park. Game 1 is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, while Game 2 is set for 4 p.m. Thursday. If necessary, Game 3 is set for 30 minutes after Game 2.

The Lady Eagles are set to host Central Texas Christian at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Division IV bracket.

Jake Weese's email address is Jacob.Weese@theeagle.com.

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