All-Area Baseball Selections Boast Players And Coaches
MADISON- Much like the regular season and post-season play, both Bob Jones and James Clemens have dominated the Area 8 play in 2024 and the post-season awards easily show how dominant the two squads were. The Madison Academy Mustangs accomplished the same in Class 5A Area 16.
In the All-Area awards recently released, James Clemens placed six players on the list while Bob Jones placed five with both Austin and Florence placing one player each. Also within the list of the elite was Braden Booth of Bob Jones who was named Player of the Year and his fellow teammate Tanner Hermesch earned Pitcher of the Year honor. In addition, Bob Jones head coach Jared Smith and James Clemens head coach Johnny Johnson were named Co-Coach of the Year.
“I appreciate those who voted for me and like any coaching honors or milestones, nobody gets there alone,” said Johnson, who just completed his sixth season at the helm of the Jets program. “Our coaching staff is one of the best in the state and our group worked hard for what they achieved this year. I’m thankful for all of them and for the opportunity to work along side them at such a great place like James Clemens.”
The Jets finished second to Bob Jones in the Area 8 standings, which won the Area for the third consecutive year. In the post-season, the Jets pushed eventual State Champion Bob Jones (44-9) to three games in the Class 7A State semi-finals. The Jets completed their season 33-12.
Player of the Year honor was presented to Braden Booth (SS/P, 6-1, 190, Sr.) of Bob Jones who is highly regarded as possible Mr. Baseball for 2024 in Alabama. His statistics (Area 8 games only) show he batted .296 with two homers and seven RBIs. He was also 3-0 on the mound with a 2.88 ERA while posting 22 strikeouts. Pitcher of the Year also came from Bob Jones as Tanner Hermesch (P, 6-0, 205, Jr.) earned the honor was also 3-0 on the season, but he posted an incredible 0.71 ERA with 25 strikeouts.
The remaining All-Area selections were C- Zack Johnson, Bob Jones, (6-0, 185, Sr.) .350 avg., 8 RBIs; 1B- Reece Cato, Bob Jones, (6-1, 220, Sr.) .308 avg., 5 RBIs, Satchel Wheeler, James Clemens, (6-3, 195, Sr.) .333 avg., 3 RBIs, 4 stolen bases; 2B- Jessee Isensee, James Clemens, (5-9, 155, So.) .350 avg., 6 RBIs; SS- Easton Nelms, Florence, .269 avg., 4 RBIs; 3B- Gresham Baker, Bob Jones, (6-0, 170, Sr.) .435 avg., 4 RBIs, 14 runs; OF- Dillon Adkins, Bob Jones, (5-10, 185, Jr.) .389 avg., 8 RBIs, Hayden Markfort, James Clemens, (6-0, 155, Sr.) .476 avg., 10 runs, 10 stolen bases, Carson Loosier, James Clemens, (5-4, 130, Sr.) .385 avg., 11 runs, 11 stolen bases; DH- Judd Bailey, Austin, .391 avg., 5 RBIs; P- Braden Booth, Bob Jones (6-1, 190, Sr.) 3-0, 2.88 ERA, 22 strikeouts, Tanner Mermesch, Bob Jones, (6-0, 205, Jr.) 3-0, 0.71 ERA, 25 strikeouts, Metthew Drinkwater, James Clemens, (6-1, 180, So.) 2-0, 1 save, 1.62 ERA, 12 strikeouts, Satchel Wheeler, James Clemens, (6-3, 195, Sr.) 2-1, 2.21 ERA, 11 strikeouts.
In Class 5A Area 16, the post-season awards in that division were dominated by the Madison Academy Mustangs with six first-team selections and two honorable mention picks. As for the major awards in Area 16, David Pressley of Madison Academy was chosen as Coach of the Year while junior pitcher/infielder Tee Foster was selected as Pitcher of the Year. Pressley completed his eighth season as Mustangs’ head coach where he led the Mustangs to a 22-15. As for Foster, he was 2-0 in Area games with a 3.34 ERA, and 18 strikeouts. On the season, Foster was 5-2, 3.37 ERA and tossed 61 strikeouts.
The First-Team selections from Madison Academy included Pitcher- Myles Johnson (Jr.); Catcher- Maddox Meadows (Sr.); Infield- Tee Foster (Jr.), Keaton Watson (Jr.); Outfield- Myles Johnson (Jr.), Davis Parker (Jr.). Honorable Mention, Pitcher- Keaton Watson (Jr.); Infield- Shane Duke (Jr.).
