Week 2 Recap & Top Performers (2026)

LOTS OF HEADLINES IN WEEK 2, Let’s DIVE IN

Let's start off with a recap of some games out in Alice that were a part of the Calallen Tournament, courtesy of Javier.

Week 2 of tournament play featured several heavyweight teams from the Valley, Laredo, San Antonio, Houston, and Victoria. I was in attendance at the Alice site, where a couple of 3A schools proved they belong by competing with — and defeating — numerous 5A and 6A programs. 3A Orange Grove High School, fresh off a state semifinal appearance, is once again starting the season strong. The Bulldogs lost their two top pitchers, who combined for 246 innings last year, and now Head Coach Jordan Chambless is counting on the new guys to step up — and they’ve answered the call early. The trio of Nicolas Kraatz, Matthew Martinez, Daniel Martinez, Linden Rodriguez, and Leelan Rodriguez has combined to allow just six runs in five games. Offensively, the Bulldogs have been led by Daniel Martinez, Cooper Burroughs, Leelan Rodriguez, and Nicolas Kraatz. Keep an eye on Orange Grove, as the Bulldogs appear primed for another deep playoff run.

Another impressive 3A squad was the Goliad High School Tigers. After two close losses on Day 1 to Orange Grove and 5A McAllen High School (2-0 and 6-4), the Tigers responded with a 5-1 victory over perennial playoff team Bishop High School and an 8-0 win over 5A Veterans Memorial High School. Goliad has been eliminated in the third round of the playoffs by the state champion London High School the past two years, but Head Coach Anthony Quintanilla says this experienced group is ready to clear that hurdle. The Tigers are led by four pitchers who could all be considered aces, each featuring velocity ranging from 86–92 mph — impressive for the 3A level. Barret Irwin, Keelan Coley, Kayden Caka, and Cy Henke lead the charge both offensively and defensively. Don’t look now, but this junior-heavy roster could be making serious noise over the next two years.

Laredo United High School’s Hector Cadena, a Texas A&M University commit, is truly the “real deal.” He plays at an extremely high level and absolutely crushes the baseball. With a strong baseball IQ and next-level physical tools, he looks ready for the future. Don’t be surprised if you see him in “The Show” one day!

Have you seen these sweet jerseys for port aransas? ‘The Beach’ is quite fitting. We are big fans of them. Photo credit to Melissa Tallent

STATE NO. 1’s Drop a game | CC London wins CHampionship | Other Notable Games

Calallen and London, the two #1-Ranked teams in Class 3A and 4A, both dropped a home game in their tournaments. Calallen lost to Crosby (out of Houston) by a score of 7-3. Coll Carroll was on the mound and seemed to not have his usual stuff, and, to Crosby's credit, they played really well against a great team. Crosby roughed up Carroll with a 6 spot in the 3rd inning and Calallen couldn't score enough late.

Over across town, the London Pirates hosted the Carroll Tigers in the CCISD/BSN Classic. A pitch that got by London's Olivares allowed Carroll to tie the game at 1-1. With little time in the game remaining, the coaches agreed to play a shortened inning, similar to the California extra innings rule. Both teams started their half of the inning with the bases loaded and 1 out. On the first pitch that Carroll saw, Aiden Saenz hit a liner to LF that scored the winning run. London's JJ Villegas grounded out to 3B to end the game.

Despite the loss, London still made the top-4 and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. The final four were CC London, CC Ray, Laredo United South, and PSJA North. Ray almost completed a comeback to beat London, but fell short and lost 9-7. United South beat PSJA North 2-0, setting up a 6A vs. 3A Championship game. London ultimately won the championship, winning a close one by a final of 3-2 at Whataburger Field. Elijah Acosta went 5.2 innings on the mound and got the win for the Pirates. Christian Olivares, Cristian Villegas, and Bryce Phillips each contributed an RBI in the win.

Rounding out the action from the week, Taft hosted Skidmore-Tynan in their first ever game at their brand new turf facility. They got the win by a final score of 10-0. Greyhounds are looking good early. Port Lavaca Calhoun stole one on the road at Tuloso-Midway, winning 6-3. Alice picked up a huge district win in their opener over CC Ray, winning that one 3-2. La Joya Palmview downed Laredo Cigarroa 15-0, and Aransas Pass got a nice 12-0 win over Woodsboro. Ingleside had a good week in their home tournament, and picked up a 13-3 win over SGA. Carroll got their first district win over Moody by a 4-1 final, with Seth Martinez having a great night at the plate going 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Veterans Memorial picked up a new assistant coach in MJ Rodriguez, who was a part of the 2020 team that was ranked #1 in Class 5A before COVID ended the season. Arguably one of the greatest ever what-if teams. He is a great addition to the staff after playing collegiately. Refugio forgot that football season was over, picking up a win in a 24-6 rout over my hometown Mathis Pirates, and entered out Top 5 power rankings. Nathaniel Jaramillo threw a gem on the road at Rockport, a complete game with 10 strikeouts in a 5-0 win. Jordan Garza lit up the radar gun against Flour Bluff in a district win for Vets at Cabaniss by a 10-2 final, with the Bluff's 2 runs coming on errors from Vets.

Tuloso-Midway's Carlos Trevino had what was (probably) a career game against Falfurrias, picking up 7-RBI with a Grand Slam and a Triple in their 13-7 tournament win over the Jerseys. PSJA North looked really good in a 8-0 win over Carroll, even picking up the fourth semifinal spot in the CCISD/BSN Tournament bracket. CC King was barreling Harlingen early and often in their 5-1 win at Moody on the first day of tournament play as well. The Mustangs have been down in recent years, but it looks like this 2026 team can play.

WEEK 2 POWER RANKINGS

Our Week 2 Power Rankings had some movement

College Spotlight - Zach Wright, Texas a&M University-Kingsville

True Freshman Zach Wright, a 2025 graduate from Orange Grove High School, is making an immediate impact on the mound as a Javelina. Wright had a stellar senior season at OG, where he was the ace on the mound for the Bulldogs in their run to the 3A-D2 State Semifinals. He is a RHP and general business major there in Kingsville. Back on February 21st, Zach started against the #4 UT-Tyler, one of the top teams in DII baseball. Wright threw 5.2 innings with 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BB, and 3 K's.

Wright is a great player who has a lot of potential. Look to see him continue to carve out a larger role on the pitching staff down at TAMU-K. We are happy to see him having success right out of high school!

Photo Courtesy of Leo Garcia, TAMUK Athletics | Zach Wright pitches for the Javelinas

Pro Spotlight - Nick Loftin, Kansas City Royals Util

Nick Loftin, no stranger to our pro spotlight, gets the nod this week. Loftin, a graduate of Corpus Christi Ray High School, has spent the entirety of his MLB career with the Royals. He is currently playing with the big league club in spring training out in Surprise, Arizona. Over the weekend, Loftin hit a Grand Slam against the Rockies. Nick is looking to break camp and make the big league roster at the start of the season. He has spent parts of the last two seasons between the Triple-A Omaha Stormchasers and the Royals.

Keep an eye out for Nick throughout this 2026 MLB season!

RAY HS ALUM NICK LOFTIN HOPES TO BREAK CAMP WITH THE KC ROYALS

Notable performances from FEBRUARY 22nd - FEBRUARY 28th

Teams of the Week-4A/5A/6A

6A - Laredo United South (5-1)
6A - Brownsville Veterans Memorial (4-1-1)
6A - San Benito (4-1)
5A - Brownsville Porter (4-0-2)
5A - Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (5-1)
5A - Mission (4-1)
5A - Laredo Nixon (5-1)
5A - Rio Grande City (4-1)
5A - Weslaco East (4-1)
4A - Sinton (4-0-1)
4A - Calallen (5-1)
4A - Ingleside (4-1)
4A - Kingsville (4-1)

Teams of the Week 2A/3A/TAPPS

3A - London (5-1)
3A - Hebbronville (5-0)
3A - Orange Grove (4-0-1)
3A - San Diego (5-1)
3A - Taft (4-1)
3A - Raymondville (4-1)
2A - Refugio (5-0)
2A - Riviera (4-1)
TAPPS - St. John Paul II (4-0-1)

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4A/5A/6A Pitchers of the Week

Alice | Nick Lopez | 1GP 1W 7IP 4H 1R 1ER 0BB 5K’s
Alice | JoJo Salinas | 1GP 1W 5IP 1H 0R 0ER 0BB 5K’s
CC Veterans Memorial | Jordan Garza | 1GP 1W 7IP 5H 2R 0ER 0BB 11K’s
Calallen | Drayton Mitchell | 1GP 1W 5IP 3H 0R 0ER 3BB 10K’s
Calallen | Cooper Becton | 1GP 1W 5IP 0H 0R 0ER 2BB 3K’s
Flour Bluff | Benjamin Terry | 1GP 1W 7IP 6H 0R 0ER 2BB 6K’s
Flour Bluff | Travis Leal | 1GP 1W 5IP 3H 0R 0ER 1BB 4K’s
Pleasanton | Marcos Guardiola | 1GP 1W 5IP 4H 0R 0ER 2BB 6K’s
CC Ray | AJ Silva | 1GP 0W 6IP 3H 1R 1ER 0BB 8K’s
Sinton | Dylan Arriga | 1GP 0W 6IP 2H 1R 0ER 5BB 10K’s
Sinton | Keldon Kemp | 1GP 1W 7IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 7K’s
Sinton | Julian Suarez | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 0R 0ER 3BB 10K’s
Sinton | Karasen McCoy | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 2R 0ER 3BB 2K’s
Floresville | Jaden Moreno | 1GP 1W 5IP 2H 0R 0ER 0BB 7K’s
Floresville | Jacob Guevera | 1GP 0W 7IP 8H 2R 2ER 3BB 8K’s
CC King | Toby Ritter | 1GP 1W 7IP 5H 1R 0ER 0BB 11K’s
Laredo Alexander | Julio Hernandez | 1GP 1W 6IP 1H 0R 0ER 3BB 5K’s
Edinburg | Michael Nibert | 1GP 0W 7IP 5H 2R 0ER 1BB 3K’s
Harlingen South | Juan Vasquez | 1GP 1W 5IP 0H 1R 0ER 1BB 9K’s
La Joya | Matthew Ortiz | 1GP 1W 5.2IP 2H 0R 0ER 4BB 6K’s
La Joya | Alex Pulido | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 2R 0ER 0BB 6K’s
McAllen Memorial | Sebastian Soto | 1GP 1W 6IP 2H 2R 2ER 3BB 6K’s
McAllen | Gabriel Silva | 1GP 0W 6IP 4H 1R 0ER 2BB 6K’s
PSJA North | Sebastian Garza | 1GP 0W 5IP 5H 0R 0ER 0BB 5K’s
La Joya Palmview | Joseph Martinez | 2GP 2W 11IP 7H 1R 0ER 0BB 12K’s
La Joya Palmview | Jaime Cordova | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 9K’s
La Joya Palmview | Dvyen Gonzalez | 1GP 1W 6IP 3H 2R 1ER 1BB 7K’s
Rio Grande City | Deandre Rodriguez | 1GP 1W 7IP 3H 0R 0ER 5BB 9K’s
Brownsville Rivera | Gilbert Cantu | 1GP 1W 7IP 3H 1R 1ER 1BB 10K’s
Brownsville Rivera | Marcos Guerrero | 1GP 1W 5IP 3H 0R 0ER 4BB 6K’s
Brownsville Rivera | Andres Rocha | 1GP 1W 5IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 9K’s
Roma | Erza Gonzalez | 1GP 1W 5IP 3H 2R 1ER 5BB 12K’s
San Benito | Joshua Baez | 1GP 1W 7IP 3H 0R 0ER 2BB 7K’s
Sharyland | Heber Garza | 1GP 1W 6IP 1H 1R 1ER 0BB 3K’s
McAllen Rowe | Alex Leon | 1GP 1W 6IP 6H 3R 3ER 3BB 10K’s
McAllen Rowe | Rogan Gonzalez | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 0R 0ER 0BB 5K’s
Laredo United South | JP Briseno | 1GP 1W 7IP 2H 0R 0ER 2BB 3K’s
Laredo United | Alonso Barbarena | 1GP 1W 7IP 1H 0R 0ER 2BB 10K’s
Valley View | Jose Mirafuentes | 1GP 1W 6IP 1H 1R 1ER 3BB 8K’s
Valley View | Carlos Espinoza | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 3K’s
Brownsville Veterans | Diego Martinez | 1GP 1W 5IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 5K’s
Weslaco | Matthew Cortez | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 2R 2ER 2BB 10K’s

2A/3A Pitchers of the Week

San Diego | Omar Aleman | 2GP 1W 12.1IP 9H 4R 2ER 3BB 17K’s *No Hitter* vs Jourdanton 7IP 12K's CG
San Diego | Angel Bowen | 1GP 1W 5IP 5H 1R 1ER 3BB 7K’s
London | Dax Williams | 1GP 1W 5IP 3H 0R 0ER 3BB 9K’s
London | Alex Manning | 1GP 1W 5IP 4H 0R 0ER 1BB 5K’s
Refugio | Ray Fivora | 1GP 1W 5IP 4H 1R 1ER 3BB 3K’s
Refugio | Matthew Perez | 1GP 1W 5IP 6H 0R 0ER 1BB 6K’s
Orange Grove | Nicolas Kraatz | 1GP 1W 6IP 5H 0R 0ER 3BB 3K’s
Orange Grove | Matthew Martinez | 1GP 1W 7IP 2H 0R 0ER 3BB 4K’s
Orange Grove | Linden Rodriguez | 1GP 1W 7IP 5H 0R 0ER 2BB 10K’s
Agua Dulce | Brandon Lopez | 1GP 1W 5IP 2H 1R 1ER 1BB 3K’s
Falfurrias | Nate Jaramillo | 1GP 1W 6IP 0H 0R 0ER 2BB 10K’s
Goliad | Kayden Caka | 2GP 2W 8.2IP 4H 2R 1ER 3BB 16K’s
Goliad | Barrett Irwin | 1GP 1W 6IP 0H 1R 1ER 0BB 8K’s
Taft | John Franco | 2GP 2W 12IP 5H 2R 2ER 3BB 22K’s
Hebbronville | Luke Cadena | 1GP 1W 6IP 1H 0R 0ER 2BB 4K’s
Riviera | Ryan Ramos | 1GP 1W 5IP 3H 2R 0ER 2BB 3K’s
Riviera | Jacob Guevera | 1GP 1W 5IP 7H 0R 0ER 1BB 5K’s
Riviera | Sef Guiterrrez | 1GP 1W 6IP 3H 0R 0ER 1BB 11K’s

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4A/5A/6A Hitters of the Week

Calallen | Drayson Gamez | .786 Avg 14-AB 11-H 10-R 6-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 10-RS
Zapata | Jay Solis | .667 Avg 12-AB 8-H 6-R 6-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 1-3B 1-HR 6-RS
Kingsville | Xavier Garza | .667 Avg 15-AB 10-H 5-R 9-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 5-RS
Ingleside | Jayden Techur | .643 Avg 14-AB 9-H 7-R 2-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-3B 7-RS
CC Veterans Memorial | Jon Reyes | .550 Avg 20-AB 11-H 0-R 6-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-3B
Sinton | Julian Suarez | .538 Avg 13-AB 7-H 3-R 2-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 3-RS
Calallen | Dalin Debellas | .500 Avg 14-AB 7-H 3-R 11-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 2-HR 3-RS
Gregory Portland | Triston Gore | .473 Avg 19-AB 9-H 6-R 5-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 6-RS
CC Ray | Orlando Ruiz | .473 Avg 19-AB 9-H 4-R 3-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 4-RS
Calallan | Drayton Mitchell | .455 Avg 11-AB 5-H 7-R 8-RBI 6-BB 2-2B 1-3B 7-RS
Alice | Maddex Carrillo | .455 Avg 11-AB 5-H 3-R 2-RBI 5-BB 2-3B 3-RS
Rio Grande City | Hiram Lopez | .727 Avg 11-AB 8-H 3-R 12-RBI 3-BB 2-HR 3-RS
Rio Grande City | Deandre Rodriguez | .692 Avg 13-AB 9-H 8-R 3-RBI 0-BB 3-2B 2-3B 8-RS
Mission Sharyland | Luis Balderas | .667 Avg 15-AB 10-H 10-R 4-RBI 3-BB 1-2B 1-3B 10-RS
Weslaco East | Eduardo Hernandez | .636 Avg 11-AB 7-H 3-R 7-RBI 0-BB 3-2B 2-3B 3-RS
McAllen Memorial | Kane Coy | .625 Avg 16-AB 10-H 4-R 3-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 1-3B 4-RS
Raymondville | Diego Villegas | .600 Avg 15-AB 9-H 4-R 3-RBI 0-BB 1-3B 4-RS
PSJA | Zeke Garza | .529 Avg 17-AB 9-H 3-R 7-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-HR 2-3B 3-RS
Sharyland Pioneer | A. Lopez | .529 Avg 17-AB 9-H 8-R 4-RBI 0-BB 3-2B 1-3B 8-RS
Brownsville Veterans | Anthony Rocha | .476 Avg 21-AB 10-H 6-R 5-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 6-RS
Mission Sharyland | Nic Valdez | .473 Avg 19-AB 9-H 10-R 5-RBI 3-BB 10-RS
McAllen Rowe | Stephen De LaFuente | .473 Avg 19-AB 9-H 5-R 5-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 1-3B 5-RS
Mission Sharyland | Santiago Balderas | .470 Avg 17-AB 8-H 4-R 6-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 4-RS
Laredo United | Hector Cadena | .455 Avg 11-AB 5-H 4-R 2-RBI 3-BB 2-2B 1-3B 1-HR 4-RS

2A/3A Hitters of the Week

Refugio | Ray Lewis | .846 Avg 13-AB 11-H 8-R 4-RBI 0-BB 3-2B 1-3B 8-RS
Freer | Oscar Luan | .800 Avg 10-AB 8-H 7-R 9-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-3B 7-RS
Riviera | Jacob Guevara | .800 Avg 10-AB 8-H 4-R 5-RBI 3-BB 1-3B 4-RS
Banquete | Noah Gonzalez | .750 Avg 12-AB 9-H 4-R 4-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 1-3B 4-RS
London | Chris Olivares | .667 Avg 12-AB 8-H 3-R 9-RBI 0-BB 5-2B 1-HR 3-RS
Riviera | Sef Gutierrez | .692 Avg 13-AB 9-H 6-R 5-RBI 0-BB 2-3B 6-RS
Odem | Buddy Chapman | .642 Avg 14-AB 9-H 4-R 8-RBI 0-BB 3-2B 4-RS
Hebbronville | RJ Rodriguez | .625 Avg 16-AB 10-H 11-R 8-RBI 0-BB 1-2B 1-3B 11-RS
Odem | Caden Price | .600 Avg 15-AB 9-H 3-R 3-RBI 0-BB 1-3B 3-RS
Hebbronville | Chase Moore | .545 Avg 11-AB 6-H 10-R 2-RBI 6-BB 1-2B 10-RS
London | JJ Villegas | .500 Avg 16-AB 8-H 9-R 2-RBI 0-BB 9-RS
Three Rivers | Lathan Meyer | .500 Avg 8-AB 4-H 2-R 4-RBI 0-BB 2-RS
Three Rivers | Evin Sheppard | .500 Avg 8-AB 4-H 1-R 2-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-RS
San Diego | Jake Salinas | .473 Avg 19-AB 9-H 7-R 8-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-3B 7-RS
Hebbronville | Ed Trevino | .470 Avg 17-AB 8-H 4-R 9-RBI 0-BB 2-2B 1-HR 4-RS