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Preseason High School Preview: Raymore-Peculiar

March 7, 2024
By: Diego Solares
Central Region Media Director, Scouting

The 2024 Missouri high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Missouri. 

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Ozark come early June, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Missouri. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, eventually releasing our Preseason team rankings that’ll carry us into the opening week of action.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state, and we’ll be releasing daily content to ensure our top-tier coverage of the ‘Show Me’ state. 

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Raymore-Peculiar
2023 Record: 10-21
Conference: Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference - Gold Division
Classification: 6A
Head Coach: Johnathan Lersch

UPPERCLASSMEN TO KNOW 

UNDERCLASS FOLLOWS 

OUTLOOK

The Panthers’ pitching staff may be one of the strongest units in the state with a strong crop of arms set to take the mound on a game-to-game basis. It’s their strength as a club and with an offense that gained experience last year, Ray-Pec will look to do some damage in the gold division of the Greater KC Suburban Conference. 

Ray-Pec’s three-headed monster features a trio of athletes that are all highly regarded prospects within the state in their respective classes. 

LHP Micah Henson (2024; Kansas State signee) and LHP Chase Olson (2024; Nebraska signee) both sit inside the top-20 on our recently updated Missouri Class of 2024 rankings, and the southpaw pairing are each coming off strong seasons, too. As the top arm on this staff last year, Henson fanned 48 over 31 ⅔ innings on the hill to the tune of a 1.99 ERA. He’ll run his fastball into the low-90s and land a breaking ball for strikes off it, while diving a changeup on occasion to round out his three pitch mix. Olson has an upper-80s to low-90s heater with quality secondaries to pair, and the Huskers’ signee struck out 41 over 38 ⅔ innings on the hill to a 3.08 ERA. 

Micah Henson

As a freshman last spring, LHP Johnny Carver (2026; Arkansas commit) looked every bit the part of a future frontline arm for the Panthers. Known for his polish on the hill and feel to pitch, Carver cruised to a 1.81 ERA across a 38 ⅔ inning workload. He punched out 44 and walked only 10, working in the zone often with a three-pitch mix that features a mid-80s fastball and one of the better changeups in Missouri’s current sophomore class. 

Johnny Carver

There’s depth past that trio of arms on the mound, however, that truly makes this pitching staff a top-to-bottom strength. RHP Ryker Nelson (2024; Highland CC) could be another name in line to draw starting opportunities in the spring. RHP Logan Compton (2024), LHP Aedan Layton (2024), and INF/RHP Maddox Steele (2025) are three upperclassmen to know in this staff, as is LHP/OF Lucas LaRue (2026), who’s one of the top left-handed arms in the state’s sophomore class. INF/RHP Kaden Jenkins (2026), RHP/INF Braden McMullen (2026) and LHP/1B/OF Alex Krueger (2026) are three more arms to watch, speaking to the depth of the amount of quality arms Ray-Pec has. 

Look for C Clint Olson (2026) to be the one catching all the talented arms Ray-Pec will trot out to the mound. The Panthers are strong up the middle of the field, especially at shortstop, where INF Diesel Purnell (2025; Jacksonville State) has manned the position since his freshman year. INF Eli Mast (2025) and the aforementioned Steele are two other names to watch on the dirt. 

Henson, Carver, and Nelson are all names that should contribute to the Panthers’ offense aside from their efforts on the mound. OF Jaxon Sloan (2024), OF Mason Cohen (2024) and OF Aiden Eggers (2024; Highland CC) are three seniors that are likely to receive reps in the outfield. 

BOTTOM LINE 

This year’s Panthers squad will be led by their pitching staff - a group that has plenty of power arms at the top and depth roots that sprout from top to bottom. Their offense will look to bounce back from last year and, if they do, Ray-Pec won’t be an easy match for any team on any given day. 

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