By Nathan Rode and PBR Staff

To cap off 2015, the Hotlist looked back at the top stories of the year. With the calendar turned over, we look ahead at 2016. Each state in the Prep Baseball Report coverage area submitted a storyline to watch, including state championship bids, top draft prospects and recruiting. Here’s to another fun year in high school baseball…

AR: Bentonville Returns Strong Staff In Repeat Bid
Bentonville is looking to repeat as 7A champs in Arkansas and return their top three arm in RHPs Kasey Ford, Drew Young and Carter Brown. All three are committed to Division I programs. Bryant HS figures to be the biggest challenged with LHP Evan Lee and RHP Zach Jackson leading a group of young position players. Catholic, Central and Conway also return deep pitching staffs that should be watched.