The Missouri high school baseball season kicks off on Mar. 19, opening day for regular season action under MSHSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2026 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down to the official Prep Baseball Missouri Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2026 preseason coverage continues today.

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2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 7
No. of Returning Pitchers: 4

Top Returners:

• Brady Smith (2026) - SP/INF, 6'2" 175 lbs, L/R
  • Wichita State commit
  • One of the top arms in Southeast MO
• Bryce Stahl (2026) - SS, 6'2" 180 lbs, R/R
  • Jefferson JC commit
  • Strong hitter and SS. Hit .508 this past fall with 6 HR and 12 stolen bases in 22 games.
    

Key Players Lost:

• JJ Pflum

Coach’s Insight: “We have a lot of experience with six starters being seniors. I believe our biggest strength is our pitching and defense. Our pitchers are great at attacking hitters and allowing our defense to make plays. Our ability to make plays keeps us in most ballgames. We have a lot of room to grow at the plate. At times, we struggle to manufacture runs and have to get better if we want to make a deep a playoff run this Spring.” – Ethan Boyer, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 East Carter program below:

+ Visit Prep Baseball Missouri’s 2026 MSHSAA Team Previews page to learn more.

+ If you are a high school coach and didn’t receive our questionnaire, please click HERE to fill out the form

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