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: 5
No. of Returning Pitchers: 6

Top Returners:

• Brady Tanner (2026) - 2B
  • Indiana State commit
• Jack Bogard (2028) - SS
• AJ Jones (2026) - OF
  • Maryville commit
• Shake Speckert (2027) - OF
• Chase Cradick (2026) - OF
  • Moberly Area CC commit
• Eli Miller (2026) - 3B
• Jake Brettschneider (2026) - RHP
  • Missouri commit
• Dylan Curtis (2026) - RHP
  • Missouri commit
• Derek Chupp (2027) - LHP
• Drew Dierks (2027) - LHP
  • Saint Louis commit

Top Newcomers:

• Cruz Harris (2027)
• Blake Schiller (2027)

Key Players Lost:

• Eli Skidmore - Missouri
• Leo Humbert - Missouri
• Jackson Vaughn - Omaha
• Matt Rauser - Maryville

Coach’s Insight: “Pitching depth [will be a strength for this team]. Catcher [will be a weakness]” – Tony Perkins, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Francis Howell program below:

+ Follow them on X: @howellbaseball
+ 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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