2026 MSHSAA Team Preview: Raytown South Cardinals
February 3, 2026
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.
Head Coach: Zach Flanery
Classification: Class 5
2025 Record (Finish): 9-18 (Won our first district game in a decade. Won 7 games in a 10 game stretch and had a 4 game winning streak)
2026 SEASON OUTLOOK
No. of Returning Position Players: 11
No. of Returning Pitchers: 1
Top Returners:
- Marcellus Goudeau (2026) - P/CF/MIF, 5’11, 180, R/R
- Has a strong arm from the outfield, very hard to run on. Smooth transitions on MIF work. Works well in MIF with Reed Hamby. Plus bat with consistent gap ball pop. Plus off speed pitches, can spot up a fastball off the bump.
- Reed Hamby (2026) - P/MIF, 5’9, 145, R/S
- Allen CC commit
- 85+ on his fastball with plus off speed movement. Locates pitches well and knows how to be “pitcher” rather than just a “thrower”. Bats for average at the plate with some pop when he gets into one. Good up the middle hitter while hitting for average. Smooth transitions in MIF and works well with Marcellus Goudeau.
- Jukobe Jones (2026) - C/3B/OF, 6’1, 215, R/R
- Understands what it takes to be a catcher. Big body for blocking balls. Plus arm from the outfield which translate well because he has a decent pop time. Has gap ball power, lower middle of the order kind of hitter. Started to understand the importance of opposite field hitting last season.
- Leo Buie (2027) - OF, 5’7, 165, R/R
- Tracks the ball well in the outfield by vision and speed. Bats for average and has raw power. Sees pitches very well and gets on base with walks a lot. Plus base path speed, can swipe bags easily.
- Joseph Mount (2027) - P, 5’11, 140, L/L
- Average fastball velo with plus movement. Off speed is plus, well above average. Knows how to pitch the right pitches in certain Counts and is very cautious on wasting pitches. He is also a “pitcher” and not just a “thrower”. Some of his better stats his sophomore year came out of the bullpen but he’s definitely starting pitcher caliber and will look to do so more often than not this season.
Top Newcomers:
- Oliver Logeman (2028) - C/OF, R/L
- Opposite field left handed hitter. Tracks the ball well in an OF role with vision rather than speed. If needed, can swipe bags on the base path. Bat is more often than not through the zone in a positive way. Started the year in the top of the order during some important games.
- Xzavier Thomas (2028) - MIF/OF, R/R
- Very talented but also very raw. Working his way into his body and mechanics putting the pieces together. He’s still learning but just gets it and buys in. Played some games on varsity as a freshman last season. He has a strong arm in the MIF, just needs to tweak and correct some mechanical things. Hard contact coming from guys committed to college throwing upper 80s to lower 90s.
Key Players Lost:
- Ty’Kese Walker
- Brandon Johnson
Coach’s Insight: “We play with grit and are never too big for the moment. Historically the program hasn’t won much so when we do win games, we let emotions flow and then know how to reel it back in. It’s important that emotions flow, respectfully. I think we proved our grit winning 7 of 10 games this past season while also having a 4 game win streak in there. We also showed it when we won our first district/playoff game in a decade. As coaches, we set goals: win one more game than the previous season (won 3 more than the season before), go on a run (won 7 of 10 games), get a winning streak started (won 4 in a row) and win a playoff game (beat Grandview for a district win). On top of all of that, I really think we have what it takes at the plate to win. We have at bat grinders and guys who see pitches well. We also have guys who understand the importance of situational hitting. This upcoming season will be an even bigger grind because we want to exceed last years goals just like any team would. I think we lack discipline defensively if we’re being honest. It’s not that we can’t make plays but it’s finishing the easy outs or plays like throws across the Diamond, hitting the right cutoff, etc. Making one mistake shouldn’t be the end of the world so I think the focus this season will be making sure we know it’s okay to make mistakes as long as we don’t continue making mistakes with that same rep or situation. I mean, it’s baseball, games of inches, mistakes will happen. Lastly, I don’t think pitching is a weakness for us because we can’t do it but it’s a weakness from a numbers standpoint and that’s something we are going to establish and make different this year. All arms on deck.” – Zach Flanery, head coach
Find more information on the 2026 Raytown South program below:
+ Follow them on X: @RSHS_Baseball
+ 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