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: 3
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

Top Returners:

• Mason Jones (2026) - C
  • State Fair CC commit
• Barett Iverson (2026) - MIF/P
  • State Fair CC commit
• Bryce Whitney (2026) - 3B/P

Top Newcomers:

• Ryder Vincent (2028) - UTL
• Trevin Nitsche (2027) - 1B/C/P

Key Players Lost:

• Jake Kruse - State Fair CC
• Drake Odneal - State Fair CC
• Brady Speer - Ottawa
• Owen Mitchell - Johnson County CC
• Roman Roske 

Coach’s Insight: “We bring back a lot of experience on the mound and guys who can compete in the zone. We have many opportunities for guys to crack the starting lineup this year. There are jobs to be won and guys with the most consistent at-bats will likely win those jobs.” – Luke Temperelli, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Smithville program below:

+ Follow them on X: @TheVille_BSB
+ 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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