2026 Power 25 Countdown: No. 11 Blackman Blaze

Blackman comes into the spring 2026 season with high hopes after a successful finish last year that saw them finish in the state tournament. They would go 0-2 but bring back a lot of key pieces that helped them get there a year ago and have the makings of a more complete team this time around.

The Blaze bring back all three of their district starters on the mound starting with left handed pitcher Andrew Monson who threw 65.2 innings last season finishing with a 2.55 ERA with 82 K’s. You then have Pellissippi State commit Mac Bolding who threw 59 innings last season finishing with a 2.24 ERA to go with 81 K’s and rounding out their 3-man rotation is another senior in Andy Beveridge who finished with a 2.23 ERA in 56.1 innings last season. Offensively the Blaze are led by a few upperclassmen starting with do it all middle infielder Jameson Adamson who slashed .393 with a .969 OPS and a .445 OBP. He should be somewhere at the top of the order again and looks to increase his doubles and HR’s this season. Another senior that had a respectable 2025 campaign is Austen Leban who brings a certain level of physicality in the box and should stack up somewhere in the middle of the order. Provided 2 HR’s last season but looks much more capable of bringing that number higher this season. There is also a pair of juniors that I like in Daffy Norment and Max Wilcox who should man two of the outfield spots. Daffy was a staple in the bottom heart of the order last season but looks likely to rise this season and produce at a higher level. Wilcox is another that has potential and will be relied upon this year in a more substantial role offensively.

The three district rotation starters should contribute offensively as well as Monson looks to be back in the 3-hole with Beveridge falling somewhere as well. There is a good mixture of upperclassmen guys who were a big part of last year’s postseason run and new and talented underclassmen players like ‘28 Josiah Womack. There is a few spots open for grabs and it will be interesting to see what Coach Brad Frasier does with the puzzle but make no mistake that he will look to the older guys for their experience as a they cultivate another deep run into the postseason with their highest preseason rankings to date.