2017 Perfect Game High School Preview Index
No. 2 Dallas Jesuit College Prep Rangers (Dallas)
State Association/League: Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A Region II/District 9
Head Coach: Brian Jones (8th season as head coach)
2016 Results: 36-8-2 overall, 13-1 UIL 6A District 9 champion; Texas UIL Class 6A state champion
Key Losses: LHP Kyle Muller (Atlanta Braves); C/3B Bryce Bonner (Purdue); MIF Cameron Dobbs (Oklahoma State); OF Jared Kengott (Southern Illinois); SS Matt Horvath; OF Jared Bond; LHP/1B Pete Hamrick
Top Returning Players: Sr. LHP Jacob Palisch (Stanford); Sr. RHP Joseph “J.J.” Montenegro (Arizona); Sr. INF Mark Ready (Santa Clara); Sr. 2B J.T. Mix; Sr. 1B Will Guzman; Sr. RHP Heath Vankirk
Notable Matchups: Feb. 23-25 vs. Austin Tournament (6 games); March 2-4 vs Jesuit Dallas Tournament (6); March 9-11 vs. Frisco Tournament (6); March 14-April 28) vs. regular season (14)
… … …
JESUIT COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL OF DALLAS, most often referred to simply as Dallas Jesuit, was founded in 1942 and the all-male prep school’s athletic teams began winning Texas high school state championships in 1954.
The baseball program won its first Texas Christian Interscholastic League (TCIL) state championship in 1973, and four more TCIL titles followed in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1999. The school parted ways with the TCIL in 2003 when it joined Houston Strake Jesuit as the only two private schools allowed entry into the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body for the state’s public schools’ athletic programs.
So, there’s the quick history lesson, as brief as it might be. And during the nearly 15 years that Dallas Jesuit’s athletic programs have been enjoying their membership in the UIL, it has been the baseball program has really risen to the forefront.
In the last seven years under the direction of now eight-year head coach Brian Jones, the Rangers have won seven straight UIL district championships, made back-to-back appearances in the UIL Class 6A state tournament final four, and last spring won the Texas UIL 6A state championship.
It seems certain that the school’s student body, faculty, administration, parents and fans can expect more of the same this spring. Lifted by the return of seven seniors that played prominent roles on the 2016 state championship team (see above), the Rangers – after playing seven preseason scrimmages against outside opponents Feb. 7-20 – will open play at the Austin Baseball Tournament Feb. 23 as the No. 2 team in the Perfect Game High School Preseason National Rankings.
“I think that’s who you should depend on, are your seniors,” Jones told PG in a recent telephone interview. “Fortunately, with the success we’ve had the last couple of years, these guys have been there. They’ve gone through it, they’ve made the runs; they know what it takes to get to that point.
“Hopefully, they’re able to be that positive example for the younger kids and be that role model for them (and) I think they can set the bar high for us.”
It is already a very high bar and there is no argument as to which one of these seniors will not only set the bar but will be able to help his teammates clear it. Jacob Palisch is a 6-foot-5, 185-pound left-handed pitcher from Richardson, Texas, who PG ranks as top-500 national prospect in the class of 2017.
A Stanford signee with a 4.0 grade-point average, Palisch was recently named one of five finalists for the Davy O’Brien High School Scholarship, an award that recognizes the most outstanding high school senior student-athlete from across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He ultimately did not win the award but it’s difficult to imagine a more qualified finalist.
The starting quarterback on the Rangers’ football team the past two years – he was named the UIL District 9 Player of the Year in 2016 – and a starter on the basketball team, Palisch also enjoyed a terrific junior season on the baseball field last spring when he finished 11-1 with a 0.64 ERA, threw 11 complete games and two no-hitters, and struck-out 117 – with 17 walks – in a team-high 87 innings of work.
Palisch was the starting and winning pitcher in the state championship game – a 6-2 victory over San Antonio Lady Bird Johnson High School – when he gave up two runs on eight hits and struck-out six in 6 1/3 innings; he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Senior right-hander J.J. Montenegro also returns to bolster the pitching staff. Montenegro, a top-500 U. of Arizona signee, made 10 starts and threw 49 innings in 2016, finishing 7-5 with a 3.00 ERA, with 57 strikeouts and 15 walks. Senior righty Heath Vankirk (4 starts, 30 IP, 3-0, 1.63 ERA) is back as well.
Senior first baseman Will Guzman (.341, 17 RBI), senior second baseman J.T. Mix (.326, 17 RBI) and senior infielder Mark Ready (.286, 6 2Bs, 20 RBI) are the top returning hitters. The Rangers did graduate their top three batting averages and 25 of their 26 home runs from 2016.
It’s human nature to want to bask in the warmth of past successes for as long as possible, but Jones decided to put the 2016 championship season behind his returning players right from the get-go. The first day the team got back together in the fall – which happened to be the second day school had been back in session – Jones delivered a message.
“I told them, ‘Beyond what I’m going to say today, you will never hear me or another coach on this staff talk about last year,’” Jones told PG. “I believe it’s just unfair because your (team’s) dynamic is so different from the past year.
“You’ve had kids – obviously, you’ve had starters – that have graduated … and it’s just not fair to this group of kids to put last year’s pressure on a totally different team,” he said “… It’s just not something we ever talk about.”
A reality the Rangers’ coaching staff and returning players must face, however, is the absence of 2016 Perfect Game High School National Two-Way Player of the Year Kyle Muller. It marked the first-time PG named a National Two-Way POY – Mickey Moniak (La Costa Canyon HS, Calif.), the No. 1 overall pick of the first round in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft, was named the Player of the Year and Braxton Garrett (Florence HS, Ala.) was the Pitcher of the Year.
Muller, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound hard-throwing left-handed pitcher and infielder/outfielder had signed with the University of Texas but decided to start his professional career when the Atlanta Braves selected him in the second round (44th overall pick) of the 2016 MLB Draft. He led the 2016 Rangers in hitting (.393), hits (57), home runs (15) and RBI (52), while finishing 9-0 with a 0.42 ERA, with 142 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 83 innings pitched.
“It’s hard to fill those shoes, but then again you just don’t fill the shoes of a national player of the year and the No. 44 pick,” Jones said. He then added – with a laugh – that he decided to make the No. 19 jersey unavailable to any of his players this year, to avoid putting any extra pressure on that player. The No. 19 was worn by both Muller and 2011 Dallas Jesuit grad, second round MLB draft pick and current Pittsburgh Pirate Josh Bell.
Jones firmly believes this team has the potential to be very good, but it is going to have to collectively come to grips with the reality that they represent a changing of the guard. The players that graduated in both 2015 and 2016 – including Muller – were mostly three-year starters. Mix started 43 games and Guzman 28 in 2016, the top two totals among position players.
“We’ve got some young guys that are very talented that play at a high level during summer ball that I think are going to step in,” Jones said. “Now, are we going to be able to repeat (the 2016 championship)? I hate to be negative about it but a lot of things have to go your way. … It’s going to be different; it’s hard to say right now how everything is going to turn out to be.”
There was a little bit of that same uncertainty surrounding the program when Jones arrived before the 2010 season, although – as evidenced by the five TCIL championships in the 1980s and 1990s – there was a history of success. It’s just that nothing of note had happened in over a decade.
That changed immediately. The Rangers won 21 games and their first of seven straight UIL district championships in 2010 and won 34 games in 2011 with Bell hitting in the middle of the lineup; the 2015 final-four team won 35 games and last year’s state championship team won 36. The 2016 Rangers landed at No. 11 in the PG High School Final National Top 50 Rankings.
Jones and his Dallas Jesuit coaching staff have earned UIL District Coaching Staff of the Year honors five times (2010-11, 2014-16); Jones earned Texas Coach of the Year honors from USA Today/Family Insurance last season, as well.
“When I got here, I knew that they had talented kids, but I think the program at that time was just kind of in a rut,” he said. “I can’t take all of the credit because the talent was here. They just needed a spark or a push or maybe a different avenue – a different way of seeing things or doing things. That’s the one thing that I feel like we brought to the table here and the kids bought-in; that’s the big thing.”
This 2017 group has bought-in like no other, and why not? The seniors not only know what it’s like to win a Texas Class 6A state championship, but most also know what it’s like to play important roles in winning that championship.
Now it’s up to Jones and his assistant coaches to make sure they assume the responsibility of reflecting many of the spotlights – like a No. 2 national ranking from Perfect Game – that are sure to be aimed at the Rangers throughout the 2017 season.
Jones would like the team to fly under the radar as much as possible, but he also understands that’s a difficult thing to do when valuable components of a state championship team return for their senior seasons.
“On paper, you can look as good as you want to, but you’ve still got to go out and play the games,” Jones concluded. “Obviously, you feel like you’ve got a target on your back, and probably rightfully so after winning a state championship. But it’s our job to keep these kids grounded and stay focused on this year and what we can accomplish with this particular group.”