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High School  | Rankings | 1/30/2018

Strong arms lift No. 5 Mustangs

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Madden family




2018 High School Baseball Preview Content

No. 5 Cypress Ranch Mustangs (Cypress, Texas)

State Association/League: Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A Region III District 17
Head Coach: Corey Cephus (2nd season as head coach)
2017 Results: 27-8 overall; 14-3 District 17 co-champion; UIL Class 6A Region III quarterfinals

Key Losses: RHP Kel Bordwine (Rice); OF Eric Bonhert (Sam Houston State); SS Hayden Evans; 3B Nicholas Cisneros

Top Returning Players: Sr. RHP Ty Madden (Texas); Sr. OF Colton Cowser (Sam Houston State); Sr. OF Scotty Scott (Hawaii); Sr. UTL Ty Williams (Indianapolis); Sr. RHP Kyle Gough; Sr. RHP Hayden Collins; Jr. RHP Matthew Thompson (Texas A&M); Jr. RHP/UTL Jamey Goss (Texas A&M); Jr. RHP/UTL Jacob Hymel (Louisiana State)

Notable Matchups: Feb. 22-24 vs. SBISD Tournament; March 1-3 vs. Katy Tournament; March 8-10 vs. Barbers Hill Classic; March 13-April 27 vs. 6A Region III District 17 opponents

                                                                                                 … … …

WHENEVER THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR HEAD COACH Corey Cephus to explain what he enjoys the most about the 2018 version of his Cypress Ranch High School baseball team, it can become difficult for the second-year skipper to know exactly when he should take his foot off the gas.

“We have a bunch of high-quality arms, we’re going to play good defense, we have team speed and we have guys that can swing it,” Cephus told PG last week, finishing the exclamation with a laugh. “So, that sounds like a pretty good recipe (for success) right there.”

That comment certainly begs the question, “What’s not to like?” and, quite frankly, the immediate answer would be “Nothing.” This is such a talented team that it will begin the 2018 Texas high school season on Feb. 22 at No. 5 in the Perfect Game High School Preseason Top 50 Rankings, and will have no reason to apologize for that lofty status.

Where to start? A good place might be mentioning that the Mustangs won 27 games and reached the quarterfinals of the Texas Class 6A playoffs in 2017 and return six prospects that have signed with or committed to NCAA Division I schools (see above).

There was a reason Cephus mentioned “high-quality arms” first when asked about the strengths of this team. And he made that comment despite the graduation of right-hander Kel Bordwine, who went 12-0 with a 0.38 ERA in 12 starts last spring, eating-up 74 1/3 innings in the process.

It’s always difficult to replace someone like Bordwine who, according to the Ranch’s head coach, sort of came out of nowhere last year. But Bordwine threw strikes (72 to 27 strikeout-to-walk ratio), developed his repertoire of pitches throughout the spring and earned a scholarship to Rice University in Houston.

“Coming into it, we thought that he was probably going to be our number-three and he ended up being the ace,” Cephus said. “But we definitely have some other people that can fill his shoes.”

Chief among those shoe-fitters is the 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior right-hander Ty Madden and the 6-foot-2, 170-pound junior righty Matt Thompson (6-2, 170).

Madden, who PG ranks as the No. 53 top overall prospect in the class of 2018 (No. 5 Texas), finished 6-5 with a 2.93 ERA last spring, and struck-out 71 in 55 innings of work. Thomson, ranked Nos. 6/2 in the class of 2019, was 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA and fanned 46 in his 34 2/3 innings.

“He’s that good ol’ country boy that is going to be a 6-(foot)-4 flame-thrower,” Cephus said of Madden, whose fastball was gunned at 94 mph at the PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., in October. “He’s just going to stand up on the mound and he’s just going to have that presence about him because of his sheer size. He’s going to reach back and he’s going to try to put the ball where he wants it as hard as he can, and dare you to hit it.”

Thompson – his fastball topped out at 96 mph in Jupiter – has played on the varsity at Cypress Ranch since he was a freshman in 2016, and is equally as impressive as Madden; has been wowing PG scouts since debuting in the summer of 2014.

With Madden and Thompson fronting the rotation, Cephus can rest assured he’ll have two of the best arms in Texas – and in the nation – at his disposal throughout the 2018 campaign.

“They’re both going to be bulldogs on the mound,” he said. “That’s the beauty of it, is that they both want to be the number-one. That’s a great problem to have when you have two quality guys like that who are going to push each other and who are going to compete; both are legitimate number-ones right now.”

The Mustangs are also strong at the back-end of their bullpen, with the return of senior right-hander Kyle Gough. He made 14 relief appearances last spring and recorded three saves while posting a 0.63 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings.

The staff is further solidified by the presence of junior right-handers Jamie “JJ” Goss (ranked Nos. 73/9) and Jacob Hymel (Nos. 415/43).

Senior outfielders Colton Cowser and Scotty Scott bring much of the speed and hitting skills that Cephus referred to back to the Mustangs’ everyday lineup that Cephus referred to. Cowser hit .441 with 12 extra-base hits scattered among his 28 safeties, and drove in a team-high 37 runs while scoring 28; he also stole a team-high 16 bases. Scott hit .300 (27-for-90), drove in 20 runs and scored 31, and stole 11 bases.

Cypress Ranch is a public high school with enrollment boundaries, which means most of the Mustangs’ roster spots are filled with guys who have grown up together in the same neighborhoods of Cypress, which is located near Houston.

They’ve played ball together since they were old enough to wear a glove or hold a bat in their hands, and the familiarity they enjoy with one another pays dividends in the end. “Since they’ve all grown up with each other, there is definitely a bond there; they genuinely love each other,” Cephus said.

The Mustangs play in Texas 6A Region III District 17, a 10-team affiliation that includes seven other Cypress schools – Fair, Creek, Falls, Lakes, Ridge, Springs and Woods – along with Jersey Village and Langham Creek; Ranch and Woods tied for the district championship in 2017 with 14-3 records.

Cephus uses the “there is no night off” mantra when talking about the Mustangs’ district competition, but will also go into the season knowing his team won’t play second fiddle to anyone. And, he believes, getting after other equally talented teams day-in and day-out ruing the regular season will only serve to make his team better.

“It prepares us for the playoffs because you’ve got to have your number-two and number-three ready to go and you’ve got to have guys in the bullpen that can get outs at certain times in the game,” he said. “So, the beauty of being in such a tough district is that every game matters, and you get to work on situations that are going to be playoff situations.”

And that’s when those “high-quality arms,” that “good defense,” that “team speed” and having “guys that can swing it” will really be of some value.
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