Abilene ISD -

Abilene High and Cooper were to have started the 2025 baseball season this weekend in separate tournaments in the Metroplex: Abilene High in Fort Worth and Cooper in Weatherford. However, the tournaments were canceled due to inclement weather east of Abilene, forcing the local teams to reimagine their opening weekend.

Instead of playing five games, the Eagles and Cougars will each compete in two games on Saturday at their home fields. Cooper will face San Angelo Central at 11 a.m. and Wall at 2 p.m. at Cougar Field, while Abilene High will host Lubbock Coronado at 2 p.m. and Midland Greenwood at 5 p.m. at Blackburn Field.

Those games will kick off a local baseball season that, for the first time in several years, promises a playoff berth for each AISD team. While Abilene High has hopes for a third straight playoff appearance and seventh in the last 11 seasons, Cooper could finally have the pieces in place to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

The teams are playing in a reconfigured District 4-5A that includes AHS, Cooper, Wylie, Wichita Falls Legacy, and Wichita Falls Memorial. Five teams will vie for four playoff spots, and the race should be compelling throughout the schedule, with each team playing the other three times for a 12-game district schedule for all five teams.

Here’s a look at Abilene High and Cooper heading into the 2025 season:

COOPER
For the first time as the Cougars’ head coach, Brandon Stover enters the season with the depth and experience necessary to win consistently and reach the postseason. The Cougars also have the confidence gained from a 7-2 finish in 2024 that left them one game out of the playoffs.

“We turned a corner at the end of last season and finished the season playing good baseball,” Stover said. “If we can use that as a confidence-builder to know that we can compete with anyone, we will have it all in front of us in district to get to where we want to go. We had control of our destiny in the second half of district play last year, which I didn’t think would be possible after the way we started.

“Unfortunately, we fell short of the playoffs, but to win the games we did with our backs against the wall (including an extra-innings win at Abilene High in must-win situations) says that our kids guys kept fighting and battling until the end,” he said. “I’m still proud of that, and I hope that will be something we can learn from and use going forward.”

Stover will count on a solid returning core of seniors in Austin Cummins, Brady Henderson, Jeron Flores, Jace Crawford, Alejandro Ibarra, Garett Castillo, Braden Warren, Dylan Josselet, Ryan Guevara, junior Jaden Carrillo, and sophomore Carson Boone. Each of those players was part of that strong finish in 2024.

Reaching the postseason for the first time since 2019 isn’t something the Cougars have shied away from talking about, going back to the end of last season.

“We talked about 2025 being the year we get back to the playoffs in our end-of-season meetings last spring,” Stover said. “Reaching the postseason has been our top goal every year since I took this job, and it will continue to be. We need to start faster and play better earlier in the season, and we’ve discussed that.

“Most of our kids have grown up when Cooper baseball has not been a consistent winner,” he said. “It’s up to this 2025 team to establish an expectation of what it takes. Our seniors, many of whom have been on varsity for most of their high school career, have done a good job setting that expectation for this season. We want to get back to the point where every level of our program expects to be in the playoffs every May. Hopefully, this is the season we get this program back on that path.”

ABILENE HIGH
Brad Harman enters his third season as the Eagles’ head coach with pitching depth and experience, but still with roles to fill as the Eagles look for a third straight playoff berth.

The Eagles lost last year’s District 4-5A Pitcher of the Year and 2023 Class 5A all-state selection in Brady Bennett (graduation) but expect to fill that spot with one of the top prospects in the country. Prep Baseball Report ranks sophomore righthander George Ferguson as the sixth-best sophomore prospect in Texas and the 39th-best in the country.

The 6-4, 210-pounder is the second-ranked right-handed pitcher in the Texas Class of 2027 by Prep Baseball Report and the 10th-best right-handed pitching prospect in the country. He can also play both corner infield positions for the Eagles when he’s not on the mound.

“The sky is the limit for George,” Harman said. “There’s no doubt that he is supremely talented. But what most people don't see is his drive and work ethic. His day-to-day hunger to get better is unmatched. He has the potential to play this game for a long time and at a very high level.”

While Ferguson might garner the most attention, Harman’s team returns a core of players from last year’s team that finished 22-15-1 and played three rounds deep into the Class 5A playoffs. Connell Colley, Rylan Stokes, Camp Churchill, Xavier De La Cruz, and Brenner Paul will all see time on the mound, and each will play other positions in the field.

“While we’ve got some holes to fill, we’ve got quite a few players that can play different roles,” Harman said. “I’ve been pleased with how they’ve worked so far. We have a lot of guys who are hungry to step up and play bigger roles this season.”

Newcomers Braylon Merriam, Trae Shaw, Gavin Colley, Cash Churchill, John Rangel, and Cade Reese will help play roles in trying to push the Eagles toward another postseason berth. But Harman knows the new District 4-5A with AHS joining Cooper, Wylie, Wichita Falls Legacy, and Wichita Falls Memorial won’t be easy, calling Wylie the favorite while adding that “Cooper should be really good in 2025.”

And that’s what makes his program’s mantra so important.

“Our program is based on attacking each day and finding a way to improve,” Harman said. “We have to identify areas that need to be addressed daily and work on them. That is what our philosophy of ‘Win The Day’ is all about.”

2025 COOPER  BASEBALL 
Last season: 14-15 (8-10, 5th in District 4-5A)
Head Coach: Brandon Stover (4th season overall / 4th season at Cooper)
Coach Stover’s record: 37-50 career / 37-50 at Cooper
Last district championship: 2010
Last playoff appearance: 2019 (lost to Lubbock Coronado, 2-0, in a best-of-three Class 5A bi-district series)
Last playoff series win: 2017 (def. El Paso Eastlake, 2-1, in a best-of-three Class 5A bi-district series)
Top Returners (name, classification, position): Austin Cummins, sr, C; Brady Henderson, sr, IF/P; Jeron Flores, sr, OF/P; Jace Crawford, sr, IF/P; Alejandro Ibarra, sr, IF/P; Garett Castillo, sr, IF/P/C; Braden Warren, sr, OF/P; Dylan Josselet, sr, OF; Ryan Guevara, sr, OF; Jaden Carrillo, jr, IF; Carson Boone, soph, IF/P.
Top Newcomers (name, classification, position): Johnathon Rico, jr, IF/P.
2025 team strengths, weaknesses, and team goals:
Strengths: Experience, better depth, and success in the second half of 20204 district should lead to confidence
Weaknesses: OF positions are wide open; that is the question mark at this point
Team goals: Make the playoffs. This year is the best opportunity to make that run. 

Coach Stover says:
... about this year’s team: “We have the most returners and depth since I have been here. We turned the corner at the end of last season and finished the second half of district 7-2. If we can use that as a confidence-builder to know that we can compete with anyone, we will have it all in front of us in district to get to where we want to go.”


2025 ABILENE HIGH BASEBALL
Last season: 22-15-1 (11-7, 3rd in District 4-5A)
Head Coach: Brad Harman (22nd season overall / 3rd season at Abilene High)
Coach Harman’s record: 359-201-7 career / 41-34-1 at Abilene High
Last district championship: 2015
Last playoff appearance: 2024 (def. Plainview, 2-1, in bi-district playoff series; def. El Paso Ysleta, 2-0, in area round; lost to Abilene Wylie, 2-1, in regional quarterfinals)
Last playoff series win: 2024 (def. El Paso Ysleta, 2-0, in a best-of-three Class 5A area series)
Top Returners (name, classification, position): Connel Colley, sr, IF/P; Rylan Stokes, sr, C/P; Camp Churchill, sr, OF/SS/P; John Miles Wagstaff, sr, C/3B/1B; Xavier De La Cruz, jr, 2B/P; Brenner Paul, jr, 3B/P; George Ferguson, soph, 3B/RHP.
Top Newcomers (name, classification, position): Braylon Merriam, jr, OF: Trae Shaw, jr, OF; Gavin Colley, soph, 3B/OF/P; Cash Churchill, soph, Util./P; John Rangel, soph, SS/P; Cade Reese, soph, OF.
2025 team strengths, weaknesses, and team goals:
•   Strengths: Pitching depth, defensive options
•   Weaknesses: Youth

•   Team goals: Scratch and claw our way into one of the four playoff spots in 4-5A
Coach Harman says:
… about this year's team: "This year's bunch returns some experience but also has multiple holes to fill. The positive is we have quite a few utility players that can serve many roles. I’ve been pleased with how they’ve worked so far. We have a lot of guys who are hungry to step up and play more significant roles this season.”