Texas high school baseball playoffs: 2022 UIL Class 5A Baseball State Tournament preview, players to watch

SBLive Texas takes a closer look at the top players, storylines and x-factors to watch during the 2022 UIL Class 5A Baseball State Championships on Thursday (June 9) and Saturday (June 11)

Andrew McCulloch | Jun 9, 2022

Texas high school baseball playoffs: 2022 UIL Class 5A Baseball State Tournament preview, players to watch /

AUSTIN, Texas — The road to the Texas high school baseball state championships ends this week deep in the heart of the Lone Star State at the 2022 UIL Baseball State Tournament.

The sixth and seventh rounds of the playoffs will get underway at Dell Diamond in Round Rock and Disch-Falk Field in Austin with the last two dozen teams left standing around the state battling for six titles during a five-day state championship weekend.

The weekend will be headlined by the UIL’s Class 5A Baseball State Tournament, as state semifinal matchups begin Thursday (June 9) followed by the 5A state championship game on Saturday (June 11).

Here are the projected first-pitch times for each of those Class 5A state tournament games:

Class 5A state semifinal — Friendswood (29-7-1) vs. Mansfield Legacy (32-9), 4 p.m. Thursday, June 9th, at Dell Diamond in Round Rock
Class 5A state semifinal — Georgetown (33-7) vs. Frisco Wakeland (25-13), 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9th, at Dell Diamond in Round Rock
Class 5A state championship — Friendswood/Mansfield Legacy vs. Georgetown/Frisco Wakeland, 7 p.m. Saturday, June 11th, at Dell Diamond in Round Rock

SBLive Texas will be taking a closer look at the state’s top players, storylines and x-factors to watch in each classification level during the 2022 UIL Baseball State Championships throughout the week.

We’ll begin by taking a deep dive to analyze the competition in the four-team Class 5A baseball state tournament field, which features Friendswood, Frisco Wakeland, Georgetown and Mansfield Legacy.

Here’s what you need to know about the Mustangs, Wolverines, Eagles and Broncos before they step onto the diamond to duel for the 5A UIL Baseball State Championship:

FRIENDSWOOD MUSTANGS

Season Record: 29-7-1 overall, Region III champions

How They Got Here: 10-0 postseason record

Bi-district round — W 9-7; W 5-2 vs. Nederland
Area round — W 12-0; W 8-0 vs. Houston Waltrip
Regional quarterfinal — W 12-0; W 4-1 vs. Crosby
Regional semifinal — W 2-0; W 8-4 vs. Brenham
Regional championship — W 4-1; W 8-3 vs. Montgomery Lake Creek

Head Coach: Robert Benavides (4th season)

Players to Watch: Senior P Jacob Rogers; Senior C/OF Dylan Maxcey; Junior 1B/3B Boots Landry; Freshman C/DH Dane Perry; Senior OF Tanner Black

State Tournament Appearances (Most Recent): Two (2008)

UIL Baseball State Championships (Most Recent): None

Distance to Dell Diamond: 188 miles

FRISCO WAKELAND WOLVERINES

Season Record: 25-13 overall, Region II champions

How They Got Here: 10-1 postseason record

Bi-district round — W 4-2; W 5-1 vs. Denison
Area round — W 8-2; W 14-2 vs. Dallas White
Regional quarterfinal — W 4-0; W 9-4 vs. Frisco Independence
Regional semifinal — L 3-6; W 2-1; W 6-4 vs. Lufkin
Regional championship — W 2-1; W 5-2 vs. Forney

Head Coach: Matt Sartor (3rd season)

Players to Watch: Junior 1B/P Carson Priebe; Junior SS Owen Cassano; Junior OF Addison Brown; Senior 2B Jackson Dillingham; Senior P Holden Yaksick

State Tournament Appearances (Most Recent): Three (2017)

UIL Baseball State Championships (Most Recent): None

Distance to Dell Diamond: 207 miles

GEORGETOWN EAGLES

Season Record: 33-7 overall, Region IV champions

How They Got Here: 10-1 postseason record

Bi-district round — W 3-0; W 11-1 vs. Alamo Heights
Area round — W 9-4; W 5-0 vs. Floresville
Regional quarterfinal — W 6-4; L 3-4; W 3-2 vs. New Braunfels Canyon
Regional semifinal — W 4-2; W 7-2 vs. Corpus Christi Ray
Regional championship — W 4-0; W 2-1 (10 innings) vs. Sharyland Pioneer

Head Coach: Jordan Vierra (3rd season)

Players to Watch: Senior C Zach Mazach; Senior P/OF Jacob Hadden; Senior 2B/OF EJ Davis; Senior 1B Reese Bell; Senior OF Andon Petty; Senior OF/DH Landon Hyle

State Tournament Appearances (Most Recent): Three (2019)

UIL Baseball State Championships (Most Recent): None

Distance to Dell Diamond: 15 miles

MANSFIELD LEGACY BRONCOS

Season Record: 32-9 overall, Region I champions

How They Got Here: 10-4 postseason record

Bi-district round — W 3-0; W 12-0 vs. Fort Worth Trimble Tech
Area round — W 8-1; L 1-9; W 8-7 vs. Justin Northwest
Regional quarterfinal — W 7-6; L 2-3; W 4-1 vs. Birdville
Regional semifinal — W 11-6; L 0-4; W 9-1 vs. Lubbock Cooper
Regional championship — W 8-5; L 4-12; W 13-9 vs. Aledo

Head Coach: Chris McMullen (7th season)

Players to Watch: Junior P Blake Julius; Senior OF Kayden Voelkel; Senior C Andrew Taylor; Junior OF/P Dylan Schlaegel; Junior SS/P Parker Ibrahimi

State Tournament Appearances (Most Recent): First UIL Baseball State Tournament appearance in school history

UIL Baseball State Championships (Most Recent): None

Distance to Dell Diamond: 165 miles

Stay with SBLive Texas all week and throughout the postseason for scores, game recaps, photo galleries, top performers and much more.

For complete statewide scores and schedules, check our Texas scoreboards below:

STATEWIDE TEXAS SCOREBOARD

REGION I SCOREBOARD | REGION II SCOREBOARD

REGION III SCOREBOARD | REGION IV SCOREBOARD

Here are the brackets for every classification level this week at the 2022 Texas (UIL) Baseball State Championships:

CLASS 6A BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

CLASS 5A BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

CLASS 4A BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET