MaxPreps 2016 preseason high school baseball Early Contenders: No. 1 Oxford

Video: Oxford (MS) Baseball - Preseason Rankings


Head coach: Chris Baughman (126-46 career record)

2015 record: 35-1

State classification: Mississippi Class 5A



Enrollment: 958

Players to watch

Jason Barber, P/IF, senior, .337, 35 RBIs, 7 2B, 8 HR, 12-0 pitching record, 0.00 ERA, 110 Ks, MaxPreps Junior National Player of the Year ... signed with Ole Miss

Grae Kessinger, IF/P, senior, .354, 36 RBIs, 13 2B, 1 HR, 3-0 pitching record, 24 Ks, 1.58 ERA, all-state ... signed with Ole Miss

Houston Roth, P/OF, senior, .297, 23 RBIs, 10 2B, 9-1 pitching record, 1.26 ERA, 95 Ks, all-state  ... signed with Ole Miss

Thomas Dillard, C, senior, transfer from Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.), Under Armour all-American .... signed with Ole Miss

Ben Bianco, C/IF, junior, .356, 33 RBIs, 7 2B, 3 HR, all-state

Drew Bianco, IF, sophomore, .319, 12 RBIs, 5 2B, 1 HR



Sage Mullins, OF, senior, .382, 21 runs

Key dates

March 4-5 - Mid-Mississippi Classic

March 11-13 - Perfect Game Showdown

March 22, 24 - vs. New Hope (Columbus, Miss.)

March 25, April 2 - vs. Houston (Miss.)

April 18 - vs. Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.)

Chargers storylines

* The Chargers already had four all-state players returning to the lineup in 2016 when Thomas Dillard made the announcement that he was transferring from Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn) to Oxford. Dillard, an Under Armour All-American, is ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 5 catcher in the nation.



* Jason Barber leads the list of returning all-state players for the Chargers. Barber tied a national record by posting a 0.00 ERA last year while going 12-0 with 110 strikeouts. Barber was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year and the Jackson Clarion Ledger State Player of the Year. He also was named the National Junior Player of the Year by MaxPreps. He was joined on the all-state team by Grae Kessinger, Houston Roth and Ben Bianco. Of Oxford's 35 pitching wins from 2015, 29 return.

* The Chargers lost just one game in 2015, falling to New Hope in a best-of-three series in the Class 5A state semifinals. Oxford will have a little bit tougher schedule this year as it travels to play in the Perfect Game Showdown in Georgia. There, Oxford could face defending national champion Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.).

View entire gallery of the preseason photo shoot with No. 1 Oxford