St. Thomas More: No. 2 in MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Preseason Baseball Rankings

Video: St. Thomas More slideshow
See multiple images from our pro photo shoot with the St. Thomas More High baseball team

In 2014, a Louisiana team, the Barbe Buccaneers, ended the season ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings. In 2015, another Louisiana team, St. Thomas More, could also turn the trick.

The Cougars have already won a state championship. They accomplished that feat last year when they captured the Class 4A state championship. That team featured one of the nation's top catchers in Chase Vallot, who was drafted No. 40 overall in last year's MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. While Vallot is gone, St. Thomas More still features two of the state's top players.

Hogan Harris, a pitcher, and Mason Templet, a junior third baseman and pitcher, both rank as the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana in their respective classes by Perfect Game. The Cougars also have several other players ranked highly by Perfect Game, including returning shortstop O'Neal Lochridge and outfielder Brennan Breaux.

With such talent returning from an already accomplished team, the Cougars begin the season ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps Preseason National Baseball Rankings.

Over the next two weeks, MaxPreps is counting down the top 10 teams in the preseason national rankings. The countdown will conclude on Feb. 24 with the announcement of the preseason Top 100.

See the Top 10 teams landing page here

View the gallery of the St. Thomas More preseason photo shoot by photographer Roddy Johnson


School size: Louisiana Class 4A


Enrollment: 1,082


2014 finish: 31-5, Class 4A state champions


Head coach: Gary Perkins


Career record: 127-34 at St. Thomas More


Years at school: 6


Notable MLB players:

Lyle Mouton (1995-2001)

Scott Dohmann (2004-2008)

No. of starters returning: 6

Top losses:

Chase Vallot, C, .545 batting average, 13 home runs

Orynn Vellion, OF, .288 batting average

Wyatt Marks, OF, .261 batting average

Clay Harst, 2B, .322 batting average

Sam Houston, P, 9-0 record

Key returners:

Hogan Harris, Senior, LHP, 3-0 record, 0.84 ERA, 16.2 innings pitched

Brennan Breaux, Senior, OF/LHP, 4-2 record, 1.08 ERA, 68 strikeouts, 39 innings pitched

O'Neal Lochridge, Senior, SS, .383 batting average, 7 home runs

Mason Templet, Junior, 3B, .442 batting average, 37 RBIs

Christian Leonard, Junior, C, .360 batting average
Toughest game: St. Thomas More will participate in several tough preseason tournaments, including the Jesuit Tournament and the Barbe Tournament. The Cougars will play Brother Martin and Jesuit at the Jesuit event.

Local outlook: Louisiana is always a hotbed for baseball talent, but especially of late. St. Thomas More has the opportunity to move up to No. 1 if Lambert should falter. Last year, Barbe finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Pitching: The Cougars should have one of the premier pitching staffs in the nation with three members of the staff already committed to play in college. Hogan Harris (Louisiana-Lafayette) was injured last year, but he is considered by Perfect Game to be the top pitching prospect in the state. He reportedly hit 94 mph on his fastball at the Perfect Game All-American Classic. Brennan Breaux (LSU) returns after going 4-2 on the mound last year. Meanwhile, Mason Templet should see more time on the mound after going 1-0 last season. Templet is the top-ranked junior in Louisiana, No. 68 overall in the nation.

Offense: The Cougars belted 29 home runs last year, 13 of them by Vallot, who was a first-round MLB Draft pick. Lochridge, a shortstop, hit seven of those home runs while Templet had three and catcher Leonard had two.

Overall outlook: The Cougars have two of the top players in Louisiana in their age group. Harris is the top senior pitcher in the state while Templet is the No. 1-ranked player in the junior class.

Coach quote: "We expect to return to the 4A state tournament. Our strengths will be pitching and we should have a strong offensive lineup. Depth shouldn't be a factor."
- Gary Perkins