Feb. 20 marked the beginning of the high school baseball. West Valley Preps asked local coaches to take a look at their teams and two coaches responded:

Dysart Demons

4A Desert Valley Region
Coach: Kevin Carleton (third year as Dysart’s coach)
2023 Record: 10-7, 8-2 region
Top returning players? Nate Morales Leyva, Sr., SS/P (.528, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 1-1, 4.20 ERA); Easton Carleton, Sr., P/UT (.274, 9 RBI, 13 SB, 5-2, 2.88 ERA, 49 K in 39 innings)
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Their closeness as a team
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? Pitching and defense
Who are your team leaders? Nate Morales, Easton Carleton, Ian Anderson and Juan Anaya Jr
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Braden Watson. He is a University of Hawaii commit and an open champion football player. He will be huge for us this spring.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? Senior outfielder/pitcher Jacob Moreno

Paradise Honors Panthers

4A Skyline Region
Coach: James Lofton (fourth season as Paradise Honors coach)
2023 Record: 12-11, 4-6 region

Top returning players? Jack Moore, Jr., SS (.403, 15 SB, 16 RBI, 3.11 ERA); Michael Nicolini Jr., Jr., P/OF (3-3, 2.00 ERA, 71 K in 42 innings, .244, 9 RBI)
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Speed.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We need to play our game and play solid defense. If we focus on that we have no doubt about making the playoffs.
Who are your team leaders? Junior Michael Nicolini Jr, senior Brennan Hansen, and juniors Jack Moore and Jaydan Herrera.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Juniors Andon Baker and Andrew Tran and freshmen Noah Rodriguez.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? We need our offense to set the tone and steal bases. We also need our defense to be solid and not give away runs.

Willow Canyon Wildcats

5A Northwest Region
Coach: Austin Byler (first season as Willow Canyon coach)
2023 Record: 8-18, 6-6 region
Top returning players? Cam Davidson 2026 SS , Ryan Miller 2024 RHP, Mason Bevenouer 2024 1B , Kaile Hamlin 2024 C/3B , Owen House 2024 OF / RHP 
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our biggest strength is our depth offensively once our team is fully loaded after transfer rules. We have a solid offense and younger team that looks to compete well this season. Lots of speed & athleticism in our lineup.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? Pitching depth. We do not have a lot of arms, especially early in the season. If we can pitch, we will be solid. 
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? KJ Kovaly 2025 Transfer from O’Connor RHP / 3B, Jacob Hernandez 2024 Transfer from Millenium C / OF,  Jackson Duce 2025 Transfer from O’Connor RHP / 1B / OF,  Ethan Patrick 2026 C 
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? Centennial are Sunrise Mountain the top teams in our region. Horizon, Chaparral, Canyon View and Casteel are the usual other top 5A programs.