Oklahoma's best high school baseball players: Meet the state's top catchers
By Buck Ringgold
With high school baseball season in full swing, SBLive is looking at the best players in Oklahoma.
In this segment, we feature the top catchers across all classifications. A true field general is one of the most important pieces of championship teams.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, as there are numerous great catchers statewide. Let us know about any catchers you think should be added.
Duncan Key | Edmond Deer Creek | SR
Key, in a literal sense, has been a key to the Antlers' quest for a Class 6A championship. He has batted .416 with an on-base percentage of .496 while hitting four home runs and driving in 33 runs for a team that has clinched the regular-season District 6A-1 title. Key has had 15 multi-hit games, including a 4-for-5 performance in an April 11 win against Putnam City West. A Northeastern Oklahoma A&M commit, Key possesses another intangible not very common in catchers - speed; as evidenced by his eight triples, a single-season school record.
Jaxon Gless | Blanchard | SR
Gless is considered one of the top catchers in the state, as evidenced by him signing to play next season at Oklahoma. As a junior, he hit .495 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs. He is helping the Lions contend for the Class 4A title as Blanchard went through 4A-2 play with a perfect 14-0 record. In a game at the Owasso Pro Nine Tournament in early April, Gless went 4-for-4.
Reese Ratchford | Sulphur | SR
Ratchford is another player behind the plate to watch in 4A, as he has signed with Wichita State. He is also batting .522 entering the 4A playoffs. In an early April stretch which included a district sweep against Madill and a win against Wilson, Ratchford went 6-for-7 with a home run, triple and a double. He also pitched a shutout in the district opener against Madill.
Creed Smith | Purcell | SR
Smith is batting .386 with an on-base percentage of .489. He has also thrown out 53 percent of base runners attempting to steal. In an April 21 win against Anadarko, Smith went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored, and also went 3-for-3 with four RBIs in an April 12 win against Holdenville.
Bryson Kelley | Drumright | SO
Kelley has six multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4 performance with two RBIs in an April 12 win against Mounds. He is hitting .581 with an on-base percentage of .675.
Parker Cusik | Kiefer | JR
In an April 21 win against Meeker, Cusik went 6-for-6 with a pair of RBIs. He has an average of .529 and an on-base percentage of .613 along with three homers and 18 RBIs, tallying 14 multi-hit games to his credit.
Nate Silkey | Pryor | SR
Silkey is one of the standouts on a Tigers squad that clinched the District 4A-7 regular-season championship. He is batting .309 entering the postseason with 28 RBIs, while recording seven multi-hit games. In a March 25 win against Poteau, Silkey was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Jesse Brooks | Mount St. Mary | SR
Brooks is one of the top players in Class 4A, and the senior will get the chance to take his talents to the next level. In December, Brooks signed with Centenary College, located in Shreveport, La.
Cord Dobrinski | Bristow | SR
Dobrinski was an integral part of a Pirate squad that reeled off 19 straight wins earlier this season. In one of those wins, he had two homers and five RBIs in a district win against Hilldale on March 28. Dobrinski is headed to play at Grayson County Junior College in Texas.
Brody Briggs | Tulsa Union | JR
Briggs will be one of the top players to watch from the Class of 2023 as he has already committed to play at Arizona State. He possesses a left-handed swing and has the ability to knock balls out of the park. Briggs had one of those homers in an April 25 district win against Booker T. Washington and also went deep a few days earlier in a game against fellow 6A contender Owasso.
Cooper Moore | Bixby | JR
Moore has a unique distinction in that he shares the catching duties with fellow junior Nate Murphy. Generally, when one is catching, the other is the designated hitter and vice versa. The two have also committed to the two rival top schools in Kansas, as Moore committed to Kansas, with Murphy committing to Kansas State. Moore has hit four homers on the year, two coming in an April 22 game against Sand Springs. He also threw out two base runners attempting to steal in a late March tournament at Shawnee.
Nate Murphy | Bixby | JR
The Kansas State commit shares catching duties with Spartan teammate Cooper Moore, who has committed to Kansas. Murphy's bat, though, makes it hard for him to be out of the lineup, as he usually is the team's designated hitter in games where he's not catching. In a March 17 win against Collinsville, Murphy went 3-for-5, homered twice and knocked in six runs.
Dalton Williams | Canute | SR
Williams is one of the main players on a Trojan team that entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in Class A. Canute went 19-1 during the regular season, and started the playoffs with a two-game district sweep against Burns Flat-Dill City. Williams has committed to play at Seminole State College.
Jase White | Edmond Santa Fe | SR
White is an integral part of a Wolves team that has contended for the District 6A-2 crown and is poised to make a deep run in the 6A playoffs after reaching the state tournament a year ago. He was batting .438 with 20 RBIs. White has signed to play at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid.
Spencer Carollo | Tuttle | SR
In April, Carollo signed to play at Mid-America Christian University, but he still has some unfinished business. He is part of a Tigers squad that is a prime contender for the Class 4A title and Tuttle has already clinched the District 4A-1 championship. Carollo homered three times in a district sweep against Bridge Creek in March.
Brayden Harper | Noble | SR
Harper is hovering around the .400 mark as the Bears get set for the Class 5A playoffs. He also has the luxury of catching one of the best pitchers in the state in junior Colin Fisher, an Arkansas commit who has an earned-run average of under 1 and more than 80 strikeouts. Harper has signed to play at Carl Albert State College in Poteau.
Kallen Montgomery | Community Christian | SR
Montgomery has hit five home runs on the season, and even stole home in an April 25 game against the OKC Knights. He plans to play next season at Redlands Community College in El Reno.
Hunter Nunn | Southmoore | SR
A University of Central Oklahoma commit, Nunn has been helping the SaberCats fight for a playoff spot, as Southmoore has already beaten 6A contenders like Owasso, Sand Springs and Norman. Nunn had a big hit in Southmoore's 2-0 win against Owasso on April 5, and also went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles on April 1, when the SaberCats posted a 9-6 win against Norman.
Peyton Roberson | Duncan | SR
Roberson is helping the Demons contend in Class 5A. In a 13-2 win against Elgin on April 11, Roberson swatted a three-run homer. Then on April 18 in the district opener against Lawton MacArthur, Roberson fought off an 0-2 pitch to deposit a single into center field for an RBI, giving the Demons a 2-0 lead en route to a 4-1 win.
Carson Williams | Ponca City | SR
Williams plans to play next season at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton. He also can hit the long ball, as he has homered four times this season.
Rhett Kennedy | Wayne | JR
Kennedy is hitting .419 with a .576 on-base percentage. He has driven in 17 runs while scoring 20 more. Kennedy also has six multi-hit games to his credit, including a 3-for-4 performance on March 28 against Dibble.
