Charlie Smith was the MOP of the Region VII tournament
Chattanooga State baseball
Aidan McKaskie and Coach Dennis
The Chattanooga State baseball team has officially begun its fall baseball season and is looking to build on continued success. The team went 45-12 last year and was six outs away from its second trip to Grand Junction, Co. and the JUCO World Series. It has also garnered back-to-back 40+ win seasons while continuing its tradition of being nationally ranked in many junior college polls. The Tigers were also recognized by the NJCAA and the ABCA as an All Academic Team with a team GPA of over 3.0. This has been a regular occurrence while under Head Coach Greg Dennis.
The Tigers, once again, moved on a solid number of players to the NCAA D1, D2, D3 and NAIA levels to continue playing ball and completing their degrees. Adam Haber, Owen Brock, Scott Campbell, Aidan McAskie, Conor Linkfield, Stoney Smith, Matthew Gist, Riley George, Kaleb Meredith and Evan Venable all went on to continue their academic and athletic journey at the next level. Nine of these young men received their Associates Degrees and three were recognized as Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude. Aidan McAskie was recognized by the TCCAA as one of its Academic Athletes of the Year.
On the baseball side, the Tigers finished ranked #15 in the NJCAA National Poll and were 45-12 overall. After finishing second in the Conference during the regular season, they won the Region VII tournament and then lost in the 3rd game (8-7) of the Appalachian District to Andrew College (Ga.).
This year’s squad has been assembled with the idea of bringing in “bigger and better” players and working towards finishing that journey beyond the District. Coach Dennis, begins his 21st year at the college on Amnicola Highway. Coach Dennis, who garnered his third Region VII Coach of the Year, has now won over 700 games at Chattanooga State while garnering over 1,000 wins at the JUCO level.
“We feel really excited about this group coming in and coaches Felger, Fleener and Julagay have done a superb job of bringing in some of the best talent we have had since I have been here,” said Coach Dennis.
Certainly not to imply that the returning talent isn’t solid, Coach Dennis is quick to laud the players they have coming back. “Charlie Smith, Cooper Longron, Zach Lear and Conner Bryson are certainly not bad arms to start off with returning and CJ Morro, Cade Chamlee, Mason Page and Connor Saccullo in the field are super too,” said Coach Dennis about some of his returning guys.
Morro led last year’s team with a robust .376 batting average along with a .520 on base percentage. “CJ is the real-deal and should be a solid factor for us both in the field ( 2B ) and at the plate,” said Coach Dennis.
Cade Chamlee hit .335 while playing a superb third base last year and drove in 45 runs. “Cade is a really really talented young man who has gotten much more physical and is going to be a factor for us this spring in many ways,” said Coach Dennis.
Maybe the crown-jewel though returning is the 11-1 1st Team All TCCAA right handed pitcher, Charlie Smith. Charlie threw just over 80 innings and had a 3.68 ERA while walking only 36 guys. He was named Player of the Tournament in the Region Tournament when he threw two complete games beating Motlow State (17 strikeouts) and Walters State (short rest). “Charlie was unbelievable last year and at the very end he was kind of mythic to be honest,” said Coach Dennis, “Our hope is that he stays grounded this year and continues to improve and really sees what he is capable of being.”