VYPE's Preseason Baseball Top 20 -- No. 4 Lamar Redskins

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The Lamar Redkins

The Mentalists

Reached the Regional Semis

By Ahmard Vital

The Brainiacs Chris Lanham, Sammy Gonzales-Luna, Ian Gibaut and Kevin Roy

The 2012 Lamar Redskin Motto should be "If you can't beat them, out-smart them." And then beat them.

How is this for a pitching line up? Ace Chris Lanham finished last season earning all-state honors after leading Lamar to the regional semifinals, falling to eventual state champ Brazoswood. Lanham will play his college ball at Yale. Ever heard of it? Small Ivy League school which has produced five Presidents, two Vice Presidents, dozens of big-time CEOs and founders of the world's largest companies.

Kevin Roy is next on the bump. Roy has signed Columbia University and has a plethora of pitches to get batters out. Hmmm. Columbia? Home of people like Presidents Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt, and Barack Obama. Throw in a little Warren Buffett and Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, and you have yourself a nice little alumni gathering.

All great teams have great catchers, who can run a staff and call a good game. The quarterback if you will of the diamond. Sammy Gonzales-Luna returns behind the plate and has signed with Princeton. The school that sharpened the minds of John F. Kennedy, Grover Cleveland, James Madison and Woodrow Wilson, just to name a few.

New to the crew is Ian Gibaut, who will also sling the rock for the Redskins. Gibaut has signed with Tulane University in New Orleans, who had had the likes of Newt Gingrich, Huey P. Long, Chicago Bear Matt Forte' and Jerry Springer grace their hallways.

So the cupboard is not bare for coach Mike McGilvray and his staff. With that said, look for Lamar to still be highly competitive in District 20-5A after a 33 -7 finish a year ago. McGilvray also has a doctorate in Houston high school baseball, having won big at the inner city school.

While the Redskins say goodbye to a ton of talent from a year ago like all-state selection Cole Lankford (Texas A&M), John Williamson (Rice) and Matt Luna to name a few, Lamar has had to replace talents like Anthony Rendon and Joe Savery in the past. The expectations never change at Lamar as the baton is just passed to the next class of talented diamond-cutters.

McGilvray has some pieces in around the diamond that returns with some valuable experience. Tucker Cascadden returns after an all district performance last season, as do Samuel Reid, Galen Andrews and Andrew Waters. Replacing last year's sticks will be the biggest obstacle for Lamar as clutch hitting will be at a premium in 2012 as the bat legislation goes into effect.