Brandon Brewer is entering his third season as head coach of the Greenwood Bulldogs, and he believes his Diamond ‘Dogs are about as well prepared as they can be for their 2025 campaign after having a great preseason. Brewer’s 18-man varsity roster has five seniors, three juniors, six sophomores, and four freshmen and the regular season schedule features 30 contests that started last week and ends on May 8th.
Coach Brewer is assisted by Kaleb Shaffer, Easton Barrett, and volunteer coach and former star player, Peyton Holt, also a former Arkansas Razorback who has joined the staff this year. The Bulldogs won their non-conference season opener last Monday at home against Shiloh Christian then lost at Bentonville-West on Thursday before rebounding to defeat Booneville at home on Friday to close out the week. See the related article on the Dog Pound for all the details.
This year’s seniors include Jaxon Cole, Parker Branton, Scott Holland, Zack Zitzmann, and Mason Moore. The three juniors are Jake Gigerich, Brady Morgan, and Maddox McCalip. The sophomores are Wyatt Frye, Brayden Brewer, Brayden Renick, Aaron Taylor, Cooper Webb, and Ty Holt. Finally, the handful of freshmen include Jayden Campbell, Lawson Leath, Carter Koch, and Cayden Mendenhall. Coach Brewer also has plenty of junior varsity and sophomore/freshmen games scheduled for this spring to provide experience and further develop younger players for the future. One notable absence this spring will be senior Grant Karnes, who has opted to concentrate on preparing for his first season of Arkansas Razorback football.
Brewer recently spoke to the Greenwood Dog Pound about his team’s players and potential for the 2025 season, despite playing in a conference loaded with good teams like returning 5A West champion Russellville and league newcomer Farmington, a 4A powerhouse moving up in classification. The other league teams include Alma, Siloam Springs, Mountain Home, Harrison, and Van Buren. And starting this season, Greenwood and all other conference teams will play a home-and-home schedule except for Mountain Home’s trip to Greenwood in April for a doubleheader. For years, league coaches have wanted to do away with conference doubleheaders, first implemented to limit travel expenses for member schools.
Greenwood’s first conference opponent will be a longtime rival and familiar foe in the Alma Airedales. The two teams will play in Greenwood on Monday, March 17th, and again in Alma the following day. That same pattern will be followed with every other conference team except for the aforementioned Bombers’ trip to Greenwood. The new arrangement is a more equitable way to play a conference schedule despite the travel challenges.
Asked about his early impressions of his team after a benefit game against Rogers-Heritage and their season opener against Shiloh Christian, Brewer said, “We’ve had a really good preseason, and those two games just verified where I thought we were at. I think we’ve got a chance to have a good year. We’ve got an awesome mix of senior leadership from veterans who have been around, and we’ve got several sophomores and freshmen contributing this year. That pairs nicely with our older guys who have the experience and are coaching those young guys up as we go. It’s been an exciting [start].”
Asked about his senior class, Brewer identified Cole, Branton, Holland, Zitzmann, and Moore as the backbone of his 2025 squad. Each player brings veteran leadership and valuable baseball skills and experience to the table. “Jaxon Cole is a returning starter and one of the top hitters on the team. He’s going to be a middle-of-the-lineup guy. Parker Branton has made the biggest improvement of anyone this year. We transitioned him to pitcher only and he will run bases for us too. His leadership has grown off-the-charts. He’ll probably be a game three starter or a reliever and we’re expecting a lot out of him. Scott Holland is a guy we depend on for leadership and energy. He’s already started at two different positions. He’s a great athlete we can move around, and he handles the bat really well.
“Zack Zitzmann is our ‘under the radar’ guy right now. The college offers are going to start rolling in. You just can’t coach the kind of power, speed, and athleticism that he has. He’s going to be our go-to guy. He’s going to play centerfield for us, the ball jumps off his bat, and he can run. Mason Moore is our go-to guy on the mound right now. He’s not going to blow it by anybody, but he knows how to pitch. Nothing he throws is straight and he knows how to handle himself. He can also play first base, and he does it well.”
As for his small junior class, the coach said, “Jake Gigerich is a great kid and a strike thrower. He’s now a pitcher only so he can focus on that. I’ve been impressed with his demeanor and how he gets the job done. He’s going to pitch in a lot of crucial situations because he throws strikes. He’s a 4.0 student and he carries himself the right way.
“Brady Morgan is our starting shortstop this year and one of the better infielders we have. But we need him to [improve] offensively for us. He’s going to be in the bottom third of the order. He needs to bunt, hit-and-run, and slash for us to be successful. Maddox McCalip was the pitcher of the year for Fort Smith Southside last year. Arm-wise he’s probably a few weeks behind some of the others, but by April or May we expect he will help us out. He’s a typical left-handed guy with nasty stuff and he can also play outfield.”
Among his sophomores, Brewer mentioned the ones he expects to contribute significantly, beginning with returning starter Ty Holt at catcher. “Ty is very savvy behind the plate in terms of his knowledge of baseball. He knows the game extremely well and he is our defensive leader and our leadoff hitter. He is ranked first in his class in the state. He will call his own game this year. I trust him. Cooper Webb is our everyday third baseman and closed the game [on the mound] against Shiloh Christian. He’s struggled a little at the plate, so we dropped him down in the order and he’s responded well. He will probably be our first [reliever] out of the bullpen when we need an out. He’s got the frame that scouts are going to drool over as he gets older. He’s 6’3” or 6’4”.
“Aaron Taylor will be our starting first baseman and our second pitcher. He’s another lefthander who pitches well and plays a great first base. He’s a hard worker and we’re looking for him to have a big year for us. Wyatt Frye has had an unbelievable preseason and earned himself a starting position in right field batting in the five hole. He’s athletic, works hard, and he’s been hitting the ball lights out. He’s a gamer, so we are excited for him. He’s earned it.” He is also the team’s backup catcher.
Finally, regarding his freshmen, Coach Brewer is very high on Jayden Campbell. “He started in the cleanup spot for us against Shiloh Christian. He is probably one of the most advanced hitters I’ve ever coached. He’s going to have an unbelievable career at Greenwood. He’s a steady guy. You can’t faze him at the plate. All he does is just hit the ball hard. He makes solid contact every time.”
Going around the horn, Brewer previewed his usual starting lineup, beginning with Mason Moore on the mound and Ty Holt at catcher. Aaron Taylor will hold down first base most days when he’s not pitching. Scott Holland and sophomore Brayden Renick will share the duties at second base, though Holland will also play third base or the outfield as needed. Cooper Webb will man the hot corner at third with Brady Morgan at shortstop. Patrolling the pasture will be Jaxon Cole in left, Zack Zitzmann in center, and Wyatt Frye in right. While most of those positions are pretty well locked down, Brewer said, “We’ve got a bunch of guys who can do a lot of things, so we’ll just try to ride the hot hand as we go and make tweaks along the way that give us the best option to win that day.”
Elaborating more on his hurlers, a team strength this season, Brewer said, “Our pitching is pretty deep this year.” Besides Moore and Taylor as the primary conference starters, with Parker Branton at #3, Jake Gigerich and Maddox McCalip will provide depth out of the bullpen, and even Zack Zitzmann can pitch if needed.
Freshmen Lawson Leath and Carter Koch also have promise. “They are very advanced for freshmen,” said the coach. “Lawson is a lefthander who can run it up there in the low 80s with a good slider. He could be a lefty specialist. Carter knows how to pitch. His dad was a college pitcher, so he’s been taught well. He could be a spot relief guy.” The lone remaining freshman on the varsity roster is Cayden Mendenhall, also listed as a pitcher and infielder, who will likely see time off the bench as a baserunner or spot replacement.
While the head coach knows teams must score runs to win, he also believes the proven sports adage that “defense wins championships” or in baseball, “pitching and defense” wins championships. “Our bread-and-butter this year is going to be defense,” said Brewer. “Throwing strikes and playing good defense, and we’ve really emphasized that, and they’ve taken it to heart. The biggest question mark for me was how we were going to hit. But so far, they have exceeded my expectations. These guys just know how to compete.”
Reflecting on last season, Brewer said, “After 20 games we were 16-4 and in the driver’s seat, and we lost some arms to injury and things just weren’t the same for us. We lost a lot of one-run games down the stretch, and that’s left a bad taste in our mouths and fueled the fire a little bit. We’re going to play the underdog card this year and hopefully surprise some folks.”
As for the rest of the conference, Brewer said “Russellville will be the favorite for sure. They return a lot of guys and won the conference last year, and Van Buren will be right behind them. Farmington replaced Greenbrier and made a run last year in the state tournament in 4A. But the conference is deep this year. Alma is really good, and Mountain Home has made it to state the last few years, so we’re going to have to bring our “A” game every night.”