The Rattlers will hit the diamond this Saturday as San Marcos starts the 2024 season in hopes of defending their district championship.
Despite graduating a senior heavy lineup last season, it’s more about reloading than rebuilding for Head Coach Bryan Webb, who enters his 18th season at the helm for the Rattlers.
“We have a motto around here that says we don’t rebuild, we reload,” Webb said. “We have great leadership not limited to the seniors. These kids are class acts. I told the parents at the booster meeting that it’s not the teams that are expected to go far but rather the teams that you least suspect. Everyone is talking about the [preseason] picks, so we have another saying, 'Who cares what anyone says about us.' It is about us and circling the wagons. Don’t let anybody come in, and we will take care of San Marcos.”
The Rattlers return four starters from last year’s team who not only won the first district championship since 2017 but won the Bi-District Championship for the first time since 2016.
San Marcos will be headed up by senior captains Kutter Gage Webb, Reagan Chomel and Dylan Nunez as well as pitcher Vlario Prado.
Though the Rattlers are having to replace a talented senior class from the 2023 season, San Marcos is undeterred by the challenge set in front of them. “Just because we lost a big group of seniors does not mean our expectations have changed,” Webb said. “The expectation is to go to Round Rock. If you have any less of an expectation or read the social media predictions, you don’t need to be in this locker room. This locker room is not afraid of any opponent, newspapers or social media posts. We do what we do, and we know who we are. The only thing different is that we are losing the last bunch of guys I’ve seen grow up from tee-ball.”
One of the reasons for the Rattlers success despite graduating numerous players of the years who then went to have success at the collegiate level has been the program infrastructure.
With Webb taking over the baseball program in 2006, the Rattlers have built themselves as a perennial playoff contender capable of making deep runs in the postseason despite being in one of the toughest regions in the state with powerhouses like Austin Westlake, Lake Travis, San Antonio Reagan and San Antonio Johnson.
“The program, structure and the expectations are all the same,” Webb said. “It doesn’t matter who puts on that uniform, you are going to represent the 312 [players] who graduated from here and made a stable foundation for you to play here. You don’t have to meet my expectations, but you will walk down the street and end up talking to a former player asking you to explain why you didn’t [meet expectations]. That is the pressure I put on them. It’s not about winning a state championship or district championship, but the loyalty to the program and what it means to put on that uniform.”
San Marcos kicks off the season with seven scrimmages before starting the regular season participating in the Northside ISD Tournament in San Antonio.
Following a non-district showdown with Kerrville Tivy, the Rattlers will be back on the road participating in the Mira Corpus Tournament in Corpus Christi.
The Rattlers first regular season home game will take place March 5 as San Marcos will host East Central in the district opener.
San Marcos will host their own tournament the weekend of the district opener before going back into district play.
Known for not being afraid to schedule anyone, Webb looks forward to the non-district slate to test the mettle of his team during the early portion of the season.
“If you know me, I don’t care who you are or where you are, we will play you,” Webb said. “If you beat us, there is more for us to learn than beating a weaker opponent. We played Pearland last year, and they went to the state championship game. … There is a lot of opportunity to play for a team, especially when you have a young team, so they can see elite play and show them how close they are to be at that level.”
The Rattlers kick off their season at home next Saturday for a double-header scrimmage against both Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
