Denton Record Chronicle - Turnaround for Bronco Baseball in 2022

May 9 2022 02:46

Denton didn’t look like it would be in position to make this season’s high school baseball playoffs a few months ago — at least not on paper.

The Broncos won just four district games in 2021 and had a new coach in John Tompkins, who spent the previous five years as a Denton assistant.

It took a while, but centerfielder Ryan Cooper and the rest of the Broncos started to believe that they would be better than expected.

“I felt really good after our fall season,” Cooper said. “We put in the work to get faster and stronger. We were ready to do something good.”

That is just what the Broncos have done during one of the more dramatic turnarounds in the Denton area heading into the opening week of the playoffs.

The Broncos will open a three-game Region I-5A bi-district series against Aledo on Friday with a game at Southlake Carroll.

Guyer will get area high school playoff action going on Thursday when the Wildcats host Flower Mound Marcus in the opener of a three-game series. State power Argyle, Aubrey and Pilot Point will also be in action in the first week of the playoffs.

Argyle is ranked No. 4 in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Class 4A poll and is expected to make a deep playoff run.

Denton isn’t the team expected to last the longest among area teams, but it might be the most excited just to get to the playoffs.

The Broncos finished the regular season 18-10 and 9-5 in District 6-5A, flipping their 10-18 record from a year ago.

Tompkins challenged his players to change the culture of the program shortly after being elevated to head coach.

“Our motto is the Navy Seal motto, ‘Hold fast. Stay true,’” Tompkins said. “We put them through the grinder in the fall in the weight room with conditioning and worked on mental toughness.”

Denton’s veteran core of players bought into the approach. The Broncos have 10 seniors who led the way during the transition largely because of the relationships Tompkins built with them during five seasons as an assistant coach.

 “We had some concerns, but I thought he would turn it around,” pitcher Nathan Stone said. “I had a lot of belief in him. He is tough on you in the moment, but he will love you up after the game.”

Denton’s players sensed they could be poised for a breakout season in the fall. Shortstop Ethan Hewell credited Denton’s improvement in part to how well Tompkins laid out his vision and executed a plan to make it a reality.

Denton’s players say practices are highly organized and planned out, which helped keep the Broncos on track.

“We knew in the fall that things were coming together,” Hewell said. “It was tough, but there was no complaining. We just kept going.”

The deeper the Broncos got into their offseason program and eventually games this spring, the more comfortable they became.

“He brought in a new culture of working hard along with a system that fits us better,” Cooper said. “We play with more intensity, play more small ball and focus on getting the little things right.”

Tompkins points to the quality of the players and students on Denton’s roster as one of the reasons the Broncos quickly adapted to his approach. He estimates that Denton will have seven players named to the academic all-state team.

“We have a valedictorian, two salutatorians and a whole lot of really smart kids,” Tompkins said. “They saw the vision and were smart enough to understand the direction we were trying to take that team.”

Denton is on the rise under Tompkins but will face a significant challenge when it takes on Aledo. The Bearcats (18-8) won District 5-5A.

“They are athletic and have good pitching depth,” Tompkins said. “They compete and are scrappy. They are a lot like us.”

The Broncos are ready to tackle the challenge of facing Aledo as they look to continue their turnaround season under Tompkins. The experience is one a veteran group of players have enjoyed.

“All of our guys are really close,” Hewell said. “We have hung out since elementary school and have been playing together for a while. We click and are playing for each other.”