Sulphur Springs Wildcats Take Home Number of All-District Awards
The Sulphur Springs Wildcats baseball team entered the 2026 season with a sense of excitement, hope and momentum that they haven’t felt in years, after a 20-win season in 2025. Before that, the 2020s had not been kind to the Wildcats, accumulating a record of just 26-57 from 2020-2024.
Now with a ton of momentum and a ton of returning talent, the Wildcats were ready to prove that the 2025 season wasn’t a fluke. They were ready to prove that with Coach Gresham and Co. at the helm, they had turned over a new leaf, and that’s exactly what they did.
The Wildcats entered the month of March with a 5-3 record, before finding their stride and going on an 11-2 run. During that 13-game stretch the Wildcats weren’t just winning games, they were dominating, outscoring their opponents 86-47.
Sulphur Springs did finish the regular season on a three-game losing streak, two of which were to the eventual State Champions, but they didn’t let that deter them going into the postseason. The Wildcats opened their playoff run with a 3-0 shutout over Caddo Mills, before going on and beating them again in Game 2, this time in a 3-2 extra inning thriller.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats season would come to an end the exact same way it did in 2025, against Lindale in the Area Round. Just like in 2025, the Wildcats opened the series with a huge 7-3 win, despite starting the game down 3-0.
Despite taking Game 1 of the series, Sulphur Springs would go on to drop games two and three, though they put up strong fight’s in each game. While their season may have come to an end sooner than they wanted it to, the Wildcats had a fantastic season, and that was reflected in the All-District Awards.
Pitcher of the Year
For the second season in a row Wildcats ace Alex Whittle was named Pitcher of the Year. The lefty was as dominant and consistent as they come, finishing the year with a record of 7-1, as well as going a perfect 3-for-3 in save situations. Even more impressive, Whittle only allowed nine earned runs all year, giving him a phenomenal 1.21 ERA. He also had an impressive 1.05 WHIP, and finished the year with 70 strikeouts, while allowing just 11 walks.
Whittle also showed huge improvements at the plate, becoming a very reliable and solid contributor in the Wildcats lineup. The ace hit .299 with an OPS of .782 and finished second on the team in doubles with six. He also drove in 11 runs and crossed the plate 13 times.
Few pitchers in the state of Texas will enter the 2027 season with more hardware and experience than Whittle, who will be looking to Three Peat as the Pitcher of the Year. Having his talent and experience will go along way in the Wildcats seeing an improvement for the third consecutive season.
First Team All-District
P, Corbin Argenbright (Sr)- Senior Corbin Argenbright was named First Team All-District for his work on the mound this season. Argenbright was a perfect 5-0 on the year and allowed just five earned runs in over 34 innings of work, giving him an incredible ERA of 1.01 and an equally incredible WHIP of 0.87. The trio of Argenbright, Whittle and Deacon Carpenter gave the Wildcats one of the best and deepest rotations in all of 4A.
On top of his great work on the mound, Argenbright was also a huge leader offensively, finishing second on the team in RBI (17) and having the third-highest average (.312). Whether it was on the mound, at the plate, or in the field, Argenbright embodied whatever role he was in, including being one of the veteran leaders during the Wildcats big turnaround. While the Wildcats return a vast majority of their talent, Argenbright will leave big shoes for the Wildcats to fill moving forward.
1B, Lane Fouse (Sr)- Speaking of senior leaders who will leave big shoes to fill, Lane Fouse joined Argenbright in that conversation, along with joining him on the First Team All-District list. Fouse’s veteran leadership showed, as he was both a consistent and reliable presence at the plate and at first base.
Fouse led the team in both at bat’s (87) and singles (26), while finishing second on the team in hits (29). He also finished third on the team in average (.333), stolen bases (11) and runs scored (20), proving to be someone who not only got on base regularly, but found a way to score when he did.
The Wildcats first baseman had exactly 13 RBI and walks, while striking out just nine times all season, proving that consistently putting the ball in play leads to great things. Like Argenbright, Fouse’s presence will be greatly missed in 2027, as he goes on to continue his playing career at Henderson State University.
2B, Cesar Mondragon (Jr)- Second baseman Cesar Mondragon was yet another Wildcat returning this season and looking to make an even bigger impact in 2026. This time around, Mondragon not only proved himself to be a terrific defensive middle infielder (leading the team with a .977 fielding percentage) but also showed a ton of growth at the plate.
In his junior campaign Mondragon hit .296 with a .790 OPS, which was fourth on the team. He also finished fourth on the team in doubles (4) and runs scored (18).
Mondragon is as consistent and steady as they come at second base, and is starting to show the same level of consistency and contribution at the plate. After a very strong junior season, look for Mondragon to be a huge veteran leader for the Wildcats in 2027.
SS, Deacon Carpenter (So)- Deacon Carpenter was one of a few Wildcats who made huge splash’s their freshman season and were looking to come back even better in their sophomore campaign’s. Carpenter did exactly that, playing shortstop and hitting at the top of the lineup for the Wildcats, and doing so very well.
The Wildcats shortstop had about as incredible of a sophomore year as you could ask for, either leading or finishing second on the team in just about every single offensive category. Carpenter was the team leader in plate appearances (111), OBP (.532), OPS (1.112), runs scored (33), walks (24) and stolen bases (25), while finishing second on the team in average (.370), slugging (.580), hits (30), doubles (6), home runs (1) and RBI (17).
On top of all that, Carpenter was also a unit on the mound for the Wildcats, finishing the year with a 6-2 record in over a dozen appearances. He was able to strikeout 67 batters (while walking just 27) in over 50 innings pitched, and did so with an ERA of 2.43 and a WHIP of 1.355.
Few teams in the state can say they are returning two top pitchers as strong as Whittle and Carpenter, and few teams can say they’re returning two top hitters as good as Carpenter and Virgel. The Wildcats will get to enter the 2027 season with both.
OF, Jaxon Virgel (So)- Despite being just a sophomore, the expectations were high for Jaxon Virgel entering the 2026 season, looking to continue to improve upon the momentum he had as a freshman. The sophomore outfielder not only lived up to those expectations, but even exceeded them, having as strong and consistent of a year as you can ask for.
Virgel led the Wildcats in almost every offensive category, including hits (32) and average (.405), along with slugging (.595), doubles (7), home runs (2), RBI (20). He proved himself to be someone who could not only get on base and hit, but do so for power.
He also finished second on the team in OPS (1.056), singles (22), triples (1), runs (22) and stolen bases (15). Whether it was at the plate, on the bases, or in the outfield, Virgel made huge contributions for this Wildcats team and will only look to do so more and more over the next two season’s.
Second Team All-District
DH, Mason Stillwagoner (Jr)- The Wildcats also had a pair of players who were named Second Team All-District, including designated hitter Mason Stillwagoner. Stillwagoner stepped into a much bigger role this season, and was one of just four Wildcats to appear in 30 or more games.
Not only did Stillwagoner see a big jump in his role for the Wildcats this season, but he saw a huge jump in production as well, hitting .292 with an OBP of .471, which was the second-highest on the team. He also had the third-highest OPS on the team at .794.
After a very strong junior year, which included 10 RBI, 17 runs scored and a very efficient 16-14 walk to strikeout ratio, Stillwagoner is in a great position to be one of the offensive leaders for the Wildcats in 2027.
Utily, Dylan Rosenberg (Jr)- Fellow junior Dylan Rosenberg joined Stillwagoner on the Second Team All-District list. One of the many strengths of the Wildcats this season was their depth and versatility, and Rosenberg was an incredible example of exactly that.
Rosenberg appeared in 24 games this season, and pitched in seven of those. At the plate, the utility man hit .306 with an OPS of .754 and finished the season with 11 RBI and five stolen bases.
On the mound he was able to rack up 15 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched. He also made three starts, giving the Wildcats a nice option to turn to both for starts or in relief and he will likely see an even bigger role as a senior next season.
Honorable Mention
OF, Ryan Karr (Sr)- The Wildcats also had a pair of players who were named Honorable Mention All-District, including senior Ryan Karr. The senior outfielder played a big role for the Wildcats, playing in 27 games and hitting .270.
Karr also had 11 RBI (tied for the fifth most on the team), along with 16 runs scored, 11 walks and five stolen bases. Karr was also incredibly clutch, coming up in big situations time and time again, and will be missed in 2027.
C, Sam Gamblin (So)- Much like Carpenter and Virgel, catcher Sam Gamblin returned for the Wildcats after a fantastic freshman season. Unfortunately, Gamblin missed some time early in the year due to injury, but picked up right where he left off when he did return.
In just 15 games played, Gamblin was able to hit .297 with an impressive .813 OPS, all while playing fantastic defense behind the plate. Despite missing half the season, Gamblin was still able to rack up eight RBI and seven runs scored, with three doubles. He also drew eight walks while only striking out seven times.
While it wasn’t the season he wanted to have health wise, Gamblin was very good in the games he was able to play in. Look for him to return and have huge season’s behind the plate for the Wildcats in 2027 and 2028.
