SUPER 22 BASEBALL TEAM: Science Hill's Edwards, D-B's Hayworth headline 2026 squad

Whether he did it with his left arm or with his bat, Cam Hayworth's impact on Dobyns-Bennett baseball was undeniable. His 0.00 earned run average after the regular season told the story. Oh, and he left the yard six times during that stretch, adding his seventh home run during the Region 1-4A tournament. For his efforts, Hayworth has been selected as the 2026 Johnson City Press/Kingsport Times News Super 22 Baseball Player of the Year. The Virginia Tech signee is not only batting fifth in this year's Super 22 starting nine, but Hayworth also headlines the area's top pitching staff. Science Hill's Ryan Edwards was chosen as the 2026 Super 22 Coach of the Year, having coached the Hilltoppers to their fifth Region 1 championship dating back to 2018 — also the start of Science Hill's current string of eight straight sectional berths. But this year's squad had to overcome multiple injuries to key players to reach that point, even forcing a Game 3 and battling to the final out of the 4A sectional series against eventual state champion Farragut. Unicoi County's Kolby Jones is batting leadoff in this year's Super 22 starting lineup. Dobyns-Bennett's Andrew Reilly is second, followed by Providence Academy's Cole Blanton, Science Hill's Nate Stoots at cleanup, Hayworth, Daniel Boone's T.J. Leonard, Johnson County's Kaden Blevins, West Ridge's Ty Malak and Tennessee High's Preston Feagins. Complementing Hayworth in the pitching rotation are Science Hill's Hagan Gibson, Hampton's Colby Clark, Providence Academy's Charlie Walker, David Crockett's Gabe Story and Science Hill's Cole ReSue — his third straight year of being named the Super 22 closer. University High's Cole Stevenson, Elizabethton's J.D. Hooks, Rye Cove's Will Rollins, Happy Valley's Lane Parker, Dobyns-Bennett's Taylor Blankenship, Science Hill's Haydon Smelser, Twin Springs' Xavier Sawyer and Hampton's Elisha Henson made up the second team. THE BATTING ORDER Leadoff — Kolby Jones (Unicoi County) Jones would've fit either in the batting order or the pitching staff with his totals. Having just committed to Maryville College football, Jones batted .442 with five home runs, 36 RBIs, 45 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. On the mound, Jones had a 2.55 ERA with six wins and 80 strikeouts. No. 2 — Andrew Reilly (Dobyns-Bennett) The Walters State signee ranked second in the Tri-Cities in two categories during the regular season, hitting six home runs and scoring 41 times, while batting .389. He finished with 50 runs scored and 37 RBIs, along with 17 stolen bases. No. 3 — Cole Blanton (Providence Academy) Blanton, who signed with ETSU football, homered eight times his senior year for the Knights. He hit .422 with seven doubles, a .564 on-base percentage, 20 RBIs and 31 runs scored while stealing 20 bases. No. 4 — Nate Stoots (Science Hill) Stoots, who's headed to Walters State next spring, ranked second in the Tri-Cities with 44 RBIs his senior season. His 42 runs tied him for third, and he hit his seventh home run during the Region 1-4A championship game. No. 5 — Cam Hayworth (Dobyns-Bennett) Hayworth homered seven times his senior year and batted .321 with a .436 on-base percentage. He recorded 42 RBIs, 17 extra-base hits and 29 runs scored. No. 6 — T.J. Leonard (Daniel Boone) Leonard, another Walters State signee, was chosen as District 1-3A Player of the Year after batting .419 with 14 stolen bases and 32 runs scored. On the mound, Leonard amassed a 1.12 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while striking out 55. No. 7 — Kaden Blevins (Johnson County) Blevins, despite dealing with a bicep issue, hit .548 and drove in 34 runs while scoring 44 for the Longhorns. He had 18 extra-base hits including two home runs with a .625 on-base percentage along with two wins and a save on the mound. No. 8 — Ty Malak (West Ridge) The senior batted .436 with a .509 OBP and 13 extra-base hits to lead the Wolves. He drove in 30 runs and scored 14 himself in addition to going 8-2 on the mound — where he accumulated a 2.03 ERA and 1.127 WHIP with 37 strikeouts. No. 9 — Preston Feagins (Tennessee High) Feagins was named District 1-3A Offensive Player of the Year after batting .493 in the regular season, the highest among 3A and 4A teams. The senior who's committed to West Virginia State football tied for third in the Tri-Cities with 42 RBIs, along with 32 runs. THE STAFF Ace — Cam Hayworth (Dobyns-Bennett) Up until the Region 1-4A final, Hayworth had allowed just two unearned runs over 32.0 innings pitched. In other words, he had a 0.00 ERA to that point, along with a 0.643 WHIP. He ended 6-1 with 61 strikeouts, an .833 ERA and a .762 WHIP. No. 2 — Hagan Gibson (Science Hill) Gibson led the Hilltoppers' pitching staff with his 1.61 ERA, and his 0.994 WHIP ranked fourth in the Tri-Cities. He struck out 62 batters and collected seven wins his senior year. No. 3 — Colby Clark (Hampton) Clark also could've gone either on the pitching staff or the batting order. In 34 2/3 innings, the freshman struck out 59 batters with a 1.81 ERA and .923 WHIP while going 5-0. At the plate, Clark batted .435 with a .520 OBP, hitting six home runs with 40 RBIs and 32 runs scored. No. 4 — Charlie Walker (Providence Academy) Walker, who's headed to Emory & Henry next season, went 5-1 with 51 strikeouts his senior year. He accumulated a 1.80 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP. Setup — Gabe Story (David Crockett) Story, the District 1-3A Pitcher of the Year, struck out 61 batters and collected five wins his junior year to help the Pioneers reach the Region 1-3A tournament. Closer — Cole ReSue (Science Hill) Just call him the Sandman. ReSue is the Super 22 closer for the third straight season. The Walters State signee recorded eight wins and struck out 70 batters in relief, recording a 2.48 ERA in the regular season, and grabbing another save in the Region 1-4A tournament. THE SECOND TEAM Cole Stevenson (University High) Stevenson hit .400 his junior year to lead UH back to Murfreesboro, in addition to posting a 1.078 WHIP on the mound with an ERA not far above 3.00. J.D. Hooks (Elizabethton) Hooks stole 29 bases his senior season and was chosen as the District 1-3A Defensive Player of the Year. Will Rollins (Rye Cove) Rollins hit .414 with six extra-base hits, 18 RBIs, 17 runs scored and eight stolen bases for the War Eagles. On the mound, he struck out 87 batters and posted a 2.83 ERA. Lane Parker (Happy Valley) Parker hit .400 his junior season, scoring 31 runs and driving in 22 while recording a Tri-Cities best 34 stolen bases. Taylor Blankenship (Dobyns-Bennett) Blankenship, who's headed to King University, hit .377 and knocked seven home runs with 39 RBIs his senior season. Haydon Smelser (Science Hill) Smelser, a Milligan signee, hit six home runs his senior year with 29 RBIs and 38 runs scored, to go with 19 stolen bases. Xavier Sawyer (Twin Springs) The Titans' ace collected four wins with 75 strikeouts and a 2.7 earned run average while accumulating a .341 OBP with 23 RBIs and 23 runs his junior year. Elisha Henson (Hampton) Henson hit .481 with 12 extra-base hits including three home runs, 37 RBIs and 43 runs scored. He went 6-1 on the mound with 40 strikeouts.