SSBR High School Preview: North Rock Creek Cougars

The calendar has turned to the a new year and that means the OSSAA high school baseball season will be here soon. Classes A1, A2, and B officially get started February 23 while the rest of the classes begin March 2.

Up until that the beginning of the season, SSBR will be providing previews of as many teams as we can. Recently, SSBR sent out questionnaires to the high school coaches across the state of Oklahoma asking for their top returning players, top newcomers, overall strengths/weaknesses, and their overall assessment where their respective programs are coming into the 2026 season.

What you have below are the responses to those questions in the words of the coaches themselves.

Today’s team: North Rock Creek Cougars

Classification: 4A

2025 Spring Results: 26-2 (State quarterfinalist)

Head Coach: Keaton Hernandez

Head coaching experience: 3 years (all at North Rock Creek)

Top Returners

Jace Plumb (Sr).- Committed to Barton College in Kansas, is 6’5 205lb LHP / 1B; Jace is returning as a four year starter. He brings competitiveness and leadership to our young group. Pitching with a sub 1.00 era, and hitting over 400 every year, his grit is essential for our team, as soon as he returns from basketball.
Alexander Monge (Sr).- Committed to Eastern Oklahoma State LHP; Monge is going to be a huge asset on the mound for us this year. His velo has jumped with massive amounts of movement should help him get quick outs with an experiences infield behind him.
Hasten Conley (Sr).- Not Committed. Hasten is a very athletic MIF that will be a starter for three years, and leader off hitter for two. He is very exciting player to watch with some college interest.
Drake Clemmons (Sr)- Not Committed. Extremely athletic outfielder who can make any catch from CF. We expect big things out of Drake this year and he has continued to grow as a baseball player and as a leader.
Owin Payne (Sr)- Not Committed. Another athletic outfielder who is a four year starter in RF. Owin is an aggressive player who has shown continual growth and leadership, we are excited to see how his season goes.
Mavrick Wingo (Jr) – Not Committed. Another extremely athletic outfielder. This will be season two where Mav will start for us in LF. He is hug bat, lead the state in triple last year, and is very quick out of the box. We are excited to watch him this year and watch the improvements he has made from year one in our program.
Hunter Bertram (Jr) – Not Committed. Hunter, being a three year starter, is a very athletic infielder who can play anywhere. Hunter will be hitting three hole for us, which is the third year in a row, and we plan to see an even bigger jump this year. Last year, hitting over 400, we expect him to add power to those stats.
Landon Rosser (Jr) – Not Committed. After starting third base the last two years, we are moving Landon back to his primary spot at the catching position. Landon is an extremely athletic switch hitting catcher that will play at a high level of baseball. We are excited for his growth.
Kona Paningsoro (Jr) – Not Committed. Kona is an ultimate utility player. He can play anywhere, along with a great attitude to do it. He will be constantly be in the upper line up, and be able to put pressure on the defense with his athleticism. We looking forward to his growth transitioning to the field this year.

Top Newcomers

Overall Team Strengths

We are bringing back every starter last year from our State Tournament run. Were excited for this group, when we get them all back from basketball, and we can start rolling like we did last year.

Veteran Hitters- We are bringing back every hitter that we had last year. We saw massive amounts of growth from every player and should see it again this year.

District Starting Pitching- Plumb and Monge will hold it down on Monday and Tuesdays. They are very difficult to pick up from the left side and they had a velo jump this summer.

Very Athletic- We are very athletic in the infield and outfield. Our coaches are very proud of it. The kids work hard constantly in the weight room for continual growth.

Overall Team Needs to Work On

Depth. We are very top heavy this year. And the coaching staff will continue to develop depth throughout the season with our young groups.

Outlook

We are excited to build on the success of last year. Bringing back everyone from that State Tournament Run, we are excited to take the next step. The guys have shown some real growth in the weight room, being leaders in the community, and growing camaraderie within that locker room. We are excited to open our new field this year with a great squad and continue to develop the younger guys throughout the year so we can continue to have the same success year in and year out.

Schedule

Mar 5 OCS NRC 5 pm
Mar 6 Harrah NRC 5 pm
Mar 7 OKC Broncos NRC 12 pm
Mar 9* Seminole NRC 5 pm
Mar 10* Seminole SHS 5 pm
Mar 12 Washington WHS 5 pm
Mar 13 Washington NRC 5 pm
Mar 16^. Bristow NRC 1 pm
Mar 17^. Bristow BHS 1 pm
Mar 18^^ NRC Festival NRC TBA
Mar 19^^ NRC Festival NRC TBA
Mar 20^^ NRC Festival NRC TBA
Mar 23* Ada AHS 5 pm
Mar 24* Ada NRC 5 pm
Mar 26 Choctaw Festival CHS TBA
Mar 27 Choctaw Festival CHS TBA
Mar 28 Choctaw Festival CHS TBA
Mar 30 District Bye
Mar 31 District Bye
Apr 2 Marlow Tournament MHS TBA
Apr 3 Marlow Tournament MHS TBA
Apr 4 Marlow Tournament MHS TBA
Apr 6* Perkins NRC 5 pm
Apr 7* Perkins PTHS 5 pm
Apr 9 Bethel BHS 5 pm
Apr 10 Bethel NRC 5 pm
Apr 13* Cushing NRC 7 pm
Apr 14* Cushing CHS 5 pm
Apr 16 Ripley RHS 5 pm
Apr 16 McLoud RHS 7 pm
Apr 17 Sallisaw SHS 5 pm
Apr 20* Byng BHS 5 pm
Apr 21* Byng NRC 5 pm
Apr 23 Newcastle NHS 5 pm
Apr 24 Newcastle NRC 5 pm
Apr 27 Midwest City MCHS 5 pm
Apr 28** Midwest City NRC 5 pm
Apr 30-May 2 OSSAA Regionals
May 8-9 OSSAA Areas
May 14-16 OSSAA State

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