SSBR High School Preview: Latta Panthers

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: Latta Panthers

Classification: 2A-1

2025 Spring Results: 20-12 (State Quarterfinalist)

2025 Fall Results: 19-9 (State Quarterfinalist)

Head Coach: Dillon Atkinson

Head coaching experience: 7 years (6 at Latta)

Top Returners

Landon Fortner (2026) – Western Oklahoma State commit. Landon has been a 4 year starter behind the plate. He does a great job managing the game back there as well as handling the pitchers. We anticipate him being a main source of offensive production for us. Landon leads by example. He brings his best every single day. Really excited about watching him this spring.
Ryder Perry (2026) – Anchors 1B for our team and does a phenomenal job over there. Led our team in IP and strikeouts on the mound this past fall. Bulldog mentality on the mound and has an infectious energy that our guys feed off of.
Gestin Pollard (2026) – Gestin has pitched in a lot of big games for us over the past 3 1/2 years. We will look for more of the same with him. Has a rare feel for pitching and how to get guys out.
Deakon Smith (2026) – Deakon led our team in RBI’s in the fall and we look to only improve on that. Will also pitch some innings for us this spring.
Jonah Boyington (2026) – Randall University commit. Jonah was hurt most of the fall but we are anticipating a really good spring from him. A fierce competitor who can be a shutdown arm on the mound.
Brock Brittain (2027) – Brock has an impressive arsenal on the mound. Had a 1.83 ERA last fall against a really good slate of competition. Will be relied on heavily this spring.
Kane Dildine – (2027) Kane will be a force in our lineup. Really powerful bat that we will rely on to drive in a bunch of runs this spring. Leading hitter from the fall.
Kaiden Goolsby – (2027) Kaiden is one of the more versatile athletes you will find in the class. He can impact the game in all phases: defense, offense, baserunning, and pitching.
Gavin Mullins (2026) – Gavin is a strong defender in the outfield for us. Gavin has a knack for getting on base and helping our team win however he can.

Top Newcomers

Christian Wolfe – (2029) Started at SS for us in the state tournament as a freshman. Dynamic athlete who can help us win in a lot of ways.
Greg Forshay (2029) Ultra competitor who has that “it” factor. Had a 1.59 ERA in the fall as a freshman. The moment is never too big for him.
Blaine Drury (2027) Blaine is an exceptional athlete who has worked himself into having more opportunities. Excited about what he can bring to our team.

Overall Team Strengths

Our strength is our team depth and front end starting pitching. We have several arms that we have confidence in to go compete with anybody. As a team, we have quality, competitve depth at every position. We have a really solid group of both underclassmen and upperclassmen that will continously push guys in front of them for more prominent roles.

Overall Team Needs to Work On

We have been working hard to get more efficient offensively. Not just hitting but also baserunning and bunting. In order for us to be as successful as we can, we need to minimize unproductive outs at the plate. We also need to identify guys who can reliably eat up innings on the mound.

Outlook

I am really excited about this group and this spring. We have a strong core of veteran leadership that we will rely on. This group has the experience, maturity, and the talent to accomplish all of our goals that we have. Our focus this spring has to be playing the game one pitch at a time and not letting any underlying factors determine how we approach the game. If we do that, we will put ourselves in the best position to be successful.

Schedule

Official Sooner State Baseball Report Merch

Like this content? Don’t miss any posts. Enter your email in the box below and have Sooner State Baseball Report content delivered right to your inbox.