TIFTON — After helping his team get to the state semifinals in Class AA this past baseball season, Cook High Hornet Kaleb Cowart is the 2008 All-Tiftarea Player of the Year.

Just a sophomore, Cowart will be hard-pressed to top the statistics from his 2008 campaign.

On the pitcher’s mound, where he is also first-team All-Tiftarea, Cowart was 10-3 with a 0.60 ERA. He struck out 106 batters, and only walked 46, in 82 innings of work.

At the plate, Cowart batted .410 with 13 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 39 RBIs. He also stole 20 bases.

Cowart is already receiving acclaim as a possible 2010 National Player of the Year candidate in some circles.

Joining Cowart as a first-team pitcher is Cook High teammate D.J. Johnson.

Also a sophomore, Johnson went 10-1 with a 0.86 ERA in 2008. He had 97 strikeouts and 25 walks in 73 innings of work. He also batted .379 with eight doubles, six home runs, 24 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

The Turner County Rebels had an unusual state playoff run.

Turner fell to Pacelli, two games to one, in the first round. Pacelli went on to win the state championship, and only one other team extended the Vikings from Columbus to three games in a playoff series. That team was Landmark Christian in the state finals.

One of the leaders for the Turner team was catcher Jeremy Stevenson, who earns first-team All-Tiftarea honors. Stevenson batted .386 with five home runs and six doubles. He will go to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College next season to continue his career and education.

Tiftarea Academy Panther Bryce Brandenberg is one of the first-team designated hitters. He batted .525 with 21 RBIs in 2008. He also had six saves as he helped the Panthers into the second-round of the state playoffs.

The other first-team designated hitter is Berrien High’s Lance Harrell. The senior batted .429 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs this past season.

Tift County’s Tyce Moore, who helped the Blue Devils make a run into the state Class AAAAA baseball playoffs, is one of the first-team outfielders.

The senior batted .337, and had seven doubles, four home runs, 28 RBIs and a .424 on-base percentage.

Turner County’s Richard Wheeler is another first-team outfielder. He batted .415, and added three triples, eight home runs and nine doubles.

Like his teammate, Stevenson, Wheeler will also be playing college baseball at ABAC next season.

Rounding out the first-team outfield is Cook High’s Wes Warren, who batted .362, with six doubles, six home runs and 26 RBIs in 2008.

After getting a chance to represent Team Georgia in the recent Sunbelt Baseball Classic played in Oklahoma, Tift County’s Chance Veazey is one of the first-team infielders.

In 2008, Veazey batted .453, with six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 24 RBIs. He also had a .588 on-base percentage, and a .520 average with runners in scoring position.

Irwin County’s Scott Phillips had a monster year for the Indians. The first-team All-Tiftarea infielder batted .436, and added seven home runs, one triple, 10 doubles and 34 RBIs. He also had a .859 slugging percentage and was named the Region 2-A:A first-team first baseman.

Tiftarea Academy’s Chance Benson is also a first-team infielder. He batted .502, and added 20 RBIs in 2008.

Rounding out the first-team is infielder Justin Moore. The senior batted .390, and had two home runs and 10 doubles on the year.

The second-team All-Tiftarea squad is composed of pitchers Josh Barks of Cook and Brad Taylor of Fitzgerald; catcher Nathan Cornelius of Berrien High; designated hitters Ward Massee of Fitzgerald and Larry Green of Berrien; outfielders Melvin Lee of Worth County, Clint Holley of Tiftarea Academy and Josh Haynes of Tiftarea Academy; and infielders Todd Sauls of Worth County, Jacob Stinson of Tift County, J.D. Allen of Irwin County and Michael Connell of Berrien.

The following players were honorable-mention selections.

They are: Ben Watson and Matthew Brunty, Tift County; Chandler Hammond and Chase Ward, Tiftarea Academy; Austin Garner, Mackenzie Harper and Reid Cornelius, Berrien High; Parker Nix, Trevor Hand, Justin Sadler and Austin Steel, Cook High; Garrett Wright, Trent Pruitt, Alan Sandiford and Caleb Sheppard, Fitzgerald; Jeremy Dill, Clint Paulk and Jake Atkinson, Irwin County; and Shane Moore, Justin Stubbs and Brian Gregory, Turner County.