GRANGER – Two Granger High School class of 2023 athletes were named in their respective sports to the Texas High School Coaches Association 2A All-State Super Elite Team with Mattie Wilkie in softball and Nathan Tucker in baseball.
MATTIE WILKIE
Wilkie has racked up quite a few accolades for softball and rightfully so as a four-year varsity letterman for Granger, including being selected as the District 27-2A Co-Catcher of the Year and the Texas Girls Coaches Association Legacy Softball Team for classes 1A-2A-3A-4A for the 2023 season.
With an outstanding senior campaign, Wilkie helped lead her team heading into the regional semifinals with a whopping 0.474 batting average, 36 hits, 32 runs scored, 30 runs batted in, 13 stolen bases, eight doubles, four home runs and three triples.
Granger softball (22-10 overall record) had a great 2A playoff run with series wins over Johnson City High School in the bi-district round, Leon Jewett High School in the area round and Bremond High School in the regional quarterfinals before being eliminated by a hard-hitting Shiner High School team. The Lady Lions had an incredible playoff run as Granger was the No. 4 seed which came from a loaded district that featured Bremond, Milano High School and Thorndale High School.
NATHAN TUCKER
Tucker has also made the Super Elite Team for baseball after having quite an incredible senior season for the Lions. Tucker, who was named the District 27-2A Defensive Most Valuable Player and also selected as academic all-district, had himself a fantastic year at the plate with a 0.373 batting average, 28 hits, 27 runs batted in, 17 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and three home runs. On the mound for Granger, he had 40 strikeouts in 44.0 innings pitched with just a 2.86 earned run average.
Tucker was a star of a Lions team that was able to grind its way into the 2A postseason this year, which included a winner-take-all game against Thrall for the fourthplace playoff spot in District 27. The senior pitched 5.2 innings in relief with five strikeouts to help propel the Lions to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Tigers at neutral site Hutto High School.
Granger played an elite Johnson City High School team very tough in the bi-district round but the Lions were eliminated back on May 5 with a 6-3 loss to the Eagles in Lago Vista.
Most recently, Tucker was also selected to play on June 17 in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Game which was held at Dell Diamond in Round Rock where he got to play in right field and at catcher.
