Over the last several years, it always seems that a state championship was just out of grasp of the Sam Houston Broncos.

Since 2017, the Broncos have lost in the semifinals four times, including by one run to Sulphur in 2018, Barbe in 2021 and West Monroe 4-3 last season. Then there was the 8-2 loss to Barbe in the 2019 final. But it hasn’t stopped Sam Houston in its quest to win its first state championship since 2001.

“We are just going to do what we do, focus on us, and let it all fall where it may,” Sam Houston head coach Chad Hebert said. “We have been there (state tournament) a lot. We just have to keep knocking on the door until it falls in.

“When you get that deep, you just have to play clean baseball no matter who you are playing against.

“We are always going to be confident. That is who we are. We are never going to go into something saying that Sam Houston is going to be down or we are not who we used to be. I am never going to allow that mind-set to sit in over here.”

Sam Houston averaged almost five runs a game in the postseason in 2023, and Hebert said he expects more of the same with a mixture of small ball and power led by four returners in Griffin Hebert, a Louisiana-Lafayette signee, center fielder Dylan Bell, catcher Connor Walker and first baseman Ashton Bultron. Hebert will move to shortstop after an all-district season at third base.

“This group is very athletic,” Hebert said. “They fit the mold of what we do. They do what we do well. They bunt and we run the bags well. We are going to play really solid defense, I feel.

“We have some guys at the top that can really hit in Hebert, Bell, Walker and Bultron. Graham Mathieu has really been a pleasant surprise. He had three hits the other night in the scrimmage against (Baton Rouge) Catholic. We have a couple of guys who played a little bit last year, like (Haden) Peshoff and Reese Bailey, that will get some at-bats as well. I think we will be a typical Sam Houston team, honestly.

“Hebert hit .467 last year, and he really hit during the scrimmages. And Bultron drove in runs all last year, and he has proven he hits in the big games. He had multiple hits against Barbe, and hit a home run off of Jake Brown. Walker had a good year last year. Bell has really swung it well in the scrimmages, so I think those four or five guys right there will carry us around a good bit.”

Hebert said Peshoff will start at third base, while Mathieu is slated to start in left field. Phillip Oneal and Charlie Donaldson will split time in right field, and sophomore Carson Christ will man second base.

The season doesn’t start until next week, but the Broncos’ pitching staff suffered a loss after junior Cole Flanagan suffered an injury that Hebert said will require Tommy John surgery. But Hebert says he has confidence in his pitching staff.

“We will just move the pieces around,” Hebert said. “It will probably be keeping starters on a shorter leash and a smaller pitch count to keep them fresh for the playoffs. We will lean on the bullpen early to eat up some innings.

“We have pitched really well in the scrimmages. We actually beat Catholic-Baton Rouge 4-2 on Friday. We have had three scrimmages, and we have only walked six people. And scrimmages are extended, so we have pounded the strike zone and let our defense really work. I really like that part about our staff. It has a lot of strike throwers.”

Seniors Nik Toups, a Southeastern Louisiana signee, and Hebert will move out of the bullpen into a starting role on the mound this year, Hebert said.

“(Toups) is 89-91 (mph) right now, and has been working on his body,” he said. “He has lost some weight to be able to handle the extended outings, so I think he is really up to the challenge. We have really done a lot of work, and he has actually had some draft consideration.

“(Griffin Hebert) probably had three or four starts last year. Once we got to district and it was three games a week, he moved back to the bullpen. We started with him in the summer. We started letting him have some starts in the summer leagues, and he has been up to 92-93. I think we will be fine on that end of it.”

Hebert said others who could be in the starting rotation include freshman Owen Galley and junior Maddox Ardoin. The bullpen will include junior Landon Gentry, sophomore Gavin Breaux, Brytn Gardner and Bultron.

“(Ardoin) had a really good fastball and a good knuckleball,” Hebert said. “I think the knuckleball really gives people fits.

“(Galley) is a freshman, but he isn’t a freshman. Let’s put it that way. He is always dialed in at all times. He is anywhere from 80 to 85 miles per hour. He doesn’t have freshman stuff. He has been very good during his three outings in scrimmages. I don’t know if he has given up a run yet.”