: YEARBOOK: Brazoswood's first baseball state champs- The 1984 State Champion Bucs
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Brazoswood in 1984 was in the midst of athletic greatness. The L.Z. Bryan football teams were dominating the prep scene and other Buc sports were enjoying success.
The 1984 State Champion baseball team accomplished many firsts for the Brazoswood baseball program and did so with a team of destiny. The 1984 Bucs returned just about every player from the 1983 season with the exception of Keith Jones and Danny Strauss. The team also returned All-District 25-AAAAA players: Tim Good, Kevin Garner, Troy Neel, Harry Cormier, and Jorge Lerma.
The 1984 Bucs bore a striking similarity to the future 1992 Buc State Champion team, in that most of the '84 Bucs were also graduates of a Lake Jackson Little League All-Star team that had won a Texas State Championship.
The year was 1978, and the team was the Lake Jackson National Little League. "LJN" as the Nationals were also called, came within a photo finish of advancing to Williamsport, PA, but were beaten by South Lexington, Kentucky in the Championship Game of the South Regional.
Thus, the Bucs had a talent-laden team from the previous year that had just fallen short in a tough bi-district battle with Austin LBJ, and the thirst for a repeat playoff drive was fresh on these young Bucs' minds.
Well, the Bucs had fought through District 25-AAAAA play to finish as the district champion. Victoria Stroman was the runner-up. The Bucs were in Region IV back then, which included the Austin, Corpus Christi and San Antonio schools. Gregory-Portland was a victim of the Bucs playoff drive. The 1984 Final Four along with the Bucs included: Cypress-Fairbanks, Pearland, and Lubbock Monterey: coached by Texas legend Bobby Moegle.
In the Semifinal, Brazoswood defeated Pearland 7-2; and Cypress-Fairbanks defeated Lubbock Monterey 1-0.
Thus, the baseball team's reward for enduring a season that lasted until June 8 came in the form of a Class 5A State Championship Title
With a 5-3 win over Cypress-Fairbanks, the Bucs logged themselves as the first Brazoswood baseball team to garner a state championship, ending the season 33-5.
Pulling together as a team, the Bucs used their versatility to surmount obstacles such as star pitcher Kevin Garner's absence early in the season with mononucleosis and second baseman Jorge Lerma's temporary leave with an injured knee.
Pitcher Scott Rentrop, taking the load for Garner during his illness, lead the team during the season and in several playoff games and ended the season 12-2. Catcher Dale Funk also put in some time as pitcher. Lerma and shortstop Harry Cormier switched places during the course of the season to save Lerma's knee and Garner took Lerma's place in the championship game.
Five of the State Championship team were chosen for the All-State Tournament team chosen by the media covering the 36th annual tournament, including: Dale Funk-catcher, Kevin Garner- second baseman, Harry Cormier- shortstop, Roy Tomlinson- right field, and Tim Good- designated hitter.
Ultimately, the coaches and players of this team set the standard for succeeding Buc teams and were a lasting beacon of success for the Brazosport Community. The team also inspired future Buc baseball players who were younger brothers of the State Champions. Many of these siblings went on to their own respective successes within the Buc athletic program.
Kevin Garner and Troy Neel were among some of the '84 players to play post-high school baseball and Neel went on to star in the Major Leagues with the Oakland A's and later the Orix BlueWave of Japan. Neel was the MVP of Japan in the 1996 Japan World Series. (Story compiled by Chris Cortez with help from Danny Strauss)
| The Brazoswood Buccaneers | Texas "AAAAA" Champions |
| 1984 | State Semifinal Champions |
| Head Coach- Bill Poland | Region IV Champions |
| Assistant Coach- Jim Mavroulis | Regional Champions |
| Asst. Coach- Clayton Hill | Area Champions |
| Asst. Coach- Jim Arthur | Bi-District Champions |
| Head Athletic Trainer- Randy Day | District 25-AAAAA Runner-Up |
| Players: | Players: |
| Jackie Bevers | Robert Paul |
| Jimmy Born | Scott Rentrop |
| Harry Cormier | Carl Resnick |
| Dale Funk | Jose San Miguel |
| Kevin Garner | Stephen Silvas |
| Tim Good | Mark Slater |
| Larry Kitchens | Kenneth Smelscer |
| Jorge Lerma | Roy Tomlinson |
| Troy Neel | -XX- |
