It’s pretty easy to figure out which players are among Wyoming’s top returners this year.

Take a look at last year’s all-conference, all-state and Super 25 listings, and just remove the seniors.

Or (shameless plug alert) read the upcoming annual Wyoming high school football preview magazine, which I wrote again this year with previews on every team in the state and will be out in mid- to late August.

Rarely, if ever, do typical season previews and postseason recognition lists indicate the number of the player’s jersey. However, that’s the most common way for fans to figure out who’s who on the field.

So what if we put together a team of returning players and chose the best players based on the number of their jerseys — choosing only one player per number?

Let’s do this for Wyoming high school football’s 2019 returners.

I’m certainly not the first to do this. The specific inspiration for this post, though, came from one of my former students, Sam Herder, who’s doing something similar for players at the FCS level of college football for HeroSports.

The problem with taking something that’s normally reserved for the NFL or college teams and applying it to Wyoming high schools is that, um… how to put it politely?… not every number has a bunch of good players from which to choose.

One of the things that became readily apparent during the production of this list was that Wyoming high schools rarely use numbers in the 90s. In fact, using last year’s final stats as my starting point, I couldn’t find a single returning player in the entire state at any level who wore number 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97 or 98 last year.

Similarly, I couldn’t find a returner who wore 46 or 59, either. A few numbers had only one returner in the state (and, no, I won’t tell you which ones, because I don’t want to embarrass anyone who’s listed below). On the flipside, some numbers — like 1, 2, 5 and 12, among others — were overloaded with talented players who would have easily made this list if they had worn a less-common number.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that any of these returning players will wear the same number this year that they did last year. And there’s a chance that the players listed here may not go out, or may have moved or transferred since the end of last season.

The list here is subjective; it’s my opinion, and I made it for fun. Hopefully, you have fun with it too… and I’m more than happy if you disagree with me. 🙂

Anyway, here’s Wyoming’s top returning high school football players for 2019 by jersey number:

NumberNameSchool
1Mason HamiltonThunder Basin
2Dax YeradiWright
3Kirby CastagnoJackson
4Chance AumillerCheyenne East
5Garrett CoonSheridan
6Peter GoettlerJackson
7Hunter HaysCody
8Rowen RubyBuffalo
9Andrew JohnsonCheyenne Central
10A.J. YeamanDouglas
11Dawson MaclearyCheyenne Central
12Quinn McCaffertyBig Horn
13Graedyn BuellCheyenne East
14Todd PaisleyWheatland
15Kaden RazaBig Piney
16Seth HymasRock Springs
17Riggen MyersSnake River
18Tristan BlattCody
19Kimball MadsenMountain View
20Devon MercadoWorland
21R.J. CazierStar Valley
22A.J. McCoolJackson
23Favor OkereRock Springs
24Jhett LetellierHulett
25Wyatt DuncanSnake River
26Jeydon CoxJackson
27Hunter KramerGillette
28Jaxon PikulaThunder Basin
29Emory YoosookKelly Walsh
30Rowdy PfeilMoorcroft
31Austin SansoucieMidwest
32David CastilloStar Valley
33Dante WallaceNatrona
34Hyrum HatchBuffalo
35Caden WerbelowRiverton
36Josiah DiversSt. Stephens
37McCaffrey BillingsBig Horn
38Eli DickeyThermopolis
39Carson OlsenPowell
40Drake LampLusk
41James StoneLusk
42Damien MolzahnLusk
43Bryson DavisEvanston
44Logan ColeThermopolis
45Jeremy HarttGuernsey-Sunrise
46No returners identified
47Bryston Jennings*Glenrock
48Luke MullinaxBig Horn
49Nick TalichCody
50Hunter GrossMountain View
51Anthony GravesBuffalo
52Gavin ThomasKelly Walsh
53Cody PinkertonDouglas
54Hansen BradshawLyman
55Nathan SwanstonBuffalo
56Keith ConnorCody
57Riley ShafferThermopolis
58Parker MerrittStar Valley
59No returners identified
60Nate BarnesCokeville
61Brandon Mortenson*Rock Springs
62Brendan Miller*Kemmerer
63Colter Collver*Wind River
64Mitch MillerBurns
65Remington FerreeThermopolis
66Garrett KingCokeville
67Edel Diaz-JaimeDouglas
68Tyler SchaubTorrington
69Parker SchlaterMoorcroft
70Kie FosterRawlins
71Zane TaylorRiverton
72Cam ThomasBig Piney
73Jasper CalderaLusk
74Jeff WilliamsCody
75Corbin HarrisTorrington
76Hunter MeeksMountain View
77Hunter PopeBuffalo
78Jacob KnoblochTongue River
79Reid FosterDouglas
80Brady StoreboCheyenne Central
81Zion GrahamKelly Walsh
82Tyler MoyesCokeville
83Tyson ChristiansenRocky Mountain
84Chase MerrellStar Valley
85Kaden ReddingMeeteetse
86Jaret TaylorCheyenne East
87Johnathon TrueNatrona
88Mason MastellerThunder Basin
89Kaden GautenbeinRiverton
90Hunter BaileyHulett
91No returners identified
92No returners identified
93Garrett OswaldCheyenne East
94No returners identified
95No returners identified
96No returners identified
97No returners identified
98No returners identified
99Rhiley Grubbs*Torrington

*-Jennings wore both 47 and 64 last year; Mortenson wore both 61 and 63 last year; Miller wore both 62 and 77 last year; Collver wore both 63 and 40 last year; Grubbs wore both 55 and 99 last year.

If you have suggestions for folks I should have put in each spot, leave a comment, or consider hitting me up on Twitter or Facebook.

–patrick

7 Thoughts on “Wyoming’s top returning high school football players — by uniform number

  1. Dennis McDonald on July 16, 2019 at 11:10 am said:

    55 – Branden McDonald. All Conference, All State, 3A State Champions Star Valley Braves

  2. 1- Charlie Beaudrie Cody?

  3. Major on July 17, 2019 at 7:17 am said:

    I saw Garrett Coon wearing #89 in the state championship.

  4. Patrick on July 17, 2019 at 9:38 am said:

    Major, that’s right! I forgot that. Wasn’t listed in the final stats, so I overlooked it. Good catch. Thanks!

    —patrick

  5. Jeremy Caylor on July 18, 2019 at 10:25 am said:

    Jayden Caylor 44 Upton Sundance Patriots. All state two years and super 25 last year

  6. Caylor on June 2, 2020 at 1:28 am said:

    Jayden Caylor 44 Upton Sundance Patriots

  7. Pingback: 2020’s top returning Wyoming high school football players, by uniform number – WHSFB HQ — The Wyoming high school football blog

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