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With the 2019 Maryland High School baseball season just underway and games right around the corner, we begin to close out our complete preseason coverage with a look at every conference throughout that state. We will break down each conference with a preview of teams expected to contend as well as key players from across the league that you won't want to miss play. 

Note: A preseason questionnaire was sent out to all Maryland high school baseball coaches in Mid-January to gain pertinent information for this piece but not all forms were completed and returned. Below is a compilation of information received as well as thoughts from our staff at PBR Maryland.

 

Players to Watch in Anne Arundel County

Ian Adams (Old Mill)
Colby Buckheit (Chesapeake-AA)
Kavi Caster (South River)
Nick Cinquanto (Old Mill)
Nick Gatton (Broadneck)
Malcolm Gibson (North County)
Keaton Goetzger (South River)
Wyatt Griffith (Glen Burnie)
Spencer Haines (Old Mill)
James Hawkins (Chesapeake-AA)
Noah June (Meade)
Tommy Lewis (Chesapeake-AA)
Hunter McKean (Old Mill)
Sam Merchant (Arundel)
Jake Murphy (North County)
Dan Ownby (Arundel)
Hunter Parish (Old Mill)
Marcus Richardson (Meade)
Marty Sawyers (Southern-AA)
Tyler Shadle (Chesapeake-AA)
Garrett Stanard (Arundel)
Cameron Tyson (Annapolis)
Gage Utz (Old Mill)
Xander Waddell (Old Mill)
Kyle Waters (Southern-AA)
Champ Wert (Arundel)
Dylan Young (Chesapeake-AA)

 

Anne Arundel County

Teams
*Arundel Wildcats
Severna Park Falcons
North County Knights
Old Mill Patriots
Chesapeake-AA Cougars
Southern-AA Bulldogs
Broadneck Bruins
Northeast-AA Eagles
South River Seahawks
Annapolis Panthers
Meade Mustangs
Glen Burnie Gophers

*Denotes 2018 Conference Champion

 

2019 Season Outlook

Outside of a split with Severna Park, Arundel dropped only one other conference game last season in route to winning the Anne Arundel County Conference Championship. The Wildcats return Chesapeake College commit Garrett Stanard, catcher Sam Merchant, and RHP's Dan Ownby and Champ Wert but lose Moises Aristy Jr. (CCBC Catonsville), Chase Uhlich (CCBC Dundalk), and Will Schubert. Arundel will have a large target on their back in 2019 with several teams capable of dethroning the defending champs.

Severna Park also lost some key pieces from their 4A State Finalist team last season. All-Metro Player of the Year Kody Milton (University of Maryland), Cam  Clark (Towson University), Drew Jeffries (McDaniel College), George Lesher, and Garrett Whitaker have all moved on. Juniors Evan Lewis, Brendon Simonds, and Parker Jones will be asked to anchor the staff for the Falcons with seniors Jordan Hallet, Josh Horgan, and juniors Jacob Way and Corey Bodnar set to pace the offense. 

Chesapeake-AA returns a bevy of players in 2019 and will also be a strong contender for the Anne Arundel Conference title. The Cougars return 9 players that saw significant playing time and started for last season's MPSSAA State Semi-Finalist team. Three of which will be asked to pull double-duty and anchor this year's staff with the loss of University of Radford RHP Joe Seidler. Seniors Colby Buckheit, Lee Robinson, and Dylan Young return as dual-guys while Brandon Goodman, James Hawkins, Tommy Lewis, Mike Mulford, Tyler Shadle, and Colton Spangler round out a solid core of returning upperclassmen back from last year's lineup. 

Similarly, Old Mill returns one of the oldest teams in the county with seven returning seniors already committed to play baseball in college: Ian Adams (Washington College), Nick Cinquanto (St. Thomas Aquinas College), Spencer Haines (Dominican College), Hunter McKean (CCBC Catonsville), Hunter Parish (University of the Sciences), Gage Utz (Stevenson University), and Xander Waddell (University of Maryland - Eastern Shore). Coming off a heart-breaking season ending 13-12 loss to in-county rival Severna Park in the 4A North Sectional Semi-final, the Patriots are eager to avenge that loss and excited to make this a season to remember. Senior RHP Kyle Summers will join Haines, McKean, and Utz as the leaders of this year's staff after going 5-0 with a 2.82 ERA for the Patriots in 2018, while senior Markus Thompson and junior Caleb Bailey also figure to find roles in this year's lineup. Adams (3.64 AVG, 26 SB), Cinquanto (.419 AVG), McKean (.320 AVG, 3-0 W-L, 2.87 ERA), Parish (.344 AVG), and Waddell (.446 OBP) look to build upon their impressive junior campaigns.

North County finished third in Anne Arundel County last season and will look to contend for the top spot in 2019 with just one key loss in PJ Alvanos. All-Anne Arundel County RHP Jake Murphy and INF Malcolm Gibson return as the team leaders on mound and in the line-up. Sophomore Carson Lowman and junior Chris Paugh figure to help Murphy solidify the staff while Lowman, Nick Biddinger, and Josh Nevins round out a strong lineup with Gibson as the anchor for the Knights.

4th year head coach Kyle Lynch has a solid core returning at Southern with ace right-handed pitcher and Chesapeake College commit Marty Sawyers leading the way. Sawyers went 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA and struck out 38 batters in 44 innings last season and should give the Bulldogs every chance to win when he's on the bump. At the plate, Kyle Waters (.400 AVG, 18 RBI's, 18 R's), Will Shenton (.365 AVG, 7 RBI's), and Casey Marshall (.338 AVG, 17 RBI's, 10 R's) will need to step up and fill the void left behind in the lineup by Brady Waters (St. Mary's College of Maryland), and Hayden Buhaj (Anne Arundel CC). Look for newcomers Dawson Drewyer, Ryan Huck, Carson Simmons, and Zach Sims to play key roles for the Bulldogs as well this season. 

At South River, Brian Camper enters his 1st season as the head coach with a talented core of returners led by seniors Keaton Goetzger (Radford University) and Kavi Caster (Salisbury University). Senior Cam Rees will help on the mound and in the outfield while junior Chris Nalley returns to lock down shortstop. Look for newcomers Chris Sheridan and Cael Huyer to see some time both on the mound and in the lineup for the Seahawks as they look to bounce back from a 8-13 season in 2018. 

Anne Arundel is loaded with talent across the board this year and it's really anyone's guess as to who will ultimately emerge as the 2019 Conference Champion. It's shaping up to be a great season of baseball across the county and it wouldn't surprise us if it comes down to the last week of the season before we know who the winner will be. 

 

 

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