2019 MIAA A Preview
March 12, 2019
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2018 RECAP
Archbishop Curley had one of the deepest teams in the conference last year and it showed as they played the best and most consistent ball from start to finish en route to their MIAA Championship. Curley also won the regular season championship as well. John Carroll had an outstanding season which featured one of the top starts of the season with an impressive win streak to start off the season. They finished second in the regular season while making it to the tournament semifinals. Spalding took third place.
Again it was Gilman being Gilman getting into the playoffs, then making an improbable run all the way to the championship. which was their second in a three year span.
2019 Preview
Another highly competitive year in the MIAA look like it will be a new face wearing the crown this year after defending champs Curley lost quite a bit from their team last season. There will be plenty of tough competition as there will be cases made for at least four to five teams who have the pieces to potentially contend for the title.
Preseason All-MIAA
(in alphabetical order)
Offensive Player of the Year - Jose Torres
Pitcher of the Year - Matt Wyatt
The Teams
Archbishop Curley
The defending MIAA champs lost a ton from their championship team last season and are somewhat of a wildcard this season as they could go a variety of directions. With the talent on board, and now a championship under their belt, don't be surprised to see the Friars challenging yet again for a Championship. Leading way back offensively is their dynamic offensive option Tyler Locklear (VCU) who will man third base and be the heart of their offense this season that will provide pop and applies the most pressure from their lineup. Also back is their uber-talented utility man Gavin Evans (JMU) , who more than likely will make the move from the infield to behind the plate now that Trent Gast-Woodard is gone, but most importantly he will provide some experience to the lineup and protection for Locklear as he builds off this sophomore campaign last season. Also back and more thank likely will see an increased role towards the top of the lineup is 2019 Derrick Booker who should be a nice piece of the Curley offensive puzzle this spring. James Michel is a very fast rising prospect in the 2021 class and looks like he could have a very nice season now getting his opportunity. The talent is there and that could play a big role to the teams success. Keep an eye on another talented 2021 Christian Messercola to also play a key role for the Friars this spring.
Back leading the staff is 2020 Travis Nale and will eat the most innings more than likely for the Friars this spring, but who else is going to pitch looks like it could be one of their biggest questions. Look for Michel to also help on the mound as well.
Team MVP – Tyler Locklear
Wild Card – James Michel
Archbishop Spalding
The Cavs have a talented and deep team coming back in 2019 and look poised to contend for a MIAA Championship once again this spring. They have a very deep and talented pitching staff that will be headed up by returning ace Zach Powers (Navy) who averaged over a strikeout an dinning in 43 innings last season for the Cavs. Also returning will be 2020 Nate Vermillion who was second on the team in inning last year and had an ERA at 2.75 last season. Rounding out the rotation looks like it will be Ethan McCormick again who pitched in 33 innings last year with a 3.39 ERA. Keep an eye on 2021 Noah Mrotek (Maryland) who looks like he could be a big contributor on the mound for the Cavs this spring. At the back-end they will have Justin Caesar who had three saves for them last year coming out of the middle infield and could again be a back end guy for the Cavs. Patrick O'Farrell should also add some depth to the mound as well. Offensively, Spalding are looking to build off their season last year and look like they should grow now that a young lineup is a year older. Leading the offensive end with be physical 2020 Josh Moylan who hit .341 with 17 extra base hits while driving in 27 runs last season and again will anchor the middle of the lineup. Caesar and McCormick will form one of the top middle infield combos in the state and both should build of solid campaigns in 2019. Cory Blohm loos to also build off a solid junior season hitting .261 for the cavs and has plenty of power potential in his bat. Keep an eye on youngster Ben Wieman to potentially add another stick to the lineup this spring and added depth as well as new face Shane Hulbert. Another wildcard is freshmen Caleb Estes (Maryland) who, if on varsity this season, has potential to be a special player.
Team MVP – Josh Moylan
Wild Card – Justin Caesar
Calvert Hall
Calvert Hall will feature top player in the 2019 class and draft prospect 2019 Jose Torres manning the shortstop position. It will be tough replacing the loss of JP Murphy, who has been a staple since his sophomore year. On top of Torres, the Cardinals return key pieces OF Garrett McIlhenney (Misericordia) at the leadoff spot and Parker Landwehr (Boston College) behind the dish and in the middle of the lineup. Antonio Barranca looks like he will see an expanded role this season for the Cardinals, plus keep an eye out on 2022 Lamar King who is very talented, and could potentially see some time this spring for Calvert. On the mound, Pete Marchineck looks to be leading the arms this season with some young talent looking to add depth. Keep an eye on Tyler Wright who could be a nice help to the staff this season.
Team MVP – Jose Torres
Wild Card – Pete Marchinek / Garrett McIlhenney
Gilman
The Greyhounds look primed to be a top contender for the MIAA A championship in 2019 with a majority of the team back from their Runner-up finish in 2018. Although it will be tough to replace the loss of Maxwell Costes, the Greyhounds are confident with their depth on offense to be a strength this season. Leading the way on the offensive end will be Pierce Bennett (Wake Forest), Casey Bishop, Tripp Myers, Tyler Martinez (San Francisco), Michael Mallas, Jackson McCambridge, Ryan Williamson, and Gabe Gonzales. This is a talented returning core which will make the Greyhounds a very tough matchup throughout the season.
The mound looks to also be a strength this year for the Greyhounds will plenty of talent. Returning and heading up the staff will be their emergent ace from last season, 2021 Peter Heubeck (Wake Forest). Heubeck will head up the staff that also includes Danny Rosenfield and Jackson Tacka (Navy), and Tripp Myers. Keep an eye out for youngster Matt Leikus who could also make an impact for the Greyhounds.
Team MVP – Pierce Bennett
Wild Card – Jackson Tacka
John Carroll
After an impressive 2018 season, the Patriots will have some key players that they will have to replace but look like could once again contend for an MIAA title. A senior laden lineup returns back this year and will be headed up by Tyler Blittersdorf, Stelio Stakias, Nico Santoro, John Galant, Brandon Crews, Matthew Gonzalez Rodriguez, Chris Roberts, Hunter Tipton, and Gavin Wingard. Though so much returning for John Carroll it is going to be tough to replace the losses of Ryan Archibald who is now at Arizona, Grant Astle, and Brad Hock. Two new faces who look like they could be instant impact type players are 2020's Charlie Hafer and Tyler Leach. On the mound, it will be tough to replace the loss of the ace of 2018 in Nick Collier, but they again have plenty of depth with the likes of Crews, Tipton, Ben Pika, Myles Janson, Jack Colagiovanni, Jack Levey, Ryan Ishak, Aidan Ruis and Sam Hogue. Again, it's a deep roster for the Patriots and if within this depth they are able to find pieces to make up for the losses of Archibald and Collier, then John Carroll should absolutely contend again for the MIAA crown.
Team MVP – Tyler Blittersdorf
Wild Card – Charlie Hafer / Ben Pika
Loyola-Blakefield
It will be interesting to see how the Dons are going to be this year after losing some key components to the pitching staff and lineup from 2018. They do have a nice group of returners who will play a bigger role this year and hopefully make up for some of the losses of the 2018 team, most notably AJ Holcomb and Will Glock. On the mound, the Dons will lean on their ace and one of the top pitchers in the state, 2019 Matt Wyatt (Virginia). Wyatt has an extremely projectable frame and has only continued to get strong each year and looks poised to have a very big senior year. Adding to that pitching depth will be Nate Beal (PENN) who with Wyatt will form arguably one of the top 1-2 pitchers in the conference. 2019 Max Glagola, 2019 Josh Feehley, and 2019 Austin Mummaw will give them experienced depth to make pitching an early strength as new faces to the lineup might take some time to get their feet running.
Back on that offense heading up the top of the order will be 2020 SS Dom Dinoto (Army) who will be a big key to their success on the offensive end. Also back for the Dons are 2019 C Emmett Reynolds and 2019 2B Jeff Snider who are the most experienced returners this season.
Team MVP – Matt Wyatt
Wild Card – Emmett Reynolds
McDonogh
Keep an eye on the Eagles, whose nice mix of experience and young talent that could make them a surprise team of 2019 that could potentially sneak their way into the playoffs this spring. They will be paced by senior Mat Spind, who will again be their top arm on the mound and anchor of the lineup as well. Spind pitched 36 innings last year while also posting a very impressive .355 Batting average. A nice core of experience returns this year with 2019 OF Logan Lach, 2019 IF Ben Smith, 2019 C Evan Hertzberg, and 2019 OF Ethan Mull. 2020 IF Brian Nevin returns as well to add depth to the order. Some new faces called up last season who could also see time this year and help are talented new wave of players such as 2020 OF/RHP Joe Radek, 2021 LHP/UT Evan Marcinko, 2021 RHP/UT Sam Kinney and 2022 IF Everette Cooper. One the mound outside of Spind, the top returners with inning are 2020 Kris Jenner and 2020 Kyle Whitaker. Jenner missed most of the season last year due to injury while Whitaker is a very interesting two-way prospect who could be a candidate for a breakout year with his arm strength and power potential at the plate. Finally, keep an eye on their super freshmen South Carolina commit 2022 LHP Blaise Grove, who could be a big impact arm for them by the end of the season.
Team MVP – Matt Spind
Wild Card – Kyle Whitaker / Blaise Grove
Mount St. Joseph
The Gaels are going to be an interesting squad this year as they have some very good key pieces on their team and will more than likely see some new faces come in to make a big impact for them in 2019. The two big players on this team are RHP John Torroella and C Justin Looney (Longwood) both have the ability to carry the team if need be, and it might happen on more than one occasion this year. Torroella (Brown) is their big arm back with an upper 80's fastball who can take over a game. Looney has a powerful swing who is one of the top power bats in the conference. Also returning for the Gaels on the mound is Brad Howell and in the lineup the top returner other than Looney is 1B Michael Rosen. Keep an eye out for new faces Ethan Grieb, Ripken Reese, and Dylan Wyandt.
Team MVP – John Torroella
Wild Card – Michael Rosen
St. Mary's
The Saints are in a bit of a rebuild in 2019 and will have plenty of new faces on the roster who could surprise some this spring. Back on the offensive end are 2020 OF Dhane Blair, 2021 C Logan Scully and 2020 3B/P Sam Daniels who should make up the heart of the order. Keep an eye out for youngster Roman March to insert himself in the lineup and contribute for the Saints as well. On the mound, the Saints will be led by Brock Goodwin (Monmouth) to be their impact arm and give them a chance to win any time he steps on the rubber. Also back for the Saints is RHP Andy Hood (Salisbury) who should take a starter role as well. Charlie Smoloski and Tyler Fowler look to be in the mix for the Saints and contribute to the team in an impact fashion.
Team MVP – Brock Goodwin
Wild Card – Dhane Blair
St. Pauls
2018 was a tough season for the Crusaders after a 3-15 finish and they will also have to replace one of their top players Kevin Madden who is not an impact freshman at Virginia Tech, as well as Ryan Rogan. On the offensive end look for Will Sharps, Alex Sulin, Tharen Costalas, Matthew Gajewski, and Brendan Shelley to be their big pieces of the offense as they look to right themselves back into the MIAA playoff mix. Back on the mound will be the aforementioned Sharps and Gajewski who could be their top arms this season. Adding depth to the staff will be Tim Cole and Will Sharps. Keep an eye out for new faces Luke Trotta, Jack VanValkenburgh, Mark Holden and Brandon Alderto contribute as well.
Team MVP – Will Sharps
Wild Card– Matthew Gajewski
Predictions
1. Archbishop Spalding
2. Calvert Hall
3. Gilman
4. Loyola
5. Archbishop Curley
6. John Carroll
7. McDonogh
8. Mount St. Joseph
9. St. Pauls
10. St. Mary's
Analysis
Spalding - They have a very deep squad and depth on the mound. Question remains if one of their arms can match up with a dominating performance, which I think they do. That is why we give them the nod as our Champ this year. depth and balance is key and you ahve to have pitching depth come playoff time, and the Cavaliers check all those boxes. I think offensively they had some player who could put up different numbers this year which changes the entire perspective of the team this year.
No. 2-6 - I think this is an honest toss up and you could even argue with each of these team as taking home the hardware this year. questions do remain: Who will add to the pitching depth at Calvert Hall? Can Gilman be consistent throughout the year as opposed to making a late playoff run? Will Loyola score enough runs? Can Curley overcome championship hangover with a lot of new faces? Who is going to be this year's version of Archibald and Collier at John Carroll?
Its looks like rebuilding years for our No.'s 7-10, though McDonogh has some senior leadership, there is some exciting talent that might be a year away from the program making a run to the playoffs, but they could do it. Mount St. Joseph is really a wildcard in the fact that Torroella is going to win them plenty of games, but will he tire out towards season end? St. Pauls and St. Mary's both look like they are going to be building towards the future as more depth is needed for them to compete for conference titles.
Look forward to another exciting season in the MIAA A. Best of luck to all this spring.