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Bayside Conference

Colonel Richardson Colonels  

2024 Record: 21-3

The Colonels have found loads of success at the 1A level over the five years, including a state title in 2019 with two other title appearances (‘22 and ‘23). It looked as Colonel was on their way to a third state title appearance in 2024 before running into the eventual state champions in the semifinals. 

To the rest of the conference’s benefit, the Colonels will finally be without one of their top pitchers in program history in Daniel Hesson (Salisbury), who never lost an in-conference game in his career. However, the conference will be not as excited to see Colonel return the top public school arm in the state in the reigning conference player of the Year, Jordan Regulski (Wake Forest). Behind Regulski, they return two arms who saw breakout success in 2024 in juniors Jack Walls and Kenton Robbins. Colonel will rely on Walls and Regulski to lead the offense as they look for others to be massive contributors. Some potential names to fill that role include senior Thomas Wenger (Chesapeake JC), sophomore Caleb Rouser and junior Derrick Mitchell. Pitching will be the identity once again in 2025, with the offense looking to do just enough to string together wins.

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Easton Warriors  

2024 Record: 9-10

This was a very senior-led offensive team last season and the Warriors will be searching for some new faces to provide some depth to the lineup. The good news is that their star offensive contributors are back for one more season, highlighted by Kayden Webb (Salisbury), Michael O’Connor, and Dylan Cassell. Junior Dustin Blue will be a major x-factor once again for Easton as he should provide depth along with taking over the “ace” role. With Kayden Webb finally being fully healthy, we expect him to bring back his presence on the mound after an arm injury forced him to the DH spot in 2024, but expect him to be slowly eased back into things. The 1-2 punch of Webb and Blue might be just enough to make some damage in the region. 

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James M. Bennett Clippers  

2024 Record: 13-6

James M. Bennett happens to be in one of the most difficult regions across the state regardless of classification, and although last spring we saw lots of improvement compared to 2023, they fell short on the road against Severna Park. The good news is that they return almost their entire roster outside of a couple graduates and one transfer. If there’s any year for Bennett to take down Decatur it’s this one, as they haven’t done so since 2022 when they swept the Seahawks behind players such as Jai Sample and Alex Kidd. The Clippers may also have some of the best rotational depth across the conference, led by senior duo Trevin Whitelock and Cory Fisher (Randolph-Macon). Behind the two seniors, Cooper Witt emerged over the summer as another potential key rotational piece and should see a strong bulk of innings. The Clippers success will all come down to the offense though as the Clippers retain a majority of their lineup with mainstays such as Carson Bennett, Caden McKinney (Wilson), Jordan Dillard (Virginia State), Blake Bunting, and Fisher. Sophomore Kaden Jacoby-Sample showed some strong promise in his freshman season and should be another contributing bat in the Clippers lineup. The offense against quality conference arms will be the biggest question for this Clippers team as they look to surprise many this spring. 

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Kent Island Buccaneers  

2024 Record: 6-14

The Buccaneers took a step back last season, struggling to get into a groove and finishing with their first sub-.500 season since 2017. They bring back a team this spring with many familiar faces, especially throughout the lineup. Some names to keep in mind when tracking the Bucs are senior Aiden Bonds (Cairn), along with a brother duo in Jack and Derek Grossi, who add a year of experience under their belt. On the mound, I’d expect to see a pair of seniors in Wyatt Offutt (Wilmington) and Traise Woolford take a large bulk of innings, with depth provided by junior Hayden Austin and sophomore Derek Grossi. Kent Island has depth in the pitching staff and could be dangerous in multi-game weeks as long as the offensive stars do their job and jumpstart some offensive firepower.

Mardela Warriors  

2024 Record: 12-9

It was a historic season last year for the Mardela Warriors, who captured the 1A region title for the first time in school history. Offensively, the Warriors return a majority of the lineup that was detrimental to their success last season, highlighted by junior Nathan Feather. Other significant contributors who look for repeats of last season include seniors Ethan Roberts, Brady Colwell, and Grant Prettyman. They lose two atop of the rotation in Evan Birch and Colby Colwell, but younger brother Brady should take over the top alongside junior Will Premo, who both saw success in 2024. One name to watch to potentially pick up those innings is Brayden “Happy” Phippin, who transfers over from North Dorchester. The Warriors expect back-to-back region titles, and it will be a battle to watch with Snow Hill to see who comes out on top.

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North Caroline Bulldogs  

2024 Record: 6-11

Although the Bulldogs only finished with six wins in 2024, they were a team that could upset just about anyone on any day. We expect a lot of improvement from this North Caroline team as they possess a decent number of talented underclassmen who now have another year under their belt. Owen Caraballo was only a freshman last season, but we expect him to take on the “ace” role this spring after a standout 2024 spring. Depth on the mound should not be a problem for them, as upperclassmen such as Austin Frank, Jonathan Radcliffe, and Cameron King should provide experience while a crop of talented underclassmen arms in Oliver Frankowski, Adam Deck, and Karson Hollingsworth are depth pieces to watch. On offense, Eric Deck is a key returner who looks to put together a strong junior campaign. Outside of him, they lose a decent number of starters, so expect those same names listed above to be valuable two-way pieces. North Caroline’s strength is pitching depth, and expect them to surprise people once again if they can keep games low-scoring.

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North Dorchester Eagles  

2024 Record: 9-10

After a breakout 2023 campaign that saw the Eagles get to double-digit wins, ND took a slight step back in 2024. A new face enters the third base coaching box as Billy Jackson takes over the program. The offense should still be productive at times, with faces such as TJ Leonard and Blake Bramble still around for their senior years. Behind the two seniors, the Eagles still return some familiar names to the lineup including Brock Warrell, Manny Reyes, Nate Fraccaroli, and Nate Swann. Pitching will be the biggest question mark for the Eagles this spring. They lose their top arm in John Boyle and look to Leonard to take over atop the rotation along with potential depth pieces such as Warrell, Sutton Dukes, Chance Blake, and Lane Abey. It will be tough for the Eagles to navigate one of the most competitive regions in the state with Colonel and St. Michaels, but if they can string together some strong offensive performances, they could be in some competitive matchups come playoff time.

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Parkside Rams  

2024 Record: 16-6

If there’s any team that has given Decatur a run for their money over the last three seasons, it’s been the Rams. Parkside swept Decatur in 2023 before being swept in 2024 which included an eleven inning thriller in late April. The Rams caught fire at the right time, navigating a tough region before running into the eventual 2A state champions in the quarterfinals. 

The Rams will have somewhat of a different look in 2025 after losing a slew of talented players, including Casey Parsons, Connor Bailey, Storm Hartman (graduation), and Tristan Merritt (transfer to NC). This impact will definitely be felt throughout the rotation, but they do return one of their top arms from 2024 in Chase Shepherd (McDaniel) along with bringing in junior Tanner Trudeau via transfer from in-county rival JMB. One thing that Parkside has continuously had is strong defense, and that will be highlighted once again by seniors David Harkins (Virginia Wesleyan) and Canaan Mapp along with sophomore Ryan Lewis who should see a majority of innings behind the dish. Depth on the offensive side of the ball will be a question mark for the Rams this season, but the program always finds dark-horse guys to fill out the lineup that continuously produce.

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Queen Anne's County Lions  

2024 Record: 17-5

This very well could be the season that the Lions finally take home the region championship. Queen Anne’s has always been a solid program throughout the conference and seems to always have success, but seem to fall short to Parkside in previous years. There are definitely pieces that need to be replaced, most notably two-way Evan Dickey, but this could turn out to be the best offensive team across the entire conference. The Lions lose a significant amount on offense, but still return a slew of .300+ hitters, most notably senior leaders Dulin Clark and Travis Sutch. Other senior offensive contributors include seniors Ethan Keppler and Noah Cramer. Two sophomores to keep on the radar include two-ways Jacob Clough, who comes off a standout freshman campaign, and Nathan Procopio. Look for both sophomores to also be two kep depth pieces of the mound alongside the return of the Lions’ ace in Noah Palmer (Chesapeake JC). Queen Anne’s will need to show the mound depth along with the ability to score runs against the conferences’ top arms if they want to conquer the region and compete for the conference title game appearance. 

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St. Michaels Saints  

2024 Record: 17-4

After a down season in 2023, the Saints came right back to their dominating ways as they rolled through almost every team in the conference. Their season came to an end in the region finals after falling to Colonel Richardson, who gave them 3 of their 4 total losses last season. The good news? The Saints will always be a strong team as long as Brian Femi is at the helm. The Saints will be without a couple southpaws in Jacob Seek and Anthony Massaro, but return one of the more consistent arms across the conference in Will Sherwood. Beside Sherwood, we expect a breakout season on the mound from junior Brock Grow and another solid season from Bobby Fink. A significant addition to their rotation will be freshman Brandon Toadvine, the top LHP in the freshman class. Offensive returners include junior Connor Wheeler, who should be a mainstay at the top of the lineup. We anticipate an offensive mix of seniors Jack Brennan, Sherwood, Bobby Fink, and Preston Greenwood to fill out the rest. Expect freshman Blake Wheatley to bring them some needed depth to the lineup. The biggest question for the Saints will be whether or not the offense can be explosive enough to take down Jordan Regulski and the Colonels.

Snow Hill Eagles  

2024 Record: 12-8

The Eagles will have a new face leading the squad this spring in Brady Hare after longtime head coach Todd Lampman hung it up after over 200 wins for the Snow Hill program. The offense should still be productive this season led by seniors Dominic Kuipers and Justin Shipley (Washington College). Finn Mahoney comes off a stellar sophomore campaign and his bat will be much utilized in the middle of the order. It will be tough to replace some key innings lost due to graduation from Garrett Williams and Danner Swift, but two names to keep eyes on are Kuipers and Brayden Fleming. Expect sophomore Ronan Leonard to play an even more significant role on both sides of the ball. Snow Hill will always be competitive inside of their region and we will see if this squad is enough to take down the defending region champions.

Stephen Decatur Seahawks  

2024 Record: 22-3

Decatur always seems to have a roster absolutely loaded with talent, and once again they reload for 2025. The Seahawks have been completely dominant in the 2020s and come off two straight state semifinals appearances, falling in a heartbreaker to Chesapeake-AA in 2024. A mix of speed, power, and strong pitching has turned Decatur into the team to beat across the Bayside Conference. Even after losing many pieces year-by-year, Decatur always finds a way to reload and find success. We expect this season to be no different, as they return their top arm on the mound in Nate Berzonski (Mount St. Mary’s) along with fellow senior Ben Powers (NC Wesleyan). The Seahawks will rely on some different names to fill the rest of the innings after losing a bulk of their rotation following last year. Look for a trio of juniors in Caleb Loring, Mason Edelmann, and Kyle Springle to step up and fill that void. 

Offensively, they lose almost two-thirds of their starting lineup, but depth has always been the answer at Decatur as they always have someone ready to fill that open spot. Seniors Jackson Cheung (Randolph-Macon) and Berzonski, along with junior Johnny Hobgood are the returning mainstays throughout the lineup. The Seahawks have one of the best 2026 classes across the state, and that will be on full display this spring as Landon Daniel and Brandon Nadeau should insert themselves into the starting lineup. The Seahawks will once again be the heavy favorites to capture back-to-back Bayside titles.

Additional Players to Watch 

Tanner Coulbourne - Cambridge-South Dorchester
Noah Marshall - Cambridge-South Dorchester
Carter Marsh - Crisfield
Jace Connor - Kent County
Eli Scott - Pocomoke
Tony Martin - Pocomoke
Dawson Daniels - Washington
Cole Miles - Washington
Evan Dryden - Washington
Christopher Jones - Wicomico
Noah Riggin - Wicomico