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Howard County

Centennial Eagles  

2024 Record: 13-5

After 22 years, Centennial sees a new man in charge, as Steve Frederick leaves Wilde Lake and takes over for Denis Ahearn. Frederick takes over a storied program built by Ahearn in Howard County and the roster is shaping up to be another good one as we enter 2025. Led by senior Zach Kelly on both sides of the ball, this Eagles team has intrigue and depth that should see consistent success throughout the spring. Look for junior Aiden Lee to see some more innings on the bump and provide depth behind Kelly, with the emergence of Freshman Evan Rayne potentially adding key innings as well. Senior Aariz Khan and a slew of impact junior bats in Carter Bade, Casey Stachera and Aiden Gauthier should solidify the middle of the order alongside Zach Kelly. Keep eyes on the younger talent alongside Rayne as well, as sophomores Calvin Proescher, Brayden Corrao, and David Hill look to add depth throughout the lineup as well.

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Glenelg Gladiators  

2024 Record: 16-4

Glenelg enters the 2025 spring with a new head coach in charge, as Steve Tiffany steps down after 7 seasons at the helm of the Gladiators. New head coach AJ Rosenthal takes over the program and looks to build off the success that Coach Tiffany found during his tenure. It will be a new look, especially on the offensive side, as Glenelg graduated a slew of impact bats throughout the lineup. Look for senior two-way Nicholas Bilotto and two sophomore bats in Blake Bourne and Jake Miles to add some well needed thump in the middle of the order. On the bump, Bilotto will head the rotation with Jake Miles being a strong number two. Both Bilotto and Miles are two arms that match up very well against any lineup across the county, however, the depth behind them is certainly a question. A possible rebuild year may be in the works for the Gladiators this spring, however, eye-opening talents in Bilotto, Miles and Bourne are bright spots to watch all year long.

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Long Reach Lightning  

2024 Record: 11-10

Long Reach brings a team into 2025 that will be very much senior-led. The Lightning have one more season of standout middle infielder Aidan West, the number one player across the state. Behind West, depth will be provided by Bobby Yates, Rosenfeld, and Murdock. Long Reach does return two key arms that led to success last season in Noah Murdock and Seth Rosenfeld, both of whom should once again lead the rotation. Behind these two top arms, look for Coach Lyon to find some under-the-radar guys to eat some innings. The ability of Aidan West should lead an offense with promise and should translate to in-conference wins when one of Murdock or Rosenfeld steps on the mound.

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Marriotts Ridge Mustangs  

2024 Record: 9-12

The Mustangs enter 2025 with high hopes, as their standout two-way senior in Jonah Obitz is back after an injury-ridden 2024 campaign. Obitz, a four year varsity starter, looks to lead the pitching staff and be the front man of a strong two-headed monster on the bump with junior Owen Snow. Look for depth to be provided by junior Sid Thomas and some underclassmen arms vying for key innings throughout the spring. At the dish, all attention will be on Obitz and Snow in the middle of the order, with really nice depth provided by junior Spencer Grams, Sid Thomas and two intriguing sophomores in Alec Schwendeman and Rob Marsili. The Mustangs will go as far as Obitz and Snow will take them, and we anticipate both to have huge seasons on both sides of the ball.

Mt. Hebron Vikings  

2024 Record: 15-3

The defending Howard County champs enter the 2025 spring with a slightly different feel, as the departures of impact arms and bats from a year ago have graduated. Losing their top three in the order in Edwards, Duda, and Brogno stings a bit, the Vikings do however bring back their four and five hitters in the lineup in junior Colin Friedman and senior Alex Swan. Look for both to take that next step and fill voids in this lineup, with senior Luke Evans and junior Yash Patel adding depth throughout. Look for Patel, alongside seniors Cooper Park and Gabriel Vilardo to eat most of the innings and lead a fairly inexperienced pitching staff. The Vikings will need some underclassmen to step up on both sides of the ball if they look to repeat as Howard County champions.

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Reservoir Gators  

2024 Record: 10-9

Reservoir’s season in 2024 ended in heartbreaking fashion as they fell to Blair in an extra-innings thriller in the region finals. They return what is most likely the best 1-2 punch to head a rotation in all of Howard County in Gavin Metrick and Matthew Russell, both headed to Towson next fall. Offensively, there are a slew of upperclassmen names such as Jason Hunt, Russell, Metrick, Ryan Higginbotham, and Blake Smoot that are key returners for this Gators lineup. Two names to keep in mind when following Reservoir this spring are sophomore Tommy Futrell and freshman Xavier Dillard, who should both be massive contributors in the coming months. Coach Leader has the offensive depth and premier arm talent needed to take the county championship, and they should once again fight with Montgomery Blair for the region crown.

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River Hill Hawks  

2024 Record: 15-6

The identity of this Hawks team takes a complete 180 after losing one of the top players in program history in Henry Zatkowski, the reigning Prep Baseball Maryland Player of the Year. They may have lost their most notable name on both sides of the ball, but they do retain almost their entire starting lineup from last season. Notable upperclassmen include Ryan Walsh, Anderson Dang (Washington & Lee), Avi Fields, Ethan McCoy, Jonathan Bloom, and Jonny Norwood all being significant offensive contributors from last seasons’ state quarterfinal team. The depth on the mound will be a massive question for Coach Estrin’s squad, but expect many of those names above to be contributing two-way players for them this spring. It’ll be interesting to see come early May whether or not this experienced offense will be enough to fend off Sherwood.

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Additional Players to Watch 

Linus Byrnes - Atholton
Liam Conroy - Atholton
Joshua Meadows - Atholton
Brody Pope - Atholton
Thomas Mackenzie - Atholton
Noah Weinig - Atholton
Bryan Putman - Wilde Lake
Nate Dalesio - Wilde Lake
Jacq Boudreau - Hammond
Yaxiel Rivera - Hammond
Nathaniel Wilk - Hammond
Brennan Giangrosso - Howard