2A Playoff Bracket and Team Capsules

June 14, 2021
Matt Payne
NC Director of Scouting

The 2021 High School season is into it's post-season with the start of the NCHSAA State Tournaments. Each of the 4 classifications will hold a single-elimination, 32 team "battle royal". Play is scheduled to begin on Tuesday June 15th and continue to the state championship on June 25th. While the NCHSAA season is still adhering to COVID protocols with scheduling, the excitement of of the tournament season is undeniable.

Below we take a look at the brackets and teams involved. The PBR Power 25 is a comprehensive team poll designed by PBR, working to rank the top 25 HS baseball teams in North Carolina regardless of classification or organization. The PBR Coaches Poll is a poll conducted by PBR, taking votes of the coaches of North Carolina, ranking the top 10 teams in each of the NCHSAA classifications. For the "Player to Watch" segment, players were added based on being in the PBR database of players and based on notes compiled by PBR Scouts in the last year.

2A Bracket & Capsules

East

No. 1 McMichael		No 16 North Pitt
+ 8-6 (8-6)		+ 8-2 (6-1)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brady Elrod, Hunter Leake, Matthew Wright		Brandon Warren, Lonnie Nicholson
No. 8 Croatan		No. 9 East Bladen
+ 14-0 (14-0)		+ 9-4 (6-1)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ryan Bellamy, Owen Bellamy, Matthew McCray		Jacob Priest, RaSean McKoy, Lefrederick Wooten
No. 5 Roanoke Rapids		No. 12 West Craven
+ 11-0 (11-0)		+ 9-4 (9-3)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Caleb Elias, Jon Lewis Temple, Austin Geary		Chase Norville, Ricky Cooke, Nick Bruno
No. 4 North Lenoir		No. 13 Providenc Grove
+ 11-3 (10-2)		+ 10-4 (9-3)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Beecham Hartsell, Hunter Coloumbe, Jamir Jones-Gatling		Lemuel Coltrane, Joseph Coltrane, Zander Smith
No. 3 Midway		No. 14 Whiteville
+ 13-1 (11-1)		+ 9-4 (6-2)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Casey Culbreth, Dawson Wiggins, Carson Barefoot, Caden Wilson		Bud Baldwin, Luke Odham, Fisher Soles, Jacob Allgood
No. 6 First Flight		No. 11 East Duplin
+ 13-0 (10-0)		+ 10-3 (10-2)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Greer Farr, Porter Braddy, Cannon Metcalf, Cole Eldridge		Lukas Brown, Nick Cavenaugh, Zach Brown, Brady Johnson
No. 7 Reidsville		No. 10 Randleman
+ 9-4 (5-1)		+ 13-1 (12-0)
		+ No. 9 in the PBR Power 25
		+ No. 1 in the PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Owen Robertson, Matthew McKinney, Jaden Robinson		Brooks Brannon, Drake Purvis, Hunter Atkins, Braylen Hayes, Kaden Ethier, Trey Way, Ryan White, Gus Shelton, Andrew Cox
No. 2 North Johnston		No. 15 Southwest Onslow
+ 10-2 (6-1)		+ 11-3 (11-3)
+ No. 10 in the PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seth Coats, Lane McLean, Avery Pearce		Jaden Gonzalez, Brandon Bannerman

West Bracket

No.1 North Davidson		No. 16 Ledford
+ 11-4 (8-1)		+ 10-3 (7-2)
+ No. 10 in the PBR Coaches Poll		+ No. 4 in the PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Merritt Beeker, Alex Naylor, Wesley Stewart, JR Lingerfelt, Cobly Culpepper		Garrett Roark, Lucas Glover, Bailey Smith
No. 8 West Stokes		No. 9 East Lincoln
+ 10-2 (9-2)		+ 13-1 (13-1)
		+ No. 16 in the PBR Power 25
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kaden Fuller, Evan Cecile, Brighton Berthrong, Dawson Neal, Jacob Smith, Dominic Mickle		Isaac Armstron, Garrett Michel, Jordan Fisher, Gavin Houser, Graham Smiley, Joshua Stephens, Trey Spees
No. 5 West Wilkes		No. 12 Fred T Foard
+ 14-0 (14-0)		+ 12-2 (12-2)
+ No. 2 in the PBR Coaches Poll		+ No. 3 in the PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Carson Edmiston, Bo Nichols, Braxton Church, Riley Ledford		Lane Essary, Josh Swink, Braxton Tramel, Zac Martin, Conor Peschel
No. 4 Bunker Hill		No. 13 Forbush
+ 13-1 (13-1)		+ 9-5 (8-3)
+ No. 9 in the PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Clayson Chapman, Preston Workman, AJ Carpenter, Jordan Yoder, Casey Knighton		Dawson Graham, Caleb Bowles, Casey Graham, Cannon Doub, Spencer Hedges
No. 3 Pisgah		No. 14 South Point
+ 11-2 (8-2)		+ 10-4 (9-3)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Andrew Wester, Levi Medford		Will Rhinehart, Ethan Simmons, Jake Beaty
No. 6 RS Central		No. 11 North Lincoln
+ 12-2 (11-1)		+ 11-3 (11-3)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Trip Triplett, Andrei Haynes		Matt Heavner, Seth Whitley, Landon Reeves, Brett Bassani, Maddox Walker
No. 7 Madison		No. 10 Oak Grove
+9-3 (9-1)		+ 11-3 (10-2)
		+ No. 7 in PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Beck Chuchran, Joseph Rice		Dawson Shelton, Brennan Hord, Tyler Shytle, Evan Suarez, Kaden Swaim
No. 2 West Stanly		No. 15 South Rowan
+ 13-1 (10-0)		+ 12-3 (7-2)
+ No. 5 in the PBR Coaches Poll
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Michael Crayton, Carson Morton, Charlie Carpenter, Alex Funderbunk, Andrew Eudy		Kane Kepley, Drew Watkins, Nathan Chrismon, JD James, Jacob Ritchie,