Spring Forward: Beach and Western Teams to Watch

January 24, 2020
John Nolan
Virginia Scouting Director & Managing Editor

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Welcome to 2020 and the return of our Spring Forward series. While it may still be mid-January, the high school season is just around the corner, with public school tryouts beginning in a little over a month. In February, we will begin our detailed season preview, including Region breakdowns, Power 25 reveal, and the Preseason All-PBR Team. In the meantime, we will begin gearing up for the season by highlighting some storylines that we are keeping our eyes on this spring in this series.

This week, we will be looking at the strongest teams on paper for the upcoming season. Many of these teams will end up in our Preseason Power 25, some will not, but nonetheless these are teams that we think are loaded with talent and have a chance to make a run at a State Championship in 2020. We will get into more detail on these teams and teams not discussed here in our upcoming Season Preview. Today we will discuss teams from outside of Northern Virginia and Richmond suburbs, which includes the Tidewater, Beach, Lynchburg/Charlottesville, and the west.

Fluvanna County

The Fluccos are the defending Class 3 Champions, led to the title by a dominant season from 2020 LHP Andrew Ward (VCU). Ward is back this spring for his senior season along with his twin brother, Kevin Ward. Other returning seniors include catcher Trey Lyons and shortstop Cameron Shields (Hampden-Sydney). With Ward anchoring the rotation and the core of their lineup back, look for Fluvanna to be playing well into June again.

Greenbrier Christian

The Gators reached the VISAA Division II semifinals in 2019, and while they lost JT Inskeep (VMI), Gavin Younce, and Josh Stevens (CNU) to graduation, the rest Greenbrier's high-octane offense will be back this spring. Senior Nic Britt (William & Mary) will anchor the lineup as well as lead the rotation. Fellow senior Ryland Brown (Louisburg CC) will again be in the lineup with Britt as well as 2021 thumpers Austin Younce and Ethan Ott. The departure of Miller School from Division II leaves the State Championship wide open for the taking, and the Gators have the offense to mash themselves there.

Hickory

The Hawks were State Semifinalists in 2019 and finished the season 23-2 overall. While Hickory lost Mason Dunaway (James Madison) to graduation, the Hawks figure to be back in the mix again in Class 5 in 2020 as they bring back a strong core of seniors. Pitchers Tyler Bowes (Radord) and Drew Stanley (Longwood) are back as well as two-way player Scott Crosson (CNU). Crosson will be joined again in the lineup by fellow seniors Zach Dzarnowski (UMBC) and Alex Gulisano (Eastern Mennonite) as well as the big bat of junior Thomas Watermolen.

Liberty Christian

LCA finished 2019 as a State Semifinalist and will actually drop from Class 4 to Class 3 for the 2020 season. The Bulldogs lost key pieces on the mound and in the lineup to graduation, but they should have plenty of firepower again this spring as they look to unseat Fluvanna in Class 3. Any conversation about LCA starts with senior shortstop Quade Tomlin (Liberty), one of the top all-around players in Virginia and is getting a lot of draft buzz. Look for Bailey Reynolds to help step up and replace some lost thump in the lineup. Transferring in to help fill some gaps in the rotation is junior Brock Duff. The Bulldogs will be younger than they have been in the past, but expect them to be in the mix again late in the season.

Menchville

The Monarchs have been strong in recent years and have become a fixture in the Class 5 State Tournament, last year reaching it as the Region A runners-up before falling in the quarterfinals. While Menchville lost top arm Ahmad Goldson (Louisburg CC) to graduation, the bulk of their very talented core is back for one more run at a crown. The rotation is again talented, with seniors Tyler Davis (VCU) and Philip Forbes V (James Madison) headlining the group. Forbes plays both ways and will again be a centerpiece in a deep lineup that also features seniors Dawson Guzik (Lynchburg) and Kody Abrisz as well as junior Kade Abrisz.

Miller School

The three-time defending VISAA Division II State Champs will not get to defend their title for a fourth time this spring, as the Mavericks will jump up to Division I. As they have been for most of the season that head coach Billy Wagner has been at the helm, Miller is stacked again and actually supersede Benedictine as the presumptive preseason State Champ pick. As usual, the Mavericks are both deep and stacked on the mound. Seniors Ethan Chenault (UNC Wilmington), Garrett Payne (NC State), and Jordan Peyton (Radford) give the Mavericks a trio of aces with junior Drue Hackenberg and sophomore Nathan Fink (Virginia) providing depth that would top most rotations. In the lineup, senior Jack Marshall (Roanoke) adds some thump and Jeremy Wagner (Austin Peay) also provides another quality bat. Look for freshman Noah Murray (Duke) to potentially add another quality arm to the mix while potentially seizing some playing time in the field.

Riverheads

The 2018 Class 1 State Champs reached the semifinals in 2019 before falling in a walkoff. Look for the Gladiators to be deep in the State Tournament again this spring as they get one more run with seniors Braeson Fulton (James Madison) and Grant Painter (James Madison) as the key pieces to their offense this spring.

Salem (Salem)

The 2018 Class 4 State Champs made a return to trip to the State Tournament, but fell in the State Quarterfinals. The Spartans get one more run with their core from that State Title team and are poised to run deep again as they also benefit from Liberty Christian moving out of their Region and Class. Seniors Zian Honaker and Hunter Tensen are both back to anchor the rotation. The centerpiece to the offense will be also back in senior Parker Stallard (Virginia Tech) with fellow senior Jared Fetrow back for one more run as well.