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Welcome to our 2020 VHSL Previews. In each preview, we will give you a brief recap of the 2019 season along with the breakdown of each Region and what the rules are to qualify for postseason play under the new alignment. We will also highlight the top prospects in each Classification, as well as some teams to watch during the 2020 season.

We continue our VHSL Previews for the 2020 season by taking a look at Class 1, Regions C and D. In 2019, Patrick Henry (Glade Spring) captured the Region D Championship over Chilhowie while Auburn knocked off Galax to win the Region C championship. All four teams advanced to the State Tournament, with Auburn winning the State Championship, the Eagles' second in the last three seasons.

The VHSL realignment that occurred during the offseason did not impact either of these regions, as they remain intact as they have been for the last two years.

 

Top Prospects in VHSL Class 1 Regions C and D

Name	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Ray Berry	Chilhowie	2020	RHP	King
Avery Mabe	George Wythe	2020	RHP	Virginia
Colby Taylor	Patrick Henry (Glade Spring)	2020	SS

2020 Region C

Mountain Empire	Pioneer
Auburn	Bath County
Bland County	Covington
Galax	Craig County
George Wythe (Wytheville)	Eastern Montgomery
Rural Retreat	Highland
	Parry McCluer
	Narrows

***Participated in 2019 Region C Tournament

The Region C Tournament will be an eight team bracket, with four representatives from each District. The teams will be paired off like they were in the old system, with the Mountain Empire top seed facing the Pioneer fourth seed, and so on in the Region Quarterfinals.

 

2020 Region D

Black Diamond	Cumberland	Hogoheegee
Council	J.I. Burton	Chilhowie
Grundy	Castlewood	Patrick Henry (Glade Spring)
Honaker	Eastside	Holston
Hurley	Patrick Henry (Rye Cove)	Northwood
Twin Valley	Twin Springs
	Thomas Walker

***Participated in 2019 Region D Tournament

Region D features fifteen teams from three Districts, the Black Diamond, Cumberland, and Hogoheegee. The Region tournament will take three teams from each District to seed a nine-team tournament. All of the one and two seeds begin play in the quarterfinals, two of the three seeds will have to play in to reach the quarterfinals.

 

Teams to Watch Class 1 Regions C and D

Auburn
The Eagles won their second State title in three years in 2019 and lost All-State players Taylor Newcome, Austin Kirtner and Keith Reed to graduation. Junior Carter Keith does return for Auburn this spring and look for sophomore Tyler Sparrer to provide some pop in the middle of the lineup.

Chilhowie
The Warriors were the Region D runners-up in 2019 and lose All-State infielder Daniel Boardwine and Ethan Armstrong to graduation. The Warriors do bring back senior pitcher Ray Berry (King), who should give them a top-end arm capable of carrying them on another deep postseason run.

Galax
The Maroon Tide returned to the State Tournament in 2019 as the Region C runners-up. For the second year in a row, they will lose All-State honorees to graduation with the departures of Cade Ashworth and Daniel Huff. They do bring back junior catcher Kolby Barnes, who was their third All-State player last season and should again be a force in the middle of the Galax lineup.

George Wythe (Wytheville)
The Maroons reached the Region tournament in 2019 but came up short of a State Tournament berth. Look for them to again be in the mix as they will roll out arguably the top arm in all of Class 1 in senior Avery Mabe (Virginia), who is capable of carrying a team deep on his own.

 

 

More 2020 VA/DC HS Previews