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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.

2019 was Fluvanna County's year as they took the State Championship. The Fluccos defeated Brookville in the Region C title game while an upstart Lord Botetourt squad won the Region D championship over Abingdon. Fluvanna took down Brentsville and Tabb in the State semifinals and Championship, respectively, to capture the crown.

Region C is growing in size from 2019 to to 2020 with the new alignment. New to the Region is Charlottesville, Liberty Christian Academy, and Wilson Memorial. Fort Defiance slides from the Valley to the Shenandoah District, but remains in Region C. Region D stayed close to the same size as last year, but did swap out some members while adding three new ones. Alleghany and Patrick County both headed out while Bassett, Carroll County, and William Byrd move into the Region in the new alignment. 

 

Top Prospects in Regions C and D

Name	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Jake Barker	Waynesboro	2022	OF/RHP
Eddie Blake	Staunton River	2020	C/RHP	Concord
Aidan Brown	Staunton River	2021	OF
Hunter Brown	Brookville	2020	3B
Grayson Bush	Monticello	2020	SS	Randolph-Macon
Jalen Buster	Cave Spring	2020	SS	Radford
Clay Clatterbaugh	Christiansburg	2021	RHP	Radford
Luke Craytor	Western Albemarle	2022	OF/RHP
Ryan Cook	Fort Defiance	2021	RHP	James Madison
Tyler Dean	William Byrd	2021	SS	Virginia Tech
Colby Cunningham	Bassett	2021	OF/RHP
Reid Driskill	Brookville	2022	2B/RHP
Brock Duff	Liberty Christian	2021	RHP
Grant Elliott	Tunstall	2020	OF	UNC Pembroke
Isaac Fix	William Byrd	2021	LHP
Connor Fuhrman	Lord Botetourt	2022	OF	South Carolina
Sean Gibbons	Hidden Valley	2020	LHP	Longwood
Ethan Gibson	Abingdon	2023	SS/RHP	Virginia Tech
John Glasscock	Fluvanna County	2023	RHP/OF
Jared Glinski	Brookville	2020	C/OF	Radford
Nick Griffin	Turner Ashby	2020	RHP
Dylan Hattfield	William Byrd	2021	C	Virginia Tech
Sullivan Holmes	Rockbridge County	2022	RHP/OF
Garret Huffman	Rockbridge County	2021	3B/RHP
Chase Hungate	Abingdon	2021	SS	VCU
MJ Hunter	Christiansburg	2021	SS	Radford
Ethan Ketron	Abingdon	2021	LHP/OF
Brady Kirtner	Christiansburg	2020	RHP	Virginia Tech
Andrew LaPrade	Rustburg	2021	SS/RHP
Zachary Mallia	Western Albemarle	2020	RHP	UNC Greensboro
Colin Moore	Tunstall	2021	OF/RHP
Hunter Powell	Magna Vista	2021	C
Bailey Reynolds	Liberty Christian	2020	3B
Witt Scafidi	Spotswood	2021	C
Tristan Shoemaker	Fort Defiance	2021	RHP/SS
John Simmons	Liberty Christian	2023	3B
Dakota Sisson	Christiansburg	2020	OF	UVA Wise
Dillon Stowers	Liberty Christian	2022	3B/RHP
Bryce Suters	Broadway	2021	SS	James Madison
Caden Swartley	Turner Ashby	2023	C
Quade Tomlin	Liberty Christian	2020	SS	Liberty
Andrew Ward	Fluvanna County	2020	LHP	VCU
Kevin Ward	Fluvanna County	2020	1B
Holden Wilkerson	Cave Spring	2021	RHP

 

2020 Region C

Jefferson	Seminole	Valley	Shenandoah
Charlottesville	Brookville	Broadway	Fort Defiance
Fluvanna County	Heritage (Lynchburg)	Rockbridge County	Wilson Memorial
Monticello	Liberty (Bedford)	Spotswood
Western Albemarle	Liberty Christian Academy	Turner Ashby
	Rustburg	Waynesboro

***2019 Region C Tournament Team

Region C will have an eight team Region tournament going forward. This looks like one of the Regions that has a handful of different bracket possibilities that require a calculus degree to understand, but it appears that the Jefferson, Valley, and Seminole Districts are guaranteed at least two berths, with the Shenandoah District guaranteed one with the possibility of getting two spots depending on District finish. If the Shenandoah only sends one, one of the other Districts will get a third team on a rotating basis, with the Valley District having the extra team in 2020.

***After receiving clarification, Jefferson, Valley, and Seminole Districts do send two teams each with one slot to the better finishing Shenandoah District team. The eighth team will be a wild card determined by power points, and power points will be used to assign seeds.***

 

Teams to Watch in 2020

Abingdon
The Falcons were the 2019 Region D runners-up and advanced to the State tournament, where they fell victim to eventual champ Fluvanna. Tanner Barrs (Radford) has graduated, but the Falcons have plenty of talent in the pipeline coming off of a year that was supposed to be a retooling season. A trio of juniors will be at the heart of the lineup, with outfielder Ethan Ketron and infielders Chase Hungate (VCU) and Luke Francisco providing a strong core. Ketron and Hungate will contribute on the mound, and look for freshman Ethan Gibson (Virginia Tech) to also possibly chip some innings in as the season progresses.

Broadway
The Gobblers had a strong 2019 regular season but came up short of a State tournament berth, running into Fluvanna County in the Region C tournament. Broadway should continue to be a team on the rise this spring with an offense that is built around junior Bryce Suters (James Madison) and some interesting younger talent that should continue to develop.

Brookville
The Bees were the Region C runners-up in 2019 and made the trip to the State tournament. Their biggest departure from 2019 was the loss of righthander Brock Duff, who transferred to Liberty Christian. The Bees are going to hit this spring, the lineup will be deep and is anchored around seniors Jared Glinski (Radford), Hunter Brown, and Chase Davis. Look for sophomores Kevin Breimann and Reid Driskill to also become key pieces in the lineup. Driskill should help out on the mound this spring for Brookville.

Christiansburg
The Blue Demons were one of the strongest teams in Region D all spring but saw their 2019 season end in the Region semifinals as the fell to Lord Botetourt. Look for Christiansburg to get over the hump and contend for a State title in 2020 as the Blue Demons are loaded. On the mound, senior lefty Brady Kirtner (Virginia Tech) is back as well as junior righties Clay Clatterbaugh (Radford) and Connor Brizendine. Key bats will be senior outfielder Dakota Sisson (UVA-Wise) as well as juniors Regan Harris and MJ Hunter (Radford). Some new faces that have a chance to contribute this spring include senior outfielder Landon Shaver and juniors Ian Perkins and Tripp Compton.

Fluvanna County
The 2019 State champs won Region C for the second straight year as well. They lost a key piece in State Player of the Year Jacob Critzer (Lincoln Memorial). Also gone to graduation is Ryan Groome (Virginia Wesleyan). Despite those losses, look for Fluvanna to have a chance to defend its title, primarily due to the return of senior ace Andrew Ward (VCU), who forms a dominant 1-2 punch on the mound with his twin brother Kevin Ward, as well as providing a pair of power bats in the middle of the Flucco lineup. Senior Toby Sherman adds depth on the mound behind the Wards and Trey Lyons is a good receiving catcher with some juice in his bat.

Liberty Christian
Moving down from Class 4, LCA was a State semifinalist in 2019, falling to Lafayette. The Bulldogs finish their four years in Class 4 with one State championship in three trips to the State tournament, and another runner-up finish. The Bulldogs suffered at the hands of graduation, losing top arms Christian Gordon (Liberty) and Emmanuel Johnson (Liberty) as well as bats Pell Collins (Liberty) and Jacob Williams (East Tennessee St). LCA still will have plenty on the roster this spring, with senior Quade Tomlin (Liberty) back as the focal point in a lineup that will also include seniors Bailey Reynolds and Travis Baxter. Look for junior transfer Brock Duff to take a leading spot in a rotation that has depth to replace the graduated talent. Senior Luke Ramsey, junior Will Thomas, and sophomore Dillon Stowers figure to contribute on the mound as well.

Lord Botetourt
The Cavaliers were a surprise Region D champ in 2019, getting hot in the playoffs after a solid regular season. They were only a surprise in that they arrived a year early as the Cavaliers are stocked with talent and should be in the mix again. Senior Brae Ferral is back after earning All-State honors, and he will be a part of a lineup that will feature sophomore Connor Fuhrmann (South Carolina). There will be some depth in the lineup as well from juniors Carson Peggins and Luke Richards. 

Magna Vista
Magna Vista reached the Region D tournament in 2019 before seeing their season come to an end. There are some pieces in place for 2020 that will make the Warriors a tough out in late May this year as well. Juniors Hunter Powell and Conner Plaster provide some pop in the middle of the lineup along with senior Hudson Rowe. Powell and Plaster figure to contribute on the mound along with sophomore Taylor Holthausen. 

Spotswood
The Trailblazers had an up and down 2019 and were bounced in the first round of the Region C tournament. There is some interesting young position player talent at Spotswood, led by junior catcher Witt Scafidi. Junior Tyler Stobbs and sophomores Noah Burtner and Luke Keister are all players who could contribute this spring to a Spotswood team that should get stronger as the season goes on.

William Byrd
The Terriers built on their late 2018 success in 2019, putting together a strong season and reaching the Region 4D semifinals before Liberty Christian won a pitcher's duel to end their season, a reverse of what had happened in 2018 when Byrd shocked unbeaten LCA. Byrd moves down to Class 3 this spring and they will be a title contender with the talent currently on the roster. Senior infielder Ethan Spracker and juniors Tyler Dean (Virginia Tech) and Dylan Hatfield (Virginia Tech) will anchor the lineup. Junior lefty Isaac Fix should pace the rotation on a balanced team that has playoff experience.

 

 

 

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