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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.

In 2019, James River took the Region B title, defeating Colonial Forge in the Championionship game. The Rapids eventually advanced to the State semifinals. In Region A, Ocean Lakes defeated Frank Cox to capture the Region title. The Dolphins also reached the State semifinals before they were eliminated. Kellam and First Colonial were Region A semifinalists, and Riverbend and Clover Hill reached the Region B semifinals in 2019. 

Realignment had a major impact on this Region and Class 6 as a whole. The Region B that had consisted of the Richmond to Fredericksburg corridor of schools, plus Franklin County, has been broken up, with the three Fredericksburg schools joining the Prince William County schools in the new Region B. The Richmond schools and Franklin County move into Region A as the West portion of the Region. Clover Hill and Manchester have moved down to Class 5 from 2019's Region B. Also moving down from 2019's Region A are Bayside, Frank Cox, First Colonial, Granby, and Woodside.

 

Top Prospects in Region A

Name	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Ethan Anderson	Frank W. Cox	2022	C	Virginia
Alex Balisteri	James River	2020	OF	James Madison
Carson DeMartini	Ocean Lakes	2021	SS	Virginia Tech
Harrison Didawick	Western Branch	2022	OF/LHP	Virginia
Connelly Early	James River	2020	RHP	Army
Cole Garrett	Thomas Dale	2020	C	VMI
Luke Gibson	Tallwood	2020	LHP	VMI
Caleb Grizzard	Cosby	2022	LHP/OF
Alex Larou	Cosby	2020	RHP	VMI
Grant Melnyk	Kellam	2020	SS	Longwood
Brayden Merrick	Franklin County	2020	SS
Johnny Oates	Thomas Dale	2021	C
Aidan Pinto	Ocean Lakes	2021	OF
Will Riley	James River	2020	SS	VMI
Raphael Rodriguez	Thomas Dale	2020	SS	Norfolk State
Brayden Simpson	Cosby	2022	SS/RHP
Jordan Smith	Kellam	2020	OF	George Mason
Ty Swaim	James River	2020	SS	VMI
Roberto Velasquez	Western Branch	2021	RHP
Michael Williams	Franklin County	2021	SS	Radford

 

2020 Region A 

East	West
Grassfield	Cosby
Kellam	Franklin County
Landstown	James River (Midlothian)
Ocean Lakes	Thomas Dale
Oscar Smith
Tallwood
Western Branch

Region A will be an all-in Region going forward. Power points are used to rank the East teams and West teams, and then they are placed into a preset bracket that will guarantee this spring that their will be two semifinalists from the East and two from the West.

 

What to Watch For

Cosby
2019 was supposed to be Cosby's season in Region B, and the Titans were outstanding in the regular season, but an upset loss in the Region quarterfinals to Clover Hill ended their season earlier than they expected it to. Graduation has gutted the Titans roster as they lose Cade Swisher (Virginia Tech), Zach Hoekstra (Radford), Darren Stanford (Virginia Wesleyan), and Ethan Iannuzzi (Randolph-Macon). Gone from the rotation is Andrew Weight (James Madison), Russell Bowles (Hampden-Sydney), and Devin Miles (Randolph-Macon). Despite all of those losses, there is still plenty of talent on the Cosby roster this spring. Seniors Alex LaRou (VMI) and Allan Williamson (Hampden-Sydney) will lead the pitchers. In the lineup, seniors Evan McClaskey (Chowan) and Bobby Ayscue return as well. There is talent in the underclass group for Cosby, with juniors Zach Barco, Reuben Costin, and Everett Vaughan all capable of pushing for playing time, as are sophomores Brayden Simpson and Caleb Grizzard. Cosby will be fun to follow this spring as the youngsters step into their expanded roles, and the Titans will look to repeat the trend they are on of making a State Tournament trip during every even year this spring, a trend that dates back to 2014. 

Franklin County
The Eagles had a strong 2019 regular season, but had the misfortune of drawing James River in the Region B quarterfinals, where their season ended. They have lost two-way star Cameron Mullins to graduation, but the Eagles bring back a veteran lineup with a lot of talent. Junior Michael Williams (Radford) returns to the top of the order, providing speed in front of a group of seniors that includes Logan Mason, Hunter Cannaday, Brayden Merrick (Virginia Tech), and Colton Kent at its core. If the Eagles can find some consistent quality pitching, they are a threat to go deep in the postseason.

Grassfield
The Grizzlies had a winning season in 2019 and returned to the Region A tournament after missing it in 2018. They fell in the quarterfinals to First Colonial, ending their season. Grassfield loses Connor Hall and Dom Parker (Paul D Camp CC) to graduation, depriving the Grizzlies of its middle-of-the-lineup presence as well as its top arm. Grassfield does return juniors Logan Webster and Adam Nobrega to the top part of their lineup this spring. Nobrega had also emerged as a solid number two on the mound in 2019 and should be a quality anchor at the top of Grassfield's rotation in 2020. Some interesting underclassmen such as sophomore Jackson Donahue will have a chance to potentially contribute this spring for Grassfield.

No. 8 James River
The 2019 Region B champs are coming off of a loss to eventual state champion Lake Braddock in the State Semifinals and the Rapids return the bulk of their lineup and pitching staff for one more run in 2020 with this group and they are poised to contend again for a Region and State title. The core offensive weapons from their lineup return this spring a trio of seniors, Alex Balisteri (James Madison), Will Riley (VMI), and Ty Swaim (VMI). The Rapids should have no problem producing offense just like they did in 2019 and should be solid defensively behind their pitchers. Connelly Early (Army) and Ryan Portes (Hampden-Sydney) make a very nice 1-2 punch on the mound, and seniors Ryan Margatek and Alex Balisteri are good depth options. James River (Midlothian) should have the arms to limit the offensive production of their opponents. The Rapids should be exciting to watch this spring and have a legitimate shot at hoisting the hardware in June. 

Kellam
The Knights put together a winning season in 2019 and advanced to the Region semifinals before Ocean Lakes knocked them out in extra innings. Graduation has impacted Kellam, with Corey Leadenham (George Mason), Micah Fox (Paul D Camp CC), Jack Morick, and Ryan Leadenham all departing from the lineup. Gone from the rotation is Luke Helmick (Bryant & Stratton) as well as Corey Leadenham. There will be plenty returning though and Kellam should be in good shape this spring. Seniors Peter Harn (Lynchburg) and Jordan Smith (George Mason) return to the lineup, and seniors Richard Negron and Grant Melnyk (Longwood) should both have the opportunity to contribute more this spring as well. Junior Tyler Butler earned some innings in 2019 and should have the opportunity to throw more for the Knights in 2020.

Landstown
The Eagles had a tough 2019 season and will look to rebound in 2020. They have a pair of building blocks to work with this spring on the mound in senior Caleb Bellisle (Lynchburg) and junior Adam Verbanic. Both will be a part of the lineup that is built around Donald Dungee. Sophomore Alex Kowalski is an interesting talent that could play a big role in 2020 for Landstown.

Ocean Lakes
The Dolphins put together another very good regular season in 2019, and this time were able to avoid a pair early-round upset bid with a tight win over Western Branch and an extra-innings walk-off win over Kellam before defeating Cox to capture the Region A Championship. The Dolphins beat Colonial Forge but ultimately fell in the semifinals to Westfield. Elias Negron (Caldwell) and Micah Singer (CNU) have graduated, but there is a lot to like about what the Dolphins have returning in 2020. Junior Carson DeMartini (Virginia Tech) will be back at the top of an order that will again feature seniors Jonathan Wall (Roanoke) and Scott Hinds. Junior outfielder Aidan Pinto is another potentially dynamic power/speed guys who will lengthen the lineup this spring. Ocean Lakes will be dangerous offensively, if they can replace Singer on the mound, look for them to put up a strong Region title defense in 2020.

Oscar Smith
After two straight Region tournament trips, the Tigers took a step back in 2019 and ultimately didn't make the Region A tournament field. Gone off of last year's team are Jordan Givens and Antonio Sumler. Senior James Childers does return and will be the centerpiece in the Tigers' 2020 lineup.

Tallwood
The Lions finished 2019 with a .500 record, but failed to qualify for the Region tournament. Mark Smith (Potomac St CC) has graduated, but there is some solid talent returning for Tallwood in 2020. Senior lefty Luke Gibson (VMI) will pair with Ben Durham to form the top of the Lion rotation. Both will be lineup fixtures along with junior Sal Lettieri, who can also contribute on the mound. That trio will give Tallwood a strong core to work with as they look to build on 2019 this spring.

Thomas Dale
The 2019 Knights were looking to build off of a State semifinal appearance in 2018, and the season seemed to be headed that way as Dale rolled during the regular season, but unfortunately the Knights were upset in the Region B quarterfinals by Riverbend and saw their season come to an end. Graduating off of that team are top arms Karson Jennings (Randolph-Macon) and Ryan Hayzlett, as well as Bailey Hodges (Ferrum). Dale has some pieces returning to their lineup, led by seniors Cole Garrett (VMI) and Raphael Rodriguez (Norfolk State). Senior Chris Fredette (Paul D Camp CC) also returns as does junior Johnny Oates. Thomas Dale should score runs this spring, but they will need to replace a lot of lost innings on the mound. Look for new faces such as Caleb Stancil, Dean Runyon, or Ethan Hamill to potentially fill some of those lost innings for a team that has the lineup to compete for a Region title in 2020.

Western Branch
The 2017 State Champs and 2018 State runners-up had a strong regular season in 2019, but fell in the Region A quarterfinals to eventual Region champ Ocean Lakes. The Bruins lose longtime ace Antonio Velasquez (Bryant & Stratton) and leadoff hitter Micha Brown to graduation, but bring the bulk of the roster back this spring. Seniors Jalen Perez (Bryant & Stratton), Kyle Carlson (Bridgewater), and Aidan Foley (Randolph-Macon) as well as sophomore Harrison Didawick (Virginia) return to the middle of the lineup. In the rotation, senior Reid Long (Bridgewater) returns and will move into the top spot, with juniors Roberto Velasquez and Kyle Hardy vying for innings behind Long. With depth on the mound and a stacked lineup, look for Western Branch to be in the mix to return to the State Tournament in 2020.

 

 

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