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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.

Again we will open with realignment and then recap 2019. The biggest change here has been the departure of the Prince William schools from Region C, which is now made up of only Fairfax and Alexandria schools. The other change is the addition of Edison and Falls Church, who will remain in the National District, but now play their postseason in Class 6, moving up from Class 5.

Region C is again the home to the defending Class 6 Champions, this time it being Lake Braddock, who also won the Region C Championship. The Bruins swept two games over James River (Midlothian) and Westfield on Championship Saturday to capture the crown. In 2018, Braddock's rival, West Springfield pulled the same feat, winning Region C and the State Championship. West Springfield finished as the Region runner-up and did return to the State tournament. West Potomac and Forest Park were the other Regional semifinalists, narrowly missing State berths.

 

Top Prospects in the Region

Name	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Ryan Cuadros	Lake Braddock	2021	OF
Adam Fischer	West Potomac	2020	LHP	William & Mary
Warren Holzemer	Robinson	2021	SS/RHP	Army
Dean Kampschror	Justice	2021	LHP	Virginia
Carson Mayfield	Falls Church	2022	RHP/SS
Jake Roberti	West Springfield	2021	SS/RHP
Daniel Salisbury	Annandale	2021	SS/RHP
Andrew Schaeb	Lake Braddock	2021	LHP	George Mason
Michael Weidinger	Lake Braddock	2021	LHP	William & Mary
Tre Williams	South County	2020	OF/RHP	Florence-Darlington JC

 

2020 Region C Districts

Gunston	Patriot	National
Annandale	Fairfax	Edison
Hayfield	Lake Braddock	Falls Church
Mount Vernon	Robinson	Justice
T.C. Williams	South County
West Potomac	West Springfield
	W.T. Woodson

The Region tournament going forward will be an all-in tournament, with all 14 teams earning a berth. Two teams will get the benefit of a bye into the quarterfinals, with the rest having to play an extra game and burn extra arms to get there. The top seeds coming out of each District will receive the top three seeds, with the two teams that have the best overall record being the teams that get a bye into the quarterfinals.

 

Gunston

Annandale
The Atoms had a poor 2019 season and did not earn a Region tournament bid after being eliminated in the District tournament by Justice. Graduation took a few players, but three core lineup pieces return in Danny Salisbury, Orlando Torres, and Spencer Robson. On the mound, Salisbury returns as the top arm and another significant contributor that returns is Carter McGraw. 

Hayfield
The Hawks are coming off of a tough 2018 season, but they did earn another Region bid before being quickly knocked out in the first round. Top arm Logan Watts (Mary Washington) has graduated, also removing a bat from the top of the Hayfield lineup. Some key players from the middle of the 2019 lineup do return, highlighted by Sam Graziano and James Albritton. Look for junior Lleyton McFarland to move up the order this spring. Daniel Peterson will absorb some of Watts' innings this spring as the Hawks will look to fill in the rotation behind him.

Mount Vernon
The Majors had a challenging 2019 season and missed the Region tournament. Weston Rogers will return for his senior season this spring and Peter Dunn comes back for his junior year. Look for senior Jake Coakley to have a chance to expand his role on the mound this spring as well for Mount Vernon.

TC Williams
The Titans finished as the District runners-up in 2019 and advanced to the Region C tournament, where they knocked off Colgan in the first round before falling to West Springfield in the quarterfinals. Top arm Jack Goodrich has graduated, but there is plenty returning for the Titans this spring. Jaden Cox, Antonio Miller, and Reese Crochet are back in the top of the order for TC this spring. On the mound, look for Cox to contribute and keep an eye on sophomore Will Keough as another guy who could earn some work this spring.

West Potomac
The Wolverines won another Gunston District title in 2019, and advanced to Region semifinals, where they ran into the eventual State Champs, Lake Braddock, and had their season come to an end. Gone from 2019 will be ace Jimmy Curley (High Point) as well as Jack Bachmore (Lynchburg), both of whom were two-contributors. The Wolverines do bring back senior left Adam Fischer (William & Mary), who emerged as a good number two in 2019 and will move into the top spot of the rotation in 2020. Also gone out of the lineup is Alex Grove (Bryant & Stratton), but senior Justin Bassett was a key to the lineup in 2019 and will return this spring. Senior Camden Mounts (Catholic) should move up the order and could also chip in some innings behind Fischer this spring.

 

National District

Edison
The Eagles had a tough 2019 season and failed to make the 5C Region tournament. Moving up to Class 6 this spring, Edison loses top arm Michael Plunkett to graduation. Plunkett also is out of the lineup as is Jeff Etter and Gabe Fetzer. There are some key pieces coming back in 2020, with senior Adam Wells returning to the middle of the lineup. Look for junior Brennan Edenhart to also be back in the leadoff spot this spring. Sophomore Abiel Meaza got some work on the mound in 2019 and could see his role expand this spring for the Eagles.

Falls Church
The Jaguars finished 2019 just below .500, but they surged in May and they hosted their first Region tournament game in the current millennium, falling to eventual Region 5C champs Stone Bridge in the quarterfinals. Falls Church moves up to Class 6 this spring and Cam Karicher (Barton) and Tyler James (Union College) have both graduated, but the two key pieces for the Jaguars return this spring in sophomores Carson Mayfield and Aidan Cunningham. They emerged as the Falls Church's top arms as freshmen in 2019 and are poised to be another year better this spring. Junior Jonah Wilkes is back from the top of the order in 2019 as the Jaguars look to get over .500 this spring and advance in the Region tournament.

Justice
The Wolves are 1-1 in making Region appearances since changing their name from Stuart to Justice, and should keep that streak alive for the foreseeable future. In 2019, Justice put together an outstanding season, finishing second to Marshall in the National District and reaching the Region 6C quarterfinals before falling to Forest Park. A pair of key players return this spring for Justice, with junior lefty Dean Kampschror (Virginia) back as well as his brother senior Davis Kampschror. The pair will top the rotation this spring and be key bats for Justice. Junior Nick Guerra emerged as the key piece offensively for Justice in 2019, and he will be back in the middle of the order and man shortstop again in 2020 for the Wolves.

 

Patriot District

Fairfax
The Rebels had a tough regular season in 2019, but they did earn a Region tournament berth in their second year in the Patriot District, knocking off Hylton in the Region first round before losing to eventual State Champ Lake Braddock in the quarterfinals. Bryce Johnson (Davis & Elkins) and Dylan Wilkinson (UMBC) have graduated, and with them Fairfax loses its top two arms and top two bats from 2019. Also gone off of that team are lineup regulars Michael Chih, Logan Gear, and Xavier Herring. The Rebels will need to replace a lot from last season in order to compete to advance in the Region tournament in 2020.

No. 7 Lake Braddock
The Bruins are the defending State Champs, having finished as the District runners-up, but ultimately defeating rival West Springfield in the Region C championship game and knocking off Westfield in the State title game. The 2019 Bruins were bouncing back from the graduation of a huge 2018 class, but seniors Bobby Leitzel (Marymount) and Lyle Miller-Green (George Mason) put together outstanding seasons, with Miller-Green being named PBR VA/DC Player of the Year, as they led a group of youngsters to the championship. The Bruins are built to defend their title in 2020, with senior lefty Jay Cassady (CNU) back and moving to the top of the rotation, where juniors Michael Weidinger (William & Mary) and Andrew Schaeb (George Mason) should see their roles expand this spring. In the lineup, Weidinger and Schaeb will be back to provide power in the middle, with junior centerfielder Ryan Cuadros back to set the table for them. Junior catcher Grant Hartman will return to the lineup this spring after missing most of 2019 with an injury, and look for junior infielder Javy Rueda to take over at shortstop and potentially be a breakout player for Braddock. The defending State Champs are deep on the mound and in the lineup and are very athletic defensively in 2020, which is a recipe that could power them to another State Title.

Robinson
The Rams are coming off of a strong 2019 season that saw them put together another good year in spite of losing a lot of their 2018 core. They advanced to the Region quarterfinals before being eliminated by West Potomac. Danny Checkosky (Roanoke) and Ethan Rothstein (James Madison) have graduated, depriving the Rams of their top arm and bat from 2019, but otherwise there is plenty back this spring. Senior Malik Kabra and junior Warren Holzemer (Army) topped last year's lineup and are both back this spring, as is Quinn Madden. Look for Madden to be in the mix on the mound this spring along with seniors Kristian Asbury and Dalton Holbrook.

South County
The Stallions had a tough 2019 season, struggling in April and ultimately finishing a few games under .500 and missing the Region tournament. Last year, senior Tre Williams (Florence-Darlington JC) emerged as one of the top talents in the 2020 class in Northern Virginia, and this spring he will get looks from Major League scouts as he was a standout performer at the Mid-Atlantic Procase. Other key returning players for the Stallions include seniors Tyler Gauthier and Mike Robinson, as well as junior Max Bondurant. Watch for junior Lucas Sorenson and sophomore Tyler Grunzke to potentially become bigger contributors this spring as South County looks to make a run into the Region tournament.

West Springfield
The 2018 State Champs were hurt by graduation, leaving them thin on the mound in 2019. They were still able to win the Patriot District championship over rival Lake Braddock and returned to the State Tournament as the Region C runners-up, but were eliminated by Westfield on a walk-off in the State quarterfinals. Some important pieces have graduated from the lineup, with David Giorgis, Justin Haynes (Virginia State), Alec Reilly (CNU), Justin Nelson, and Jeffrey Beavers (Hampden-Sydney) all graduating. Reilly also emerged as a reliable arm in the Spartans' rotation as the season progressed. The lineup has some pieces back with the returns of seniors Wayne Romero and Jason Stine. Junior Jake Roberti carved out a role in the lineup and will be back as well. Roberti developed into a dependable arm as the 2019 season progressed, look for him and senior Coleman Grehawick (Marymount) to be key pieces in the Spartan's 2020 rotation.

Woodson
The Cavaliers had a tough 2019 season and failed to make the Region tournament, being eliminated during the District tournament. This spring, senior Richie Dudley returns to the middle of the lineup where he will be again joined by Drew Dougherty. Look for other returners such as Sam Phelps to slide up the order and keep an eye on Ben Tajudeen (Marymount), who should push for more playing time. On the mound, Woodson's top arm returns in senior Danny Fitzgerald (Catholic) as the Cavaliers look to improve in 2020.

 

 

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