As the season approaches, we will go around the Commonwealth and DC and preview the action to come this spring, our first full season since 2019. In each preview, we will breakdown how teams qualify for the Region Tournaments, the Top Prospects in each Region, and Teams to Watch.

2021 saw Independence capture the State Championship out of Region 3B, defeating Region D champ Abingdon. Other Region champs were Lafayette from Region A and Liberty Christian from Region C. Independence has moved up to Class 5 so there will be a new champ in Class 3 this spring. Region runners-up that would have made the State Tournament in a normal year include Colonial Heights, Brentsville, Broadway, and William Byrd.

Region A uses power points to seed a 12-team bracket. Region B divides its bracket into an East and West, with four teams from each side making it. After the quarterfinals, they cross opponents to have an East team play a West team in each Region semifinal. 

 

Top Prospects 

 

3A/3B

Name	High School	Position	Year	Commitment
Ryan Curl	Warren County	RHP	2024
Luke Hanson	Lafayette	SS/RHP	2022	Virginia
Brayden Heath	New Kent	C	2023
Kaden Hilburger	Tabb	OF/RHP	2022	Bryant
Owen Lacks	Colonial Heights	OF	2022	Methodist
Tucker Love	Tabb	SS/RHP	2022	Murray St
Elijah Matthews	Lafayette	OF	2024
Carson Seely	New Kent	OF	2024
Lance Williams	William Monroe	RHP	2023	Virginia Tech

Teams to Watch

 

3A

Lafayette
With the current #1 2022 in the state in UVA commit Luke Hanson the Rams have a chance to make another deep run in Class 3. The 2019 State Champions and 2021 State Runners-Up have experience and some offensive firepower coming back in Hanson, Kevin Cole (Rowan), Price Whitaker, and Tristan Heistand. Cole and Hanson are two of their best arms and if they can get some help on the mound, look for them to be a force in June once again. 

Tabb
Tabb returns seniors Kaden Hilburger (Bryant), Tucker Love (Murray State), and Xavier Martin. That trio of seniors gives them as much and possibly more offensive threats than any other lineup in 3A. The biggest question will be who is going to throw the big innings in the big games. If they can get an arm to step up and be that guy this spring then they have the offense to hang with anyone in their conference.

New Kent
New Kent has one of the better uncommitted arms left in the 2022 class in Nick Redman. The left hander will more than likely be their ace and any time he is on the mound they have a chance to win. Offensive contributions should come from Ferrum commit Joe Buchman, Parker Haynes, Brayden Heath, and potentially from sophomore Carson Seely. 

 

3B

 

Brentsville
The Tigers had an up and down regular season in 2021 but surged late in the spring and made a run in the Region B playoffs, reaching the Championship game before seeing their season end at the hands of the eventual State Champs, Independence. The Tigers lost a lot of key pieces with the graduations of Mickey Haynes (Randolph-Macon), Jason Boak (Kentucky Wesleyan), Anthony Gioffre (Elizabethtown), and Kevin Holroyd (Ferrum). Junior Brayden Hutchison will anchor the middle of the lineup this spring along with sophomore Danny Ferrell for a talented young team that should again be a factor towards the end of the season. 

William Monroe
The Green Dragons had a stellar 2021 season but fell in the Region semifinals in an upset loss to Brentsville. Hunter Powell, Hayden Gibson, Blake Shifflett, and Chase Mallory have all graduated, taking core of the offense and a top arm off of the Dragon roster. Also gone from the rotation to graduation is Max Kinsey, but Monroe does have a big addition to its pitching staff this spring with the arrival of junior Lance Williams (Virginia Tech) from Page County. Back this spring will be senior Jared Shifflett and sophomore Jamal Neal, both of whom will move into more prominent positions in the lineup.