2025 VHSL Season Previews: Class 2
February 18, 2025
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VHSL Class 2 Previews:
Bruton Panthers 
2024 Record: 1-19
Bruton returns a vast majority of their starters from a year ago, including probable four year starter, Ty Yates. Ryan Hazelwood is another senior on this Bruton roster and should throw some valuable innings for the Panthers. A fairly large group of juniors should be contributors, including Jack Kelly, Hayden Zimmerman, Hunter Olinger, and Will Muller. A trio of freshman also have a chance to contribute some meaningful time this year, but make no mistake, this program is in rebuild mode and with what rosters look like in the Bay Rivers District right now, it will be a tough task.
Buckingham 
2024 Record: 19-1
The Knights had a dominant run through the regular season in 2024 before falling to King William in the VHSL 2A state quarterfinals. The Knights will have to replace the production from Justin Gunter (Longwood) on the mound and offensively. Avery Schaeffer is primed for a strong senior season to take on some of those duties. Ethan Walter is also a senior that will have to contribute with some offense production. If the Knights can figure a way to replace those big innings on the mound and produce some runs, they can have a chance to be a contender in 2025.
John Battle 
2024 Record: 19-6
The Trojans had a solid season in 2024, but fell to Central Wise in the region semifinals. The Trojans are a year older and look to make a bigger run in 2025. Senior Porter Gobble (Walters State CC) looks to be the frontline arm that they should be able to lean on heavily. Elijah Childress is a senior leader that the Trojans will look to as being a run producer. Caden Sturgill returns for his junior season looking to be a pivotal piece. Sophomores Casey Rector and Palmer Gobble could be big contributors this year, potentially on the mound and in the lineup. This is an exciting group that has the talent and experience to make a run at the 2A state title.
King William Cavaliers 
2024 Record: 16-3
The Cavs went 16-3 in 2024. Their season ultimately ended in the Class 2 State Semifinals at the hands of perennial power, Lebanon. Although their season was cut short two wins short of a title, there should be a ton of hope and promise heading into 2025. King William should return all but one player from last year’s team. The nine returners that are coming back are the ones that made the biggest contributions last season, including Daniel Burton (Virginia Wesleyan), who was named District Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Region Pitcher. Joining Burton is fellow DIII commit, Andrew Lee (Eastern Mennonite). While Lee, Colton Maiorana, and Burton are three of the primary returning arms, they could get some help from the talented right arm of uncommitted 2026 Henry Kite. This has a chance to be a pretty strong staff on the mound. Offensively, Burton hit .500 last season and was one of the main run producers. He should be joined by fellow seniors Grayson Reid, Brandon Seal, Jack Longest, and Timothy West among others. There are some usual suspects in terms of teams that are consistently there in Class 2, but none that return as much as the Cavs.
Lebanon 
2024 Record: 21-6
Lebanon is coming off of a 21-6 season that ended in a ten-inning thriller to the hands of Poquoson in the state championship game. The Pioneers will bring back staff ace Nathan Phillips (Mt. St. Mary’s), as well as fellow 2nd Team All-State recipient, Eli Breeding. Lebanon loses senior shortstop Chance Parker and first baseman Dagan Barton. Both of those seniors that have moved on were All-State recipients, so it will be a big task to replace their production.
Poquoson 
2024 Record: 17-8
The Islanders won it all as they captured the VHSL Class 2A title in 2024. While they lose Maxim Fritts (Eastern Mennonite) to graduation, they do bring back some key pieces. Eli Tyndall (VMI) is the head of the snake as he will play a key role on the mound, as well as at the top of the order for the Islanders. Eli Monroe (Eastern Mennonite) is a senior leader that can be a run producer in the heart of the order. Juniors Lucas Power and Dan Sperling could also play pivotal roles. This is a gritty group that knows how to win, so you can’t count them out of having a chance to repeat in 2025.
Randolph-Henry Statesmen 
2024 Record: 18-4
The Statesmen has some big shoes to fill from their 2024 squad after the losses of Ben Gibbs (Richard Bland CC) and Daniel Powell (Bluefield State). RH returns five positional starters with a good mix of upperclass experience and underclass talent. Colby Trent, Josh Lehman, Brennan Arrington, Parker Allen, and Caden Powell are all back. Trent and Arrington will do most of the heavy lifting on the mound. While the six listed above are returners that should play big roles, watch out for Brennan Evans and Samuel Critzer. Those are two freshman that could play a big role, whether it be this year or in the near future.
Union Bears 
2024 Record: 12-9
The Bears had a young group that gained some experience that found themselves in the region quarterfinals falling in a close one to the 2A state runner ups Lebanon in 2024. They return a nine starters that look to take a step forward this spring. Braxton Bunch, Cole Chandler, Keith Chandler, Austin Stidham, and Sam Whitman are all upperclassmen that return to the lineup with experience. Kamron Bishop, Collyn Neff, and Eli Pleasant are sophomores that contributed as freshman that look to take another step forward. Freshman Liam Skeen could be someone that is relied on heavily on the mound as well as offensively for the Bears. With a good amount of the roster returning for 2025, they could make some noise in thier region.
Wise (Central) Warriors 
2024 Record: 13-13
The Warriors had their first ever appearance in the state tournament in 2024. In addition to last year's success, Wise returns seven starters and three arms from that team. While they are very heavy with talented underclassmen, they do return two main upperclass standouts. Grey Kennedy was 1st Team All-State DH last season and Shawn Phillips is a big physical corner infielder that could bring some juice to the lineup. Outside of those two, they are very young. Sophomores Jaron Wyatt and Isaiah Bentley should both contribute at the plate and on the mound. Wyatt was a 1st Team All-Region First Baseman in 2024 and could be one to watch on the mound for Wise. They also have two freshman that could make a name for themselves this year with Ethan Foster and Colton Elkins. Foster showed his abilities in Georgia with Team Virginia at the Junior Future Games in July. Elkins has some versatility and could contribute in a number of ways for this Warriors' club. Region 2D is historically tough to navigate with some of the perennial contenders, and while this Wise team may be a year away, I would not count them out after some of the success they had in 2024.