2024 Season Preview: Watchung, deepest in NJ?

The Cougars who are perennial state contenders every year are coming off an incredible 26-1 season. They did graduate a lot of production in GA Tech freshman Ryan Jaros, Bryant Freshman Shea Grady, Sebastian Morales and Jake Carter. However the Cougars won't see much of a drop off with Sophomore and 2023 UCT hero Brayden Fry and  Senior Sean Riley with his .338 average in 2023. Senior and Tampa commit Dennis McCaffery returns and will help the offense continue to roll.

On the mound the Cougars graduated a decent amount of innings and experience in Ben Monahan 42 IP and  Sean Woodruff (Salve Regina Freshman) with 47.1 IP. 

Look for Ramapo commit Michael Zalinskanskas to takeover the #1 role for the Cougar pitching staff. He had a strong 2023 season with 30.2 IP and a 2.51 ERA. Joseph Paccione and Brendan Berry are poised to get some more innings this year for the Cougars. 

The boys on the Hill went 17-7 in 2023 and played toe to toe with Cranford in the UCT finals. They graduated last years #1 arm in Johnny Schmidt who is now playing collegiately at Misercordia. However the Highlanders like a lot of teams in the Watching division bring back a ton of arms. Juniors Jason Habedank, Vinnie Graham , Matt Diskin, Anthony Denora and Mike Liloia logged over 70  innings combined in 2023. Sophomores Keith Mann and Michael Novotny are back and a year older combined they accounted for over 48 IP in 2023. 

At the plate the Highlanders have a deep lineup with Stetson commit Matt Diskin and his .356 average, with Anthony Denora and his team leading 25 RBI will get things going for GL. Senior Matt Shaffer is one of the toughest outs in the County and his .385 Junior year average shows that. Look for the Highlanders to be in the middle of the UCT race and make a deep run in the Sectionals. 

Johnson had a strong 2023 and return Senior Steven Vigliotti and his 43 inning with a miniscule ERA of 1.47. Look for him to get the ball against the top teams in the county. Also Sean Patterson contributed 23.2 IP for the Crusaders in 2023. 

On the hitting side of the lineup card Johnson graduated SS Jackson Gulbin, Thomas Woods and 1B Steve McCaffery.

Robert Gallagher and Patterson will lead things for the Crusaders at the plate.

The Pioneers and long time coach Chris Brodeur, went 12-14 in 2023. Pitcher Ryan Grill and his 50 innings have graduated. However the Pioneers bring back Robby Roth and his 35 Innings plus Juniors Ethan Cifarelli and Vince Graziano combined for over 38 innings in 2023.

On the offensive side of the game Luca Vitale returns .315 average and 24 stolen bases. IF Jake Monaco hit .368. Pioneers never shy away from facing the bigger schools which always helps them come Sectional time. We feel 2024 will be no different.

The Raiders lost in the first round of the N2G4 Sectionals against Hunterdon Central. They will look to go deeper in 2024 with their 5 top arms returning. Evan Doyle FDU commit 37 strikeouts in 28 innings, Ryan Quinones and Juniors CJ Bates (32.1IP) and Jack Byrne (23.1 IP w/ 16 strikeouts). Senior Matt Cappozzolo returns with his 21 innings and only surrendering 19 hits and 5 walks. 

Offensively the Raiders also return most of their bats Chris Kennedy, Jaden Carpien, Jack Sponheimer, Sophomore Joe Larosa will join Doyle, Quinones, Bates and Senior Luke Doyle for their offensive attack. 

The Hilltoppers and Coach Kevin Zaleski join the UCC-Watchung Division and bring plenty of talent with them. While they did graduate Wes Hellings and Spencer Nicely and their 70 IP, they will turn to Villanova commit, Senior Luke Jacobson. TJ Flack and Enzo D'Agostino had strong 2023 seasons on the mound for the Hilltoppers as did Junior Matthew Kurek.

They will be a force at the plate as well Junior Shane Walsh, Senior catcher Christopher Moglia, Muhlenberg commit and his hearty .435 average look to push the Hilltoppers to the top of the Division.

The Blue Devils bring back possibly one of the deepest pitching staffs in the Garden State with Seton Hall commit Tomas Cestero, Villanova bound Jack Chavez, Junior and Brown bound Grant Como. Add that to Kevin Dowling and Nic Labin they will have plenty of arms for Coach Cook to manage.

The Blue Devils graduated some offensive talent but bring back ample fire power with Junior 3B Jake Alfano, Senior and Rochester commit Randy Davis, Junior Braedan Trajkovski belted 4 HR' and hit .312. Look for the Blue Devils to be in the thick of things in the County and G4.

The Bears led by Coach Kaplow went 13-11 and bring back one of the best arms in the County with LHP Sean Budis who tossed 48 IP in 2023 with 65 Strikeouts. At the plate the Bears graduated a lot of production but the cupboard isn't bare with Caldwell University Commit Reymundo Gonzalez (.359) and Sophomore Dominick Condo (.408) leading the way. Look for boys from Kenilworth to make a strong run in the Sectionals and challenge to reach the Peak of the Mountain Division.

Coach Abbate and the Bulldogs had a very good 2023 season going 15-12, they return a vast majority of their production in 2024. Led by St. Joseph's University commit Jr. Frank Dasti who threw 34.2 IP with a 3.23 ERA. The staff goes deeper with Sophomore Patrick Ferguson, Senior Peter Ramirez and Junior Chris Rodriguez. 

At the plate the Bulldogs return plenty of bats with Dasti (.489 and 26 RBI), Junior Michael Ramirez hit .385 with 7 doubles. 

If the Bulldogs continue with their pitching depth look for them to make a deep run into the Sectionals.

The Minutemen welcome a new coach Kristian Cortizo. They are coming off of a year where they went to the Semifinals of the UCT and had an overall record of 17-10. 

They did lose a lot of production to graduation, but the Minutemen have Junior Miguel Rivera on the mound who returns with 27.2IP under his belt last year and an impressive 3.04 ERA. 

Yadi Mateo threw 22.2 IP and a microscopic 0.62 ERA. Senior Alex Cras also helps deepen the pitching staff with his experience.

Offensively Catcher Devin Rojas has graduated and his .431 average As did Anthony Davis (.453) and Justin Belford (.354).

However Minutemen fans don’t worry there is plenty of talent ready to compete this year. Look for Junior Stanley Bobadilla .319 in 2023 to help spark the offense along with Mateo and Sophomore Albert Maldonado who hit .365 with 19RBI as a Frosh.

As Elizabeth starts a new coaching era the bar still remains the same for this program. Look for them to battle for bragging rights in the Mountain division.

Best of luck this year Minutemen we can’t wait to catch a game at Williams Field.

The Lions move up to the Mountain Division and are coming off of a 10-13 season and are positioned for a solid 2024. 

With a lot of their arms back in their stable that pitched in 2023. Sophomore Lenny Peguero is poised to take on a larger role with the pitching staff coming off of 21 IP as a Frosh.

Look for the offensive to shine as well with Junior Caden Carter back after his impressive '23 season hitting .396 with 16 RBI and Senior Aiden Bell slugging .381 for the season. As well as Carlos Pereira who had an impressive rookie campaign hitting .348 as a freshman.

The Rams who play their home games at one of the most impressive fields in the state went 11-15 in 2023, but were able to have some young players get valuable  experience. They return a stable of arms in Michael Greco (Hartford Commit), Robbie Costello, MJ Cohen, Thomas Albanito.

At the plate Costello (Elizabethtown Commit) leads the way for the Rams after graduating one of the best hitters in the State with Anthony Bibbo. 

Junior IF Joseph Loiacono had an excellent Sophomore campaign .312 20 runs scored and 9 RBI.

Look for the Rams to be in the conversation for the Mountain Division title.

A lot of changes for the Famers, a new coach as they welcome Lou Clemente and a new division as they join the UCC-Mountain Division. 

They graduated one of the best LHP in the Garden State in Aiden Baiardi who went for 50.1IP with 84, yes 84 strikeouts in 2023. Gabriel Gobbi will look

to take over the lead role on the mound for Union as he threw for 32.1IP in 2023. 

At the plate the Farmers Senior P/OF Matthew Mendez hit .338 last year and Sophomore Johnny Velez hit .236 which is impressive for his Freshman campaign.

The vikings aren't just a basketball powerhouse. 2nd year coach Anthony Colletti, Jr. looks to keep the momentum going for the Scotch Plains private school. The Vikings went 11-15 last year, but return a lot of talent including the Pellegrino brothers. Nick, a Senior hit .324 with 25 RBI and Michael now a sophomore hit an impressive .267 as a freshman. 

On the mound the Vikings did lose their top two innings eaters in Adam Gross now at RVCC and Andrew Benvenuto who’s pitching at Moravian. Look for Matthew Weddle and Ryan Conlon to take charge on the mound for Vikings.

Next stop on our mini season preview tour takes us to the hometown of Yankees great Phil Rizzuto, Hillside.

The Comets are coming off a solid 7-9 2023 season. Their top 2 arms are back for the Comets, Junior arm Jonathan Puello (22.2 IP W/ 27 K’s) and Senior Jakai Lucas (27 IP w/ 28 K’s) look to keep the momentum going in Hillside.

The Comets will be led at the plate by Sophomore Hanlet Cerda who had an impressive Freshman season hitting .353. Lucas also had 8 SB's to go along with his .429 batting average for the Comets in 2023.

The Cardinals went 6-16 in 2023 and look to bounce back. Junior Ben La Paz is back on the mound for the Cardinals who will need to find some innings due to the graduations of Nasir Powell (44IP) and Laron Williams (28IP). Offensively, Senior Dinelson Dominguez-Morel hit .311 as a Junior with 15 Stolen Bases. 

The Indians 7-17 in 2023 also lost an important arm in Walney Arache (33.2IP) to graduation who also hit .390.

 Look for Senior Filiph Baez and Christian Davis to lead the offensive lineup for Rahway

The Tigers join the Valley Division after a 3-18 2023 campaign. They graduated Danny Ciprian who had 61 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched. 

Look for Junior Anthony Garcia to get more innings this year for the Tigers.

The Panthers are coming off of a 8-10 season. Led by Senior RHP Johnny Amato, the Caldwell University Commit logged 52IP in '23. 

Seniors' Tyler Signorello hit .438 and Edwin Rodriguez .348 in their Junior campaigns.

Look for the Panthers to be in the mix for the Valley Division title.