August 22 - As part of the All-Time Northern Virginia Top 10 feature, the magazine will be releasing short recaps of the nominated teams, grouped by the decade they played in.
Teams that won state championships were automatically nominated, with current and former coaches from the area nominating non-state champions, bringing the list of total nominees to 60 teams.
Once recaps of each of the 60 teams have been posted this week, the nominees will be turned over to a selection committee of current and former coaches from the area, who will select and rank the All-Time Top 10. The rankings will be revealed beginning the first week in September, with one team featured each week.
Here are recaps for the the nominees from the 2010s:
2016 Chantilly (25-2) - The Chargers won their final 19 games and finished ranked 27th nationally by Baseball America after rallying to beat Battlefield for the 6A state championship, the first in the program’s history. It was the third consecutive season Chantilly had advanced to the state final under coach Kevin Ford. Top performers included North Region Player of the Year Jared DiCesare, who went 11-0 with a 0.57 ERA and had 85 strikeouts to only 12 walks in 74 innings and hit .366 with nine doubles and 22 RBI, and shortstop Brett Norwood, who hit .347 with 25 RBI.
2015 Madison (24-5) - Matt Favero’s walkoff to beat Chantilly in the 6A state final gave the Warhawks the program’s fourth state championship and capped a season which saw Madison win their final 10 games. It was the second title for coach Mark ‘Pudge’ Gjormand, who previously led the Warhawks to an unbeaten 29-0 season 13 years earlier. Favero and another lefty, Brian Eckert, proved to be a dominant 1-2 punch on the mound, with Favero going 10-0 with a 1.12 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 58 innings, and Eckert going 11-1 with a 1.02 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 81 innings. Pete Nielsen paced the offense, hitting .410 with two homers and 28 RBI.
2015 Stone Bridge (22-5) - The Bulldogs became the fifth team from Loudoun County to win a state championship, avenging one of their regular season losses by beating Marshall in the 5A state final in coach Sam Plank’s final season at the school. Also beat 6A state champion Madison and runner-up Chantilly during the regular season behind the bat of shortstop John Callahan, who hit .422 with a school-record 12 doubles, and Dave Mocabee, who hit .341 with 19 RBI and also went 7-0 with a 1.32 ERA. Ace Brett Kreyer went 8-1 with a 1.01 ERA to pace the team in wins.
2014 Loudoun Valley (25-3) - Jack DeGroat struck out 10 and allowed one run in a 4-hitter as the Vikings beat Poquoson for the 3A state championship, the second in program history and the first by a Loudoun County school in 23 years. Coach Wayne Todd’s team won 19 of its final 20 games, posted 12 shutouts, and allowed just one run in eight other contests behind a dominant staff led by DeGroat and Will Reed. Reed, who also struck out 10 in the state semifinals, had an 18-strikeout performance during the regular season against Loudoun County, and finished the season 9-1 with a 0.81 ERA and 85 strikeouts.
2012 Lake Braddock (26-3) - The Bruins broke through for the first state title in program history, starting the season with nine consecutive wins and then bouncing back from a loss to West Springfield in the Northern Region final to post two shutouts in three 3A state tournament games, including in the final against Kellam. Lake Braddock previously advanced to the state final in 1988, 1993 and 1997, but had lost each time. Leading the way as the Bruins made their fifth state tournament berth in seven years under coach Jody Rutherford were pitchers Michael Church, Thomas Rogers, and outfielder Alex Gransback, who hit .502 with five homers and 31 RBI.
2012 Paul VI Catholic (23-11) - In coach Billy Emerson’s final season, the Panthers won their area-best fifth state championship and swept the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and state championships for the second time in four years. After starting the season just 7-7, Paul VI won 16 of its final 20 games, getting a complete-game effort from Braedon Lawson in a 3-2 series-clinching win over Bishop McNamara for the conference title, then beating top-seeded Benedictine 5-3 to claim the state championship. The Panthers were paced by outfielder Mitchell Aker, middle infielders Richard Mancari and Lucas Martinez - who drove in the go-ahead run in the deciding game of the WCAC finals - and a pitching staff led by Mark Gunst.
2011 South County (28-1) - The Stallions won their first 28 games in dominating fashion before falling, 5-3, in the 3A state championship game to a Great Bridge team that featured pitcher Connor Jones, who was recently selected in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft. Finishing the season ranked 37th nationally by Baseball America, coach Mark Luther’s team racked up 305 runs and hit 56 home runs, swept four games from rival Lake Braddock - including in the Patriot District and Northern Region championship games - and eclipsed 10 runs in 16 of its games. The team was led on the mound by Evan Beal and Tyler Frazier, with Michael Perez, Luke Bondurant and Andrew Rector pacing the offense.
2010 West Springfield (24-4) - After its disappointing loss the previous year in the state quarterfinals, the Spartans bounced back by beating then-undefeated Woodbridge in the 3A state final, the third state championship in program history and first by a Northern Region team in eight years. Coach John James’ team finished ranked 24th nationally by Baseball America behind Charlie Morgan, Trevor Snook and Bobby Wahl, who was named the state and Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year, earned the save in a 3-2 semifinal win over Western Branch and got the win in the state final. Morgan hit .551 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI, and Snook hit .421. Wahl, who is currently at Triple-A with the Oakland Athletics’ organization, went 13-0 with a 1.53 ERA and 118 strikeouts and finished his career 28-1 with 284 strikeouts and a 1.53 ERA.
2010 Woodbridge (27-1) - The Vikings won their first 27 games behind an offense powered by Tyler Thomas and Nick Rogowski before falling to West Springfield in the 3A state championship game, finishing the season ranked 32nd nationally by Baseball America. Coach Jason Ritenour’s team claimed its first region title since 1979, won six 1-run games during its winning streak, including during Northwest Region championship game and state quarterfinal victories over Franklin County and W.T. Woodson, respectively. Thomas, who would graduate two years later as the state’s all-time leader with 118 RBI, hit .583 with 10 homers and 46 RBI. Rogowski, the region’s player of the year, hit .414 with 30 RBI.
2010 Potomac Falls (23-4) - The Panthers claimed their second straight Group AA Region II championship and advanced to the state final before falling to defending champion Poquoson and their star pitcher, current Cleveland Indians hurler Kyle Crockett. Coach Joe Terango’s team, which had advanced to the state semifinals the previous season before falling to Poquoson, piled up 57 runs in its five postseason games before being limited to one by Crockett in the state final. The Panthers were led by first baseman Michael Lascomb, who was named by The Washington Post as the Loudoun County Player of the Year.
All-Time Northern Virginia Top 10 Nominees:
2010s (10) - 2016 Chantilly; 2015 Madison; 2015 Stone Bridge; 2014 Loudoun Valley; 2012 Lake Braddock; 2012 Paul VI Catholic; 2011 South County; 2010 West Springfield; 2010 Woodbridge; 2010 Potomac Falls
2000s (14) - 2009 Paul VI Catholic; 2009 West Springfield; 2008 Paul VI Catholic; 2007 Notre Dame Academy; 2007 Paul VI Catholic; 2006 Notre Dame Academy; 2005 Notre Dame Academy; 2004 Notre Dame Academy; 2004 Westfield; 2004 Paul VI Catholic; 2003 Madison; 2002 Madison; 2000 Oakton; 2000 Courtland
1990s (14) - 1998 West Springfield; 1998 Bishop O’Connell; 1997 St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes; 1996 Herndon; 1995 Courtland; 1995 Brentsville District; 1994 Paul VI Catholic; 1993 Lake Braddock; 1992 Gar-Field; 1992 West Springfield; 1991 West Springfield; 1991 Broad Run; 1991 Fairfax; 1990 W.T. Woodson
1980s (8) - 1989 W.T Woodson; 1988 Potomac; 1987 Marshall; 1984 Park View; 1983 Potomac; 1982 Bishop O’Connell; 1980 Robinson; 1980 George Mason
1970s (5) - 1978 Robinson; 1976 Mount Vernon; 1972 Loudoun Valley; 1972 Washington-Lee; 1971 Madison
1960s and earlier (9) - 1968 Madison; 1966 Washington-Lee; 1964 Bishop O’Connell; 1952 Mount Vernon; 1951 Washington-Lee; 1949 Washington-Lee; 1947 George Washington; 1939 Lee-Jackson; 1932 Alexandria
Pictured above, clockwise from top left, Loudoun Valley's Will Reed, Stone Bridge's Bret Kreyer, South County's Alex Carrington and Andrew Rector, Madison's Brian Eckert, Lake Braddock's Alex Gransback, and West Springfield's Bobby Wahl.
