January 3 - The calendar has flipped, high school teams begin ring chasing in a couple months, Skip’s planning to flip the script at Mason, and J.B. Bukauskas may soon go from Carolina Blue to a whole lot of green.
It’s time to take a swing at a few 2017 predictions.
I’ll start with this. Northern Virginia high schools graduated A LOT of talent last year. Name another year where two locals were taken in the top three rounds of the MLB Draft (Joe Rizzo and Khalil Lee), another struck out over two batters an inning for two full seasons (Jake Agnos), and one that saw three teams as loaded as Madison, West Springfield and Lake Braddock turning in uniforms before June?
That last point is just a testament of how deep the talent was in our area last spring.
Not that the cupboard is now empty. Despite losing guys the caliber of Wade Strain and Logan Driscoll, who are both likely to play major roles as freshmen at William & Mary and George Mason, respectively, Lake Braddock has a core that could very well win back-to-back state titles these next two years. Bruins skipper Jody Rutherford won’t like his team being tagged with those expectations, but that’s how good (and deep) his program is right now.
Agnos is gone, but his little brother, Zach, is back at Battlefield. So is the underrated Brent Boggs, who was a first-team all-state pick, by the way. The Bobcats’ 6-foot-4, 220-pound monster of a backstop, Tyler Solomon - the kid who digs in and makes the batter’s box look real small - also returns for his final season before heading off to play at national power Vanderbilt.
The Bobcats are my pick to repeat as 6A Conference 8 champs and meet Lake Braddock in the North Region final. But Patriot, with a talented young core, may have something to say about that in Conference 8.
Chantilly, after making the 6A state final the past three seasons and winning its first title last year, may be the team hardest-hit by graduations and is expected to come back to earth this year. That being said, don’t be surprised if Kevin Ford has his group right back in the mix in Conference 5 and making a run in regionals again come May. He always seems to find a way to get the most out of the hand he’s dealt. The same goes for Madison under Pudge Gjormand. A core that won the state title two years ago and rung up 45 wins over the past two years is gone, but the Warhawks always seem to reload rather than enter a rebuild.
Billy Emerson is back at Paul VI Catholic, and despite losing five D1 guys and the conference Player of the Year in Jack Cunningham, the Panthers will be among the WCAC’s best. I’m not ready to predict that Emerson wins a title in his first year back - not with WCAC power St. John’s boasting the D.C. area’s deepest pitching staff - but it will be fun to see what he does with Liam McDonnell and crew. Especially if flamethrower Christian Sanchez emerges.
Here are some other high school predictions I am willing to make: Second-year Riverside, which returns its entire roster and adds transfers Aidan Koferl and Robbie Ferreira, will be one of the state’s top 3A teams under Sam Plank. Briar Woods, behind two-way standout Michael Ludowig and a couple other D1 arms, is the favorite to repeat as 5A Conference 14 champs. If it’s not Lake Braddock or Battlefield that win the 6A North, it’ll be West Springfield, who has been chomping at the bit to get back on the field after being knocked out in the first round of regionals. And this could very well be the year that Marshall and Madison get knocked off their perches atop their respective leagues, with an up-and-coming Edison team ready to challenge Marshall in 5A Conference 13, and a group of teams - Langley, McLean and South Lakes come to mind - looking to end the Warhawks’ reign in 6A Conference 6.
Up a level, George Mason coach Bill Brown feels his Patriots can turn things around right away after a disaster of a 2016 season. I’m inclined to agree. Brown, affectionately known by his current and former players as ‘Skip’, could very well have the Atlantic-10’s top offensive team. If Mason’s pitching staff is able to bounce back after being one of the country’s worst last spring, the Patriots could challenge for a second A-10 title and NCAA berth in four years.
UNC’s Bukauskas is listed by MLB as the No. 6 prospect in the upcoming June draft. I’m in no way a mock draft guru, but the Stone Bridge grad and Team USA pitcher has for years now been striking guys out at an alarming rate wherever he’s taken the mound - in Northern Virginia, in the ACC, overseas in Japan, Chinese Taipei and Cuba - and I don’t think anyone will be surprised if he’s able to do the same against professional hitters. To put into perspective what being the No. 6 pick in the draft entails … well, it entails a lot of money. Last year’s pick in that slot signed for over $4 million.
It’s a new year, an opportunity to turn the page and write another chapter. I’m excited for 2017, and our Northern Virginia baseball community should be as well.
Photos of Lake Braddock's Lyle Miller-Green courtesy of Lake Braddock baseball, and of George Mason's Bill Brown courtesy of George Mason athletics
