District 2 players named to inaugural NEPA Baseball Coaches Association All-Regional teams
Jul. 5—North Pocono baseball coach Brian Jardine was recently watching an Arizona Diamondbacks game and noticed there were three players from Pennsylvania on the Major League Baseball team's roster: Scranton's Jake McCarthy, pitcher Scott McGough from Monroeville and infielder Christian Walker of Limerick.
"None of those kids were all-state because we don't have an all-state team for baseball," Jardine said. "It's something I think these kids should be recognized."
It is one of the reasons Jardine helped create the NEPA Baseball Coaches Association earlier this year.
Currently, it is comprised of schools from PIAA Districts 2, 4 and 11. On Tuesday, the association announced its inaugural All-Regional teams.
Twenty-five players from those districts comprise the Big School team (Class 4A, 5A, 6A) and the Small School team (Class 1A, 2A, 3A).
"One of our goals this year was to recognize student-athletes with an All-Regional team from the three districts combined," Jardine said. "We're just trying to promote the game a little more and develop baseball at all levels. It's a takeoff of what they've done in other sports like football and softball."
Seventeen players from District 2 were named to the inaugural squads.
Nine were chosen to the Big School team, including five from the Lackawanna League: North Pocono seniors Gavin Chillot and Chris Walsh; Honesdale senior Joseph Curreri; Abington Heights senior Conner Griffin; and Scranton Prep senior Brian Walsh. Chosen from the Wyoming Valley Conference were Hazleton Area seniors Brett Antolick and Grant Russo; Pittston Area senior Jeremy Cawley; and Dallas senior Joe Peters.
Eight players from District 2 were selected to the Small School squad with six from the Lackawanna League: senior Jimmy Decker and junior Casey O'Brien from Riverside; Dunmore sophomore Max Forgione; Old Forge junior Joe Granko; Elk Lake senior Elias Owens; and Lakeland junior Tyler Uram. Taken from the Wyoming Valley Conference were Lake-Lehman senior Graedon Finarelli and Holy Redeemer junior Luke Kopec.
Jardine solicited All-Regional nominees from coaches and media members in Districts 2, 4 and 11. He received a list of about 70 players for both the big and small school teams.
"From there we tried our best to whittle down and get the most deserving 25 and each area was represented," Jardine said. "All these kids are really good players."
Several years ago Jardine had the idea to start a coaches association, but it stalled when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This year he revisited the idea. He called an attorney, filed the proper paperwork and the association was formed.
From there, the next step was membership. Jardine decided to start in the northeast and got 31 coaches from District 2, 19 from District 11 and eight from District 4 to join. The hope is to expand next year to include other districts and ultimately the entire state.
"Hopefully the number will grow once they see what we've done this year," Jardine said. "A couple of people from District 3 and District 12 reached out and seemed interested. We didn't want to rush forward and try to bite off more than we could chew. So we stayed within this region and next year the plan is to elect a board and find the best way to go about trying to expand. With three districts participating, we can have the coaches reach out to the contacts they have in other areas.
"Our overall goal is to have an all-state team as opposed to an all-regional team this year."
Other things Jardine hopes the association can accomplish in the near future is help schedule games, hold a clinic in the winter, get college coaches involved and perhaps even have an all-star game on college campuses or minor-league ballparks around the state.
"There's a lot of benefits to having an association like this," Jardine said. "Moving forward, if we can get to the state level, we can look to maybe having a say on rules and any other decisions on the game itself."
NEPA Baseball Coaches Association Small School All-Regional team
Name, School, Year, Position
Jake Albert, Saucon Valley, Sr., 1B/P
Aiden Barlett, Hughesville, Jr., OF
Wes Bellows, Canton, Sr., Util
James Cartier, Notre Dame Green Pond, Sr., 1B
Carter Cowburn, Hughesville, Sr., P/IF
Jimmy Decker, Riverside, Sr., 1B
Graedon Finarelli, Lake-Lehman, Sr., C
Max Forgione, Dunmore, So., IF
Joe Granko, Old Forge, Jr., IF
Stephen Hood, Panther Valley, Jr., P
Trehnon Hugo, Wyalusing, Jr., IF/P
Luke Kopec, Holy Redeemer, Jr., Util
Kaleb Maksimik, Shenandoah Valley, Sr., OF
Blake Morningstar, Wyalusing, Sr., P
Ethan Nagy, Loyalsock, Jr., P
Casey O'Brien, Riverside, Jr., IF
Elias Owens, Elk Lake, Sr., P
Michael Pascoe, Panther Valley, Sr., IF/P
Trae Sanders, Schuylkill Haven, Sr., P
Kory Schucker, Troy, Sr., P
Cole Serfass, Palmerton, Sr., C
Tyler Uram, Lakeland, Jr., IF/P
Rocky Viscito, Saucon Valley, Sr., OF/P
Kameron Wetzel, Tri-Valley, Sr., IF
Drew Yadodzinskie, Mount Carmel, So., P
NEPA Baseball Coaches Association Big School All-Regional team
Name, School, Year, Position
Brett Antolick, Hazleton Area, Sr., P
Bo Barthol, Parkland, Sr., P/OF
Jeremy Cawley, Pittston Area, Sr., IF
Gavin Chillot, North Pocono, Sr., IF/P
Joseph Curreri, Honesdale, Sr., P
Jake Dally, Nazareth, Sr., IF/P
Reece D'Amico, Bethlehem Liberty, Sr., C
Josh Domaracki, Selinsgrove, Jr., OF/P
Troy Dressler, Mifflinburg, Jr., P
Kory Faust, Blue Mountain, Sr., OF
Conner Griffin, Abington Heights, Sr., P/1B
Lucas Horton, Athens, Sr., Util
Adam Horvath, Pocono Mountain East, Jr., P
Luke Lea, Southern Lehigh, Sr., P
Griffin Paige, Midd-West, Sr., OF/P
Joe Peters, Dallas, Sr., C
Mason Raup, Danville, Sr., C
Grant Russo, Hazleton Area, Sr., Util
Hunter Rydell, Bangor, Sr., P
Dylan Sattazahn, Blue Mountain, Sr., P
Gavin Sopko, Pocono Mountain East, Sr., P
Tyler Swineford, Selinsgrove, Sr., 3B/P
Brian Walsh, Scranton Prep, Sr., OF
Chris Walsh, North Pocono, Sr., IF
Eric Wert, Bethlehem Catholic, Sr., OF
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