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2024 New England High School Team Previews

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2024 Spring Team Preview: Fairfield Warde (CT)

FAIRFIELD - It was a season to remember for the Fairfield Warde program last year.

A 6-1 victory over Westhill gave the Mustangs the FCIAC tournament championship, the first team to three-peat in conference history. That accomplishment was followed up by a 2-1 10-inning win over Staples for a second-consecutive Class LL state title. Fairfield Warde was ranked first in the final state poll, 100th in the nation and named the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Team of the Year.

Six players from the 2023 Mustangs are now playing in college but ninth-year head coach Brett Conner remains optimistic about the upcoming campaign.

“High-level pitching, athletic defense, competitive offense, speed and mentally tough,” Conner listed off about the strengths of this year’s Fairfield Warde team, which must replace the likes of Garrett Larsen (SS, Yale), Griffin Polley (RHP, James Madison), Aidan Dowd (RHP, Fordham), Paddy Galvin (IF, Wheaton), Will Stellato (OF, Gettysburg) and Jack Passeck (LHP, Gettysburg). Larsen, Polley, Galvin and Stellato were all first-team FCIAC last season.

The pitching staff looks deep in 2024 with senior captain Carson Swaim and junior Austin Howard leading the way. Swaim, the 48th-rated 2024 RHP in New England, is a Fordham signee and Howard, the fifth-ranked 2025 right-hander in Connecticut, a Louisville commit.

A trio of seniors is also expected to play key roles on the mound in left-hander Tommy Schopps, a Clark recruit, southpaw Hayden Lee, a Salve Regina commit, and Drew Balogh, who will also help the cause at third base.

Grady Schopps, the 44th-ranked senior shortstop in New England and a Salve Regina commit, will anchor the infield at shortstop with Kieran Shea and Jimmy Dobbs figuring in at catcher, first base and DH. Shea is a senior captain headed to Cheshire Academy while Dobbs is a sophomore.

Senior Kyle Justo, a Rensselaer Poly Institute recruit, junior Derek Davis, the sixth-rated 2025 outfielder in Connecticut, and Swaim will man outfield positions for Fairfield Warde.

Conner also points to a number of newcomers that could make an impact led by juniors Meyer Stransky (IF) and Kellen Gilligan (RHP) along with sophomore Carson Dodder (IF/RHP), the14th-rated 2026 shortstop in New England. Henry Vincent, Nick Crosley, Nate Jackson and Mickey Galvin are others the Fairfield Warde mentor sees helping the cause for a program that won the 2021 FCIAC championship, the 2022 FCIAC tournament and Class LL state championships and was runners-up in Class LL state in 2016.

“We have unwavering commitment and dedication to each other and the program,” noted Conner, who has a 114-56 record at Fairfield Warde, including a 23-5 mark last season. “I like our leadership, discipline, pride and passion. We are prepared, have a lot of energy, are intelligent, competitive, aggressive and mentally tough.”

Conner points to team mentality as the key to success this year, with another challenging season ahead in the league.

“The FCIAC is a very strong conference with a ton of quality talent on every team that should be respected,” Conner concluded. “We strive to earn the opportunity to compete at the highest level every year.”

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