JJHuddle/PBR Ohio Division I Power Rankings: No. 1 - No. 5
March 29, 2014
By Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer/Northwest Scout
No. 1 Archbishop Moeller High School
Head coach Tim Held and the Archbishop Moeller Crusaders have won back-to-back state championships and are poised to make it a three-peat. The Crusaders defeated Cleveland St. Ignatius 7-1 as seen here.
The Crusaders finished 2013 with a 32-2, 9-1 GCL record, while winning their final 19 games. Coach Held and the Crusaders have also won at least 20 games for 10 straight seasons, seven straight league titles, 10 straight trips to the regionals and have been to the final four five of the last six seasons.
After losing talented players in Spencer Iacovone, Cameron Whitehead, Justin Wapler and Max Foley among others, the Crusaders are ready to reload. Moeller has one of the most talented rosters in the entire United States.
The lineup coach Held is projected to run out there looks like:
- 1 Riley Mahan, SS, 12, 6'3", 180, L-R, University of Kentucky recruit. Is getting better, as he has added 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, .406 BA, 41 R, 30 RBIs, 8 doubles, 5 triples, 27 SB, ranked number 4 in Ohio and 24 overall in the 2014 class, pictured above.
- 2 Zach Logue, RF, LHP, 12, 6'0", 160, L-L, University of Kentucky commit, .455 BA, 26 R, 25 RBIs, 13 SB, ranked number 9 in Ohio and 72 overall in the 2014 class, pictured right.
- 3 Josh Hollander, 2B, 11, 5'11", 150, R-R, Kent State commit, ranked number 16 in Ohio and 145 overall in the 2015 class.
- 4 Bryan Soth, OF/DH, 11, 5'11", 185, R-L, ranked number 132 in the 2015 class.
- 5 Grant Macciocchi, 1B/DH, 11, 6'2", 165, R-R, University of Missouri commit, ranked number 13 in Ohio and 133 overall in the 2015 class.
- 6 Joey Ludwig, LF, 12, 5'8", 195, L-L, .231 BA in limited at bats, committed to Capital University, ranked number 226 in the 2014 class.
- 7 TJ Storer, 1B/LHP, 12, 5'11", 210, L-L, .263 BA in limited at bats, Ohio Northern commit, ranked number 84 in the 2014 class.
- 8 Jordan Ramey, CF, 11, 5'5", 145, R-R, University of Cincinnati recruit, ranked number 45 in Ohio and 324 overall in the 2015 class.
- 9 Cole Proia, 3B, 12, 5'11", 170, R-R, .281 BA in limited at bats.
The Crusaders also have a pitching staff that is extremely strong from top to bottom, with the rotation looking like:
- 1 Zach Logue, LHP, 12, 6'0", 160, 1st team all GCL; 1st team all city, The athletic lefty has been topping out at 89 mph, 8-1, 1.13 ERA, 56 Ks in 56 innings.
- 2 Gus Ragland, RHP, 12, 6'1", 205, Miami (OH) commit for football. Ranked 95th in the 2014 class. 2nd team all gcl; 1st team all city. Sits mid-to-upper 80s with the fastball, 7-0, 0.69 ERA, 51 Ks in 50.2 innings, pictured right.
- 3 Grant Macciocchi, RHP, 11, 6'2", 165, gives the Crusaders another look, topping out at 88 mph from 3/4 slot.
- 4 Nick Voss, RHP, 12, 6'7", 195, University of Cincinnati commit, ranked 87th in 2014 class. The lengthy righty has been topping out at 85 with a great cutter, 5-1, 2.00 ERA, 32 Ks in 35 innings.
- 5 Nick Bennett, LHP, 10, 6'3", 185, The lefty has been topping out at 88 mph with a very good curveball, ranked number 3 in Ohio and 26 overall in the 2016 class.
- 6 Zach Hoffmann, LHP, 11, 6'5", 220, The lefty has been topping out at 88 mph, ranked number 20 in Ohio and 165 overall in the 2015 class.
- 7 Cole Proia, RHP, 12, 5'11", 170, R-R. Unsigned senior, ranked number 108 in the 2014 class. The righty has been topping out at 86 mph.
No. 2 Mason High School
The Mason Comets had an outstanding 2013 season, finishing the
regular season unbeaten, but fell in the regional semifinals at the hands of Clayton Northmont 6-1. First year head coach Curt Bly is ready for the Comets to reload in 2014 after losing some very talented ballplayers in Andrew McDonald, TJ Zeuch, Connor McVey, Drew Johnson, RJ Thompson and Lee Sponseller among others.
Mason has won back-to-back Greater Miami Conference titles and has won 20 straight league games, which is impressive with the likes of Lakota West, Lakota East and Hamilton in the GMC among others.
Coach Bly is confident that his seniors will lead by example and feels the Comets will have very strong pitching in 2014. Mason returns five starters and three pitchers. A few of the Comets top pitchers include:
- Rodney Hutchison, Jr '15 6'3" RHP (University of North Carolina commit, ranked 6th in Ohio and 30th overall, 2nd Team GMC, 1.00 ERA, 26 Ks in 21 innings, pictured above to right)
- Chris Martin '14 6' RHP (Kent State University commit, ranked number 12 in Ohio and 95th overall in 2014 class, pictured above to left)
- Andy Marzheuser '15 6'2" RHP (ranked number 151 in 2015 class, pictured right)
- Christopher Rice '14 6'3" RHP (unsigned senior)
The Comets will look for these six seniors and one junior to lead the offense in 2014:
- Connor Bryan SS, '14, 5'11" R/R (unsigned senior, ranked 246 in the 2014 class, 2nd Team GMC, .390 BA, 21 R)
- Chris Martin, 2B/P '14 6' L/R
- TJ Dunn, CF '14 6'1" R/R (unsigned senior, ranked number 104 in 2014 class, 2nd Team GMC, .429 BA, pictured right)
- Rodney Hutchison, Jr 1B/P '15 6'3" R/R (.359 BA, 5 doubles, 4 HR, 38 RBIs)
- Tyler Thamann RF '14 6'1" R/R (unsigned senior, ranked 242 in 2014 class)
- Joey Thomas C '14 6' R/R (University of Cincinnati commit, ranked 64th in 2014 class)
- Jacob Ball 3B '14 5'11" (unsigned senior, ranked 241 in the 2014 class)
A few underclassmen that coach Bly will look upon to contribute in 2014 include, Vince Vanelle '16 INF/RHP and Ben Speer '16 RHP (sits low 80s as a sophomore).
No. 3 St. Ignatius High School
Cleveland St. Ignatius and head coach Brad Ganor finished as the state runner-up as seen here. The Wildcats finished 2013 with a 27-7 record and lookking to improve upon that impressive 2013 season that saw them win 22 of their last 24 games, including 13 in a row. With six returning starters and six returning pitchers, along with 15 returning varsity players that have varsity game experience, the perennial power in division I are poised for another long tournament run.
The Wildcats and coach Ganor will look for four senior returning lettermen to lead his team.
- Nick Longo, OF/LHP, Senior, 5'10/175, L/L, committed to Miami University, ranked 23 in Ohio and 160 overall in 2014 class, pictured above.
- Nick Fabian, OF/RHP, Senior. 6'2/190, R/R, committed to West Virginia, ranked number 51 in Ohio and 337 overall in the 2014 class, pictured right.
- Nick Margevicius, LHP, Senior, 6'3/210, LHP, committed to Rider University, 9-1 last season, ranked 57th in Ohio for the 2014 class.
- Shane Skuhrovic, OF/RHP, Senior, 6'3/190, athletic
The Wildcats also have a couple of juniors that are garnering division I looks.
- Alex Panstares, C, Junior, 6'0/180, leader, started as a sophomore
- MJ Nara, RHP, 6'0/170, commands 3 pitches with velo
Coach Ganor's infield will include:
- Joe Khoury, 1B, Senior, Mount Union commit, pictured right
- Quillen Austria, SS, Senior
- David Bodziony, 2B, Senior
Other key contributors in 2014 include, Dennis Grosel (soph, 3B), Kyle Daugenti (Sr), Bennett Kinzel (Sr), Patrick Gulick (Sr), Sam Fuller (Jr), Ryan Cooper (Sr), Brendan Adler (Jr), Dylan Smolen (Jr) and Luke Diggs (Jr).
No. 4 Walsh Jesuit High School
Walsh Jesuit and head coach Chris Kaczmar finished 22-5 in 2013, falling in heart-breaking fashion in their opening tournament game to Twinsburg 1-0.
The Warriors have reloaded for the 2014 season and are ready to be atop the North Coast League, make a long tournament run and have eyes on Columbus.
Despite the loss of Chris Machamer (top overall player in the 2016 class, transferred to Massillon Washington), the Warriors and coach Kaczmar have an extremely talented roster from top to bottom, led by a strong 2015 class that includes:
- Ryan Feltner, RHP, 2015, R-R, The Ohio State University commit, ranked number 8 in Ohio and 67 overall in the 2015 class, pictured above.
- Ty Shoaff, LHP, 2015, L-L, University of Missouri recruit, ranked number 19 in Ohio and 154 overall in the 2015 class, pictured right.
- Blake Jenkins, OF, 2015, R-L, ranked number 21 in Ohio and 170 overall in the 2015 class.
- Azim Qadri, OF, 2015, L-R, ranked number 160 in the 2015 class.
- Riley Minorik, SS, 2015, R-R, ranked number 83 in the 2015 class.
- Connor Regan, C, 2015, ranked number 40 Ohio and 295 overall in the 2015 class, pictured left.
But don't sleep on the talent of the 2014 class that includes:
- Tim Benner, RHP, closer, Tiffin University commit, ranked number 82 in the 2014 class.
- Trevor Ray, LHP, 2014, unsigned senior.
- Nate Romans, SS, 2014, L-R, The Ohio State commit, ranked number 22 in Ohio and 158 overall in 2014 class, pictured right.
- Kyle Holdsworth, Ashland University commit
- Joel Ruane, LHP
A few underclassmen to keep an eye on:
- Chris Shorter, OF, 2016, good size, valedictorian candidate, projection
- Zack Pipoly, good LH power swing, has a talented younger brother as well
- Dominic Canzone, LH swing that is very good and pitches well too, good wiry athlete
No. 5 Massillon Jackson High School
The Massillon Jackson Polar Bears and head coach Bill Gamble
finished the 2013 season with a 16-11 record losing to rival Massillon Perry in the sectional finals.
Coach Gamble returns six starters and four pitchers and 13 lettermen as the Polar Bears look to use that experience as an advantage in the 2014 season.
The Polar Bears projected starting lineup will include:
- Jake Miller, OF, 2014, 4-year starter, 2-time All Federal League, .342 BA and 7 3Bs (school record), unsigned senior, ranked number 56 in the 2014 class, pictured right.
- Tim Turner, LHP/OF, 2014, George Mason University commit, .306 BA, 20 R and 20 RBIs in 2013, ranked number 67 in 2014 class.
- Jake Sima, 3B/RHP, 2014, .313 BA, unsigned senior.
- Sam Miller, 2B/RHP, 2016, very athletic, 6.9 60.
- Kyle Mottice, SS, 2014, 3-year letterman, HM 2013 All Federal League, .356 BA, unsigned senior, ranked number 229 in 2014 class
- AJ Kloehn, Catcher, 2014, Lafayette College commit, ranked number 159 in 2014 class.
- Jake Kempt, OF/2B, 2015, All League/ All District in footbal, very fast and athletic, runs in 6.6-6.7 range
- Mike McCann, RHP/2B, 2014.
Coach Gamble and the Polar Bears rotation will look like this:
- 1 Ryan Gusbar, LHP, 2014, Ashland University commit, 2nd Team All Federal League, 1.91 ERA, ranked number 168 in 2014 class, pictured right.
- 2 Sam Williams, LHP, 2014, Eastern Kentucky University commit, 4-0 with 3.96 ERA, ranked number 50 in Ohio and 336 overall in 2014 class.
- 3 Tim Turner, LHP/OF, 2014, George Mason University commit
- 4 Sam Miller, 2B/RHP, 2016, FB touches mid to upper 80s.
- 5 Brent Solinger, 2015 RHP/1B 6'7" 250lbs very high ceiling as a RHP, ranked number 121 in 2015 class.
A few other players coach Gamble feels will contribute in a big way include, Seth Vellucci (2014, catcher), Mitch Aman (OF, 2014), Brennan Dingler (2B, 2014), Cody Eder (3B/RHP, 2015) and Jake Pallotta (2016 IF/RHP started in football and basketball this season).
