WPIAL baseball season preview

Sure, it’s only March 14 and the Pirates don’t play their season opener for another two weeks, but for WPIAL baseball teams, this is opening day.

Here are some top baseball storylines, teams and players to watch for when the season begins for WPIAL teams on Friday.

Top stories

Three-peat, anyone? Only once has a school won a WPIAL championship three consecutive years, but both Seton LaSalle and Bishop Canevin have their eyes on historic three-peats this season. The only school to have done it was Pine-Richland, which claimed three straight Class 3A titles from 2004-06. The first of those teams was led by longtime major leaguer Neil Walker. Seton LaSalle has captured back-to-back Class 2A titles and Canevin consecutive Class 1A crowns. Seton LaSalle has the added challenge of moving up a classification this season, as the Rebels are now in Class 3A. Both teams feature new coaches. Bobby LoCastro takes over at Seton LaSalle and Craig Sonson at Canevin. Seton LaSalle is led by sophomore shortstop-pitcher Josh Burkholder, a West Virginia recruit, while Canevin features a strong pitching staff led by brothers Tyler and Jackson Maddix.

“Coach O” is back and could lead Riverside to the top again. For about 20 years now, Riverside coach Dan Oliastro has been asked at the end of each season whether or not he’ll be returning the next season. Oliastro has each time, typically joking that he needs to because “he’s in it for the money.” Well, “Coach O,” at the young age of 81, is back again for what is his 57th season. The winningest coach in WPIAL history heads into the season with 712 victories to go along with six WPIAL titles and five PIAA titles. After becoming the first WPIAL team to finish as unbeaten PIAA champs in 2023, Riverside fell to Avonworth, 4-3, in last year’s WPIAL Class 3A championship. But with an outstanding group of pitchers led by Christian Lucarelli and Zach Hare, it’s not hard to imagine the Panthers going a long way once again this spring.

Pool of Class 6A teams continues to dwindle. If you thought that having only 11 teams in the WPIAL’s largest classification was a minuscule number, we’re afraid that we’ve got some bad news for you … that number has dropped to 10 this season. That’s right, Class 6A will consist of just two sections comprising five teams each. And get this: The top four finishers in each section qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. Like in recent seasons, the teams will play a three-game series against each of their section opponents. Allderdice, Baldwin and Pine-Richland dropped to Class 5A, with North Hills moving up from Class 5A and Woodland Hills from Class 4A. The question is, who will throw a no-hitter in the WPIAL Class 6A championship? Amazingly, it has happened two years in a row, as Mt. Lebanon’s David Shields no-hit North Allegheny in 2023 before North Allegheny’s David Posey tossed a no-no against Mt. Lebanon last season.

The favorites

Class 6A: North Allegheny. The defending WPIAL champions lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, but the cupboard is far from bare for Tigers coach Andrew Heck. Originally committed to West Virginia, senior right-hander Nico Varlotta has since switched his allegiance to North Alabama — but first, he will take over as the ace of North Allegheny’s pitching staff after posting a record of 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA in limited action last year. Senior southpaw Jackson Walsh will step in as the No. 2 starter after tallying a 3.30 ERA a year ago, and senior second baseman Mason Smith headlines a deep balanced lineup along with senior catcher Michael Hershberger and senior shortstop Augie Maslo.

Class 5A: Pine-Richland. With venerable coach Kurt Wolfe pulling the strings, the Rams have spent the better part of the past two decades in the thick of the WPIAL championship chase — and things should be no different this year after dropping down from Class 6A to Class 5A. Pine-Richland returns Baylor recruit Keegan Diehl to anchor a rotation that also includes senior right-handers Anthony Annichine and Tristan Farrar, while senior catcher Sam Heckert and senior outfielder Tanner Cunningham are both two-sport standouts who will look to follow up their WPIAL football title from last fall with a WPIAL baseball title this spring.

Class 4A: Indiana. Despite losing “Big Ben” Ryan and his WPIAL-leading 10 home runs to graduation, the Little Indians will still be packing plenty of punch this season. Coming off WPIAL and PIAA runner-up finishes in 2024, this group is hungry for a chance to turn silver into gold — and with Texas Tech recruit Greg Minnick back in the fold to spearhead a star-studded pitching staff alongside senior right-handers Ryan Okopal and Mark Collinger, it’s hard not to like their chances. Last year, Minnick went 4-0 with a 2.06 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 49⅔ innings, while Okopal finished 8-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 49 punchouts in 36⅓ innings.

Class 3A: Riverside. Coach Dan Oliastro has a dilemma — one of those good ones. Who is his No. 1 pitcher? What makes it a positive is that Riverside is among the few WPIAL teams that has a pair of true aces, one of whom was the go-to hurler in 2023 (senior Christian Lucarelli) and the other in 2024 (senior Zach Hare). Also back is senior Hunter Garvin, one of the team’s top hitters. Riverside will be tested in a deep Class 3A that also features Seton LaSalle and Avonworth. The Antelopes are the defending WPIAL champions and reigning PIAA runners-up.

Class 2A: Neshannock. Neshannock, a WPIAL Class 3A finalist in 2023 and a quarterfinalist a season ago, drops to Class 2A and immediately becomes one of the top teams in the class. The Lancers, who ended Riverside’s 36-game win streak last spring, will be led by senior Dom Cubellis, a Gannon recruit who teams with senior Jake Rynd to give the Lancers a terrific tandem of pitchers. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is another team that should be in the championship hunt after winning a section title and reaching the WPIAL semifinals last season.

Class 1A: Bishop Canevin. Good luck scoring runs against Canevin this season, as the Crusaders feature a trio of pitchers who have played big roles in the team winning back-to-back WPIAL titles. A 1-2 brotherly punch in the rotation features senior Tyler Maddix and sophomore Jackson Maddix. Those two combined for 10 wins and 134 strikeouts over 78⅔ innings last season. Senior Kole Olszewski is another standout hurler who has collected 16 career wins. Senior second baseman Kellen Andruscik also returns.

Diamond Dozen

Josh Burkholder, Seton LaSalle. A West Virginia recruit and one of the state’s top sophomores, this standout shortstop-pitcher was one of Seton LaSalle’s top hitters last season when he helped the Rebels repeat as WPIAL Class 2A champions. Burkholder’s role on the pitching staff will increase this season after the Rebels graduated their top two starters.

Zach Hare, Riverside. There might not have been a bigger breakout performer in the WPIAL last season. After playing sparingly as a sophomore, Hare, now a senior right-hander, went 9-1 with a 0.95 ERA and struck out 86 in 44 innings of work. The Slippery Rock recruit was also one of Riverside’s top hitters, batting .542 with 7 doubles, 2 home runs and 19 RBIs.

Graham Keen, Mt. Lebanon. Last year’s PUP Rookie of the Year, Keen enters his sophomore season as perhaps the top talent in WPIAL Class 6A. Considered one of the top 10th graders in the country, Keen was a two-way starter for Mt. Lebanon a season ago, batting .324 with team bests of 6 home runs and 24 RBIs while also going 6-1 with a 1.42 ERA.

Tyler Lesko, Thomas Jefferson. Lesko, a senior and Mercyhurst recruit, was one of Thomas Jefferson’s top hitters last season when he hit .422 with 5 doubles and 18 RBIs. Now nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Lesko will again be expected to play an important role on the mound after making just one appearance in 2024.

Christian Lucarelli, Riverside. Lucarelli’s numbers dipped a bit last year as he battled an oblique injury, but the Duke recruit still went 4-0 and fanned an average of two batters an inning after going 8-0 with a 1.07 ERA and punching out 129 during a dominant sophomore season. He’s also a big-game pitcher, having earned wins in the PIAA quarterfinals, semifinals and final in 2023.

Tyler Maddix, Bishop Canevin. Speaking of pitchers who shine in big moments, Maddix earned the win in each of the past two WPIAL Class 1A title games. A senior and Washington & Jefferson recruit, Maddix went 6-2 and punched out 66 in 41⅔ innings last season when he also batted .500 with 27 RBIs.

Greg Minnick, Indiana. One of the top pitchers in the area, this flame-throwing Texas Tech recruit is coming off a 4-0 season with a 2.06 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 49⅔ innings pitched. The senior righty allowed opponents to bat just .123 without surrendering a home run all season, helping the Little Indians advance to the WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A championship games.

Ryan Petras, Bethel Park. A true two-sport star who will attempt to play both baseball and football at Princeton, Petras is an exceptional athlete who helped the Black Hawks reach the WPIAL Class 5A final for the second year in a row last spring. As a junior, the speedy shortstop hit .452 with 17 RBIs, 27 runs scored and 20 stolen bases while playing gold-glove caliber defense.

Matthew Robaugh, Trinity. As a junior, this West Virginia recruit batted .443 with 5 doubles, 5 home runs, 13 RBIs, 27 runs scored and a 1.253 OPS on his way to earning all-state honors at shortstop. A two-time all-section honoree, Robaugh also caused havoc on the basepaths with 10 stolen bases last season.

Cooper Scharding, Avonworth. After pitching 7⅓ scoreless innings of relief in an unforgettable 14-inning win against Riverside in last year’s WPIAL Class 3A championship game, Scharding also played a key role in the Antelopes’ run to the WPIAL Class 3A title in football last fall. The junior went 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA and 80 strikeouts last year while hitting .333 with a team-leading 20 RBIs.

Colby Weber, Shaler. An East Carolina recruit, this towering 6-foot-6 right-hander will attempt to lead the Titans to their second WPIAL Class 5A title in the past three seasons. Weber finished his junior season with a record of 6-0 and tied for seventh in the WPIAL with 66 strikeouts during the regular season.

Luke Williams, Franklin Regional. A sweet-swinging shortstop and Virginia recruit, Williams enters the spring as the Panthers’ unquestioned centerpiece following his stellar sophomore campaign. Last spring, Williams batted .350 with 5 doubles, 4 home runs, 18 RBIs, 21 runs scored and an OPS of 1.128.