The days are getting longer and hotter, and that can mean only one thing — it’s baseball season.
Santa Clarita Valley squads have already been competing for a couple of weeks, but the Foothill League and Heritage League schedules are commencing next week.
The Hart Hawks, the reigning Foothill League and CIF Southern Section Division 2 champions, are set to open their league campaign at home against the Valencia Vikings. The Saugus Centurions and Castaic Coyotes are also playing at home on Wednesday. Saugus is hosting the Canyon Cowboys while Castaic is hosting the West Ranch Wildcats.
The Golden Valley Grizzlies have the first league bye of the season and will start their league campaign with a two-game set against Castaic on Wednesday, March 19, and Friday, March 21.
In the Heritage League, the Trinity Classical Academy Knights, the reigning league champions, and the Santa Clarita Christian Cardinals are opening up their league campaigns against each other in a doubleheader on Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know heading into the start of the league baseball season:
Editor’s note: All records accurate prior to Friday’s contests. Teams are listed in order of their Foothill League finish in 2024, followed by the two SCV private schools competing in the Heritage League.
With new coach, Hart seeking to retain league title
For the first time in 25 years, a new face is leading the Hart (3-4, 0-0) baseball program.
Former Valencia head coach Brad Meza, a Hart alumnus himself, took over prior to this season after the retirement of longtime head coach Jim Ozella, who picked up his first and only CIF title last season.
Along with Ozella, Hart lost Brayden Jefferis, Ryan DeLa Maza, Troy Cooper, Ian Edwards, Eddie Gutiérrez and Taj Brar following the 2024 season after ending their high school careers as champions.
This season, Meza has a couple of senior pitchers in James Bacon and Carson Maymo leading the staff. Maymo was a key piece on the mound during the Hawks’ playoff run last season.
Elsewhere, senior Michael Hogen is set to man third base with three years of varsity experience under his belt. Senior Brady Werther, a Cal Lutheran commit, is slated to split duties at catcher and first base.
Coming up from the junior varsity team for this year are Anthony Cavaretta and Matix Frithsmith, both of whom are “sure to be contributors” to the Hawks’ success, Meza said.
“The goal this year is to be competitive every time we play,” Meza said. “We’re looking to make another push for a league title and a deep playoff run.”
West Ranch out to end streak of second-place finishes
The Wildcats (5-1, 0-0) have finished in second place in the Foothill League in back-to-back seasons, but head coach Ryan Lindgreen is confident that 2025 is the year that West Ranch closes out the year on top.
With a slew of players returning with varsity experience, some with multiple seasons, the Wildcats are a clear contender for the league title.
On the mound, senior Hunter Manning, a UC Irvine commit, returns to lead the pitching staff. He’s struck out 11 and allowed just five hits and one earned run in seven innings so far this season, though the Wildcats will need a couple more arms to step up after Jackson Banuelos and Ben Cushnie graduated.
Also primed to help West Ranch compete for the league title are seniors Nolan Stoll at catcher, Landon Hu at second base and Mikey Murr at first base and pitcher, as well as junior Ty Diaz at shortstop. All three seniors are committed to playing at the college level — Murr is committed locally to The Master’s University, while Stoll is set to go to Stanford and Hu is slated to go to the University of Pomona-Pitzer.
“The goal for this year is to win a Foothill League title and make a CIF playoff run,” Lindgreen said.
Saugus looking to ride senior leadership to stay in title race
The Centurions (6-1) are off to a hot start in non-league action. Their only loss was a 2-0 shutout at Paraclete at the tail end of a stretch of four games in seven days.
First-year head coach Mike Miller has taken over after former coach Carl Grissom resigned. Twin seniors Kaleb and Kaden Haag are two pieces of the puzzle for Miller as he expects his team to compete for a league title. Kaleb, a pitcher, is slated to be the Centurions’ ace of the staff, while Kaden, an infielder, is the starting third baseman and “one of our best hitters,” Miller said.
Senior James Frias is set to split time at center field and pitcher. Senior Ming Lee, committed to Trinity University in Texas, is in place to be a key part of the pitching staff.
Junior outfielder Matt Carta is getting ready for his third year on the varsity squad and is starting to get some looks from colleges, Miller said. He added that sophomore Abe Ramirez should be a key contributor at both outfield and pitcher, and is a “super talented player that should be exciting to watch for the next three seasons on varsity.”
“We’re a highly competitive team that is hungry to win,” Miller said. “We have seniors in the lineup and pitching staff that have great leadership qualities. We also have some talented young players who will make a huge impact for this team.”
New coach leads experienced Valencia squad
The Vikings (2-3) enter the 2025 season with a new head coach in Tim Pennell but plenty of returning talent.
Senior Noah Jaquez returns as a two-way standout on the mound and in the outfield and already has one of the four home runs for Valencia. Senior Lincoln Hunt is set to be the Vikings’ other team captain at second base.
Junior Tyler Wertz has flexed his power at the plate already with two home runs to go along with six RBIs. He’s set to split time at catcher and third base.
Junior Justin Gaisford already has eight runs scored in five games and is set to be key as both a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman, while junior Kyle Josing has explosive speed, per Pennell.
Senior Connor Crawford, another lefty pitcher, has “very good command of three pitches” and “will be a huge part to our success.”
“The goal is to win league and make a strong playoff push,” Pennell said.
Senior-laden Castaic squad looking to get back to playoffs
The Coyotes (4-3) are just two years removed from CIF Southern Section and SoCal Regional titles.
Led by fifth-year coach Darrell Davis, Castaic is aiming to move on from last year’s under-.500 record and use a senior-laden squad to get back to a winning season.
Senior Chad Kober has recorded 15 strikeouts and allowed just eight hits and one earned run in 10 innings pitched this year as the ace of the staff. He also has the Coyotes’ two home runs on the year.
Also set to see time on the mound are senior Giovanni Foster and junior Andrew Bond, who is coming up from JV.
Seniors Junior Yera and Travis Van Ness are slated to be two of the team’s top hitters at outfield and shortstop, respectively. Senior catcher Chris Cailotto is also expected to be a key contributor.
“We are very solid defensively and have a lot of pitching arms,” Davis said. “The key to our success this year will be timely hitting. The goal is to get to the playoffs.”
Golden Valley looking to turn improved culture into wins
The Grizzlies (1-3) also have a new head coach in Marc Kennedy, who was an assistant for the last three seasons at Golden Valley.
Set to lead the way for the Grizzlies are four returning seniors in Skylar Sears, Vincent Hundelt, Bryce Hayles and Connor Anderson. Sears is a Loras College commit, while the rest are expected to help fill out the middle of the order.
Sophomore Ayden Renstrom spent time on the varsity squad last year as a freshman and should see time at the top of the batting order and on the mound.
Junior Charlie Butts and sophomore Tyler Do are both coming up from JV and are expected to start for Kennedy. Butts is slated to be the team’s staff ace while Do is set to be the team’s catcher.
Key for the Grizzlies this year will be an improved culture that Kennedy said he wants to implement, as he wants to see more accountability and an intent to getting better to benefit both the players individually and the program as a whole.
“I think success in the form of wins will be a byproduct of getting players to buy into that philosophy,” Kennedy said. “Patience is key, as this isn’t an overnight fix. We’re in it for the long haul.”
Canyon’s tight-knit squad aiming for improvement
The Cowboys (1-5) finished in last place in the Foothill League last season, but third-year head coach Zach Newman thinks his squad has developed close relationships that could lead to an improved record.
Senior Benny Santos, junior Brody Bayliss, senior Phillip Curiel, senior Levi Shickle and sophomore Ryder Brown are expected to be some of the leaders for Newman.
Santos is a Williamette University commit who should see time at shortstop and as the team’s closing pitcher.
Bayliss has been playing varsity since he was a freshman and is a left-handed power bat and pitcher, while Curiel is the team’s defensive leader in center field.
Shickle is the team’s third baseman and likely clutch hitter. Brown is ready for his second year on varsity and is expected to be a future star in the Foothill League.
On the mound, juniors Henry Almaraz and William Peck return to take the bulk of the innings for the Cowboys.
“I believe the end-goal for every year is the same goal for all teams: playoffs,” Newman said. “That being said, I am a teacher on campus, and a teacher first and foremost, and my goal is to make sure members of my squad are growing into hard-working, respectful, and responsible young men. I believe the wins will come from those roots being planted. Then and only then will a team be playoff ready.”
Trinity looking for more league dominance
The Knights (4-1) have already shown early on that pitching will be a big part of their success.
The Carlson brothers, senior John and sophomore Andrew, have both delivered exceptional performances already. John, a Cal Baptist commit, kicked off the season with a no-hitter, while Andrew tossed a perfect game against Canyon.
First-year head coach Justin Stark also mentioned seniors Jordan Lovelace, a TMU commit and last year’s Heritage League Player of the Year, Luke Backes and Noah Visconti as players to watch for.
Freshmen Aiden Visconti and Cade Herta are also expected to be contributors to Trinity’s success.
The Knights haven’t lost a league game since the 2022 season and are looking for their fourth-straight league title.
“I have high expectations for this team, on the mound and at the plate,” Stark said. “We have some key returners that have showed success in the past with a good mix of younger guys that will bring some much-needed depth.”
Experienced SCCS looking for another playoff campaign
The Cardinals (2-1) are a small group but one that has players who have been together for four years, both in baseball and football.
Third-year head coach Wyatt Waldron Sr. thinks he has an experienced group that can make the playoffs for a second year running.
Leading the way are seniors Wyatt Waldron Jr. and Cayden Rappleye, as well as juniors Gregory Michelin, Zane Stauffer and Jacob Trosper.
The younger Waldron is slated to catch for the Cardinals while Rappleye is expected to be a middle-of-the-order and a solid defender in the infield.
Michelin is expected to be the team’s ace on the mound. Stauffer and Trosper are also expected to eat innings, with the latter having “great velocity for his age,” but has been plagued with injuries early in his high school career, according to coach Waldron.
“It’s awesome to see most of our starters that are seniors playing it out this year as most of them were our starters when they were freshmen playing grown 18-year-olds,” coach Waldron said. “I told them then to hang in there, trust the process, and eventually they will be the 18-year-olds on the field, and here we are.”
