2026 Baseball Shore Conference Tournament: Breaking Down the Field

The Shore Conference Tournament kicks off Wednesday with 25 teams hoping to make a statement at some point over the next 12 days. For many teams in the tournament, winning one game would be successful showing and for a select few, making the semifinals and contending for a championship is the only satisfactory outcome.

Heading into the first round, let’s take a look at the entire field, starting with the teams that are likely to be eliminated in their first game, working up through the teams with a shot to reach the quarterfinals and semifinals and wrapping up with the teams best positioned to win it. The field is separated into 11 categories – or tiers, if you will – from the teams that are just happy to be in the tournament to the favorites to win it.

 

Happy to Be Here

25. Keyport

On the heels of their first division championship in nearly a quarter century, the Red Raiders earned an automatic bid the SCT and will try their luck at Toms River East Wednesday in round 1. Keyport is 0-2 vs. Shore Conference teams outside the Class D North division and lost those games against Red Bank and Holmdel by a combined score of 20-0. A first-round win would be an all-time tournament upset, but a loss could still prove valuable for Keyport in preparing the Red Raiders for the NJSIAA Group I Tournament.

 

Happy to Be Here, but with an Ace

24. Barnegat

Like Keyport, Barnegat does not have a win over a team in the SCT field, but the Bengals do have a starting pitcher who has proven over the past two years that he can quiet a quality lineup. Nick Malinowski is set to take the ball vs. Wall, which like most teams, has run hot-and-cold as a lineup throughout the season. If Malinowski is on, the Bengals could put the pressure on and perhaps even pull off an upset, but a sustained run through the tournament would be out of leftfield considering their season to date.

 

Battle-Tested Sleepers

19. St. John Vianney

The sleepers in this group have had their moments and have had good years without a clear-cut, shutdown No. 1 pitcher. St. John Vianney has plenty of quality options on the mound and its best might actually be a reliever: junior right-hander Matt Baczor, who has a 0.86 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings with 4 saves. Few teams are as well-rehearsed in close games as is St. John Vianney, which is 9-4 in games decided by three runs or fewer. Beating Point Boro on the road is not out of the question for SJV, but following that up with a win over a dominant Brick Memorial team would be the Lancers’ toughest test of the season.

16. Southern

No team in this team has more high-profile wins on its ledger than does Southern, which owns wins over Brick Memorial, Point Pleasant Beach, Toms River East, Jackson and Lacey. While those wins are a good sign, the Rams also go into the tournament with 12 losses and will be relying on an all-hands-on-deck pitching staff to keep games close. No opponent will intimidate Southern, which is a good thing since round one is likely to feature a matchup against Seton-Hall-bound Freehold Township ace Jackson Redmond and a second-round matchup would be at top-seeded Red Bank Catholic.

21. Marlboro

With a competitive split of its regular-season series vs. Colts Neck, Marlboro will be a confident team going to Toms River South for round one and if the Mustangs survive that trip, a rematch with Rumson-Fair Haven is next. Marlboro held a late lead in the Monmouth County Tournament quarterfinals before the Bulldogs pulled out a 4-3 win, which should give the Mustangs some confidence that they can put back-to-back winning performances together behind starters Mark Risi and Sujay Sesha.

18. Middletown North

Middletown North’s ability to pull off a long wrong will be less about lining up its pitching and more about stitching the right combination of pitchers together to complement a dangerous lineup. The Lions upset Rumson-Fair Haven during the Class B North regular season and will try to beat Colts Neck Wednesday after being swept by the Cougars in divisional play. Point Beach awaits the winner and while the Garnet Gulls are a hot team, Middletown North could be a tough out should the Lions make it to Saturday.

23. Red Bank

Two wins over Shore and another over Colts Neck reveal Red Bank to be a capable team, which should catch the collective eye of Manalapan.Sean Keatts has been steady at the top of the rotation and Casey Lillis a solid 1b. to Keatts’s 1a. If the Bucs can find a way past Manalapan, beating Howell would be similarly difficult – or similarly probable, to put it more optimistically.

22. Lacey

The Lions have a pitching staff that has kept them in just about every game, with opponents scoring more than four runs only four times this season and never more than eight. Zach Lodge is ready to go against Manasquan and with Chase Kaplan unavailable to pitch, Lacey has a solid shot to snatch a round-one win, albeit against a Manasquan lineup that is just recently getting hot. With CBA on deck to face the Manasquan-Lacey winner, getting past the second round will be a tall order.

Dangerous at Least Once a Week

17. Freehold Township

Each of the teams in this tier as a Division I pitcher who is a proven top-end ace at the high-school level. The aforementioned Redmond is ready to go for Freehold Township against a Southern team that has proven itself to be a tough tournament out after reaching the semifinals of the Ocean County Tournament as a double-digit seed for a second straight year. If the Patriots wanted to get bold, they could try to get through Southern while saving Redmond – a strategy that could pay off with Redmond being available to tackle No. 1 Red Bank Catholic on Saturday. Freehold Township is likely to use Redmond but the Patriots have been scrappy even without him on the mound and Southern does not have an obvious ace as a counter.

11. Manasquan

Chase Kaplan pitched on Monday to clinch the Class B South championship while throwing over 100 pitches, so he is ineligible to pitch in Wednesday’s first round vs. Lacey. Furthermore, Kaplan has not pitched with fewer than six days of rest this season, so while he could start a Saturday game at CBA, it would mark the first time this season he is pitching with four days of rest. All that is to say, if Manasquan is to make it to next week, the Warriors will likely have to get there with a group of pitchers other than Kaplan leading the way. Fortunately for Manasquan, its offense is coming off, by far, its best week of the season and may be getting hot at the right time.

20. St. Rose

St. Rose actually has two quality pitchers in Peter Nolan and James Alesso, but it’s Nolan that will make a potential opponent nervous. In this case, that opponent is the Shore’s hottest team, Shore Regional. St. Rose is likely to turn Nolan looses on a Blue Devils team that enters Wednesday on a 13-game winning streak and with a 16-1 record since opening the season 0-4. If St. Rose can cool off the Blue Devils, Alesso would get the ball in round two at Ranney – a tournament-tested team, but also one that is just barely above .500, albeit against a loaded schedule.

Balanced Teams with Something to Prove

14. Point Pleasant Boro

The teams in this group don’t have an unquestioned hammer on the mound, but they all have multiple pitchers who can win during tournament time, especially with the well-rounded rosters around them. The group starts with Point Boro, which will be a hungry team heading into the tournaments. Not only did the Panthers go 0-3 vs. Toms River South during the season while also dropping games to Kaplan and Manasquan, as well as Brick Memorial and Zach Pirnik; they also have most of last year’s team back, which had Group II champion Governor Livingston on the ropes before losing in heartbreaking fashion. The Panthers will stare down St. John Vianney in round one with the hopes of earning a rematch with Brick Memorial on Saturday.

12. Toms River South

The Indians head into the SCT on a four-game losing streak and will try to get their mojo back Wednesday against Marlboro in round one. Junior left-hander Aiden Moylan will likely get the call against the Mustangs, who have pitching to compete with Toms River South but could find Moylan hard to square up considering he is just two starts removed from a no-hitter and pitched four scoreless innings vs. Brick Memorial in the Ocean County Tournament final before the floodgates opened. The winner of Wednesday’s game earns a trip to Rumson and the Indians have the pitching, defense and team offense to hang with the No. 5 seed as long as they can get back on track vs. Marlboro.

10. Manalapan

The Braves have a balanced lineup, multiple reliable pitchers, a season’s worth of good performances vs. quality opponents, and a nice draw in the bracket. All they need now is some consistency. At 11-11, Manalapan has played some great games, but has not been able to string a bunch of wins together, which is what tournament time is all about. Part of that is playing in Class A North, for sure, but that is the kind of competition that awaits in the SCT. Golden Jagger, Brady Costello and Noah Feldman are a solid trio to throw at Red Bank and, potentially Howell, with the Braves hoping to make it to next week’s quarterfinals against a team like No. 2 Point Beach or perhaps No. 15 Colts Neck.

9. Wall

The difference between the No. 8 seed and the No. 9 seed is having to face Barnegat ace Nick Malinowski, who was an All-Shore pitcher as a sophomore in 2025 and has faced off against four tournament teams in Red Bank Catholic, Lacey (twice), St. Rose and Middletown North. The good news for Wall is, while Malinowski pitched admirably in those five games, Barnegat did not win any of them. Perhaps the Bengals are due and Wall will be forced to start a top arm to beat them, but the Crimson Knights have four reliable starters – Nick Plevier, John Catanio, Dan Hennessy and Christian Suarez – and a handful of underclassmen relievers who can get Wall through several rounds of the tournament.

8. Toms River East

Although Tuesday’s seventh-inning collapse in a 6-5 loss at Red Bank Catholic will have the Raiders kicking themselves on Wednesday, they should not beat themselves up for long. They showed they can go toe-to-toe with the No. 1 seed, which could be the task if Toms River East can go 2-0 this week against Keyport, followed by either Wall or Barnegat. James Whalen got the call on Tuesday and would still be available for 66 pitches on Saturday, when Toms River East could use multiple pitchers in an effort to reach the quarterfinals. Drawing Keyport in the first round should allow the Raiders to save some pitching for the round of 16 and, potentially, the quarterfinals.

 

The Hot Team

13. Shore

The No. 13 seed has won 13 in a row heading into Wednesday’s first round vs. St. Rose and yet, it could be an uneasy feeling for Shore on its home field Wednesday afternoon. The Purple Roses have a University of Pittsburgh commit to throw at Shore and although the Blue Devils can counter with left-handed ace Ryan Barham, dealing with Peter Nolan will be a grind come tournament time. Shore’s Class C North foe, St. John Vianney, already beat St. Rose in the Monmouth County Tournament Jarmusz Bracket in a game started by Nolan, so the Blue Devils can find some comfort in that. If Shore can get by St. Rose, a trip to Ranney is next, which would be the most intense heat check during Shore’s current winning streak. The Blue Devils have shown they have the pitching and the top of the order is dangerous, but facing increasingly tough teams will be the challenge – as it is for every team in the field. Not every team in the field, however, is protecting a double-digit win streak.

 

The Double-Digit Contender

15. Colts Neck

A number of out-of-division losses and two missed opportunities vs. Rumson-Fair Haven cost Colts Neck a higher seed in this tournament, which leaves the Cougars down at No. 15. For a senior-driven team that has three very good pitchers in Ryan Spencer, Ryan Rude and Jack Dugo, this draw is not a bad one. Colts Neck already beat first-round opponent Middletown North twice during the regular season and if they can make it 3-0 vs. the Lions, the Cougars go to Point Beach to face a Garnet Gulls team that is on a roll, but has played a lot of close games vs. teams that are similar in caliber to Colts Neck. The three pitchers, plus the senior lineup that hits one-through-nine is a great formula to take into the tournament, so those losses to teams like Marlboro, Red Bank and Point Boro could easily become a distant memory.

Ready for Anything

7. Howell

Like the two other teams in this tier, Howell has seen just about everything there is for a high-school baseball team to see on the field and has still thrived. The Rebels made it to the Monmouth County Tournament final for the first time in 60 years, before the school changed its name from Southern Freehold to Howell. That included wins over Wall and Red Bank Catholic in consecutive rounds, followed by a hard-fought loss against Ranney in the final after the two teams split the regular-season series in Class A North. Jackson Vetrano has been Howell’s go-to starter, but John Bertan, Andrew Morin, Kurtis Lovgren, Jack Quinn and Waylon Cavanaugh have all proven reliable. The road to the final is likely to feature a gauntlet of A-division teams, with Manalapan, No. 2 Point Beach, No. 3 Brick Memorial and No. 6 CBA all lined up on that side of the bracket along with “underdogs” Colts Neck, Red Bank and Middletown North all lurking as potential opponents in the later rounds.

4. Ranney

The Monmouth County Tournament proved the Panthers are ready for high-stakes baseball. During that run to the finals, they knocked off CBA, Rumson-Fair Haven and Howell on consecutive rounds and allowed just seven runs in four tournament games. Jake Abrams and Noah Hynes delivered big-time performances in the late rounds of the tournament and will be Ranney’s go-to duo in this tournament as well. Outside the MCT, Ranney is 6-9 and allowing 6.7 runs per game, so there are two different Ranney teams that could emerge in this bracket. Monday’s come-from-behind, 5-4, win at Jackson is sending the Panthers into the SCT feeling like the championship version.

2. Point Pleasant Beach

With an 11-1 record over its last 12 games and a five-game winning streak against a collection of winning teams that is a combined 65-36, Point Beach is on a tear going into the Shore Conference Tournament. The Garnet Gulls conquered the Class A South Tournament by beating Brick Memorial and Wall twice each and have since knocked off Bayonne, Ranney, Point Boro and Lacey. Left-hander Tommy Conroy was Point Beach’s unquestioned ace on the mound up until the last week, during which Bennett Moberg pitched his second straight two-hit shutout and third straight complete game. The only hang-up for Point Beach is its lone loss over the last nine games in an OCT quarterfinal loss at home to Southern, so the Garnet Gulls have already been picked off once. Colts Neck would be a very tough first game for a No. 2 seed and it would not get any easier with a team like Howell or Manalapan awaiting the winner.

The Preseason Favorite

6. Christian Brothers Academy

The Colts may be the most talented roster in the tournament and there are signs that it is coming together at the right time. Since a 13-0 rout at the hands of Red Bank Catholic, CBA is 4-1 with close wins over RBC, Manalapan and Howell, plus a rout of St. Peter’s Prep last week. The lone loss during the stretch was to Ranney in the MCT, so CBA too has something to prove in this tournament. The Colts have two proven, big-game senior pitchers in Michigan commit Dylan Iwanyk and Northeastern commit Danny DiTullio, plus a deep pitching staff behind them that includes to other dependable seniors in Dan Pardini and Declan Doogan. With that group rounding into form and a lineup that has put up 15-run games twice in the past two weeks, the Colts are playing like a team ready to make a bid for its second SCT championship in three years.

 

Made for Late May

5. Rumson-Fair Haven

The results this season have proved the superiority of the teams from the A division, which might suggest a B North team like Rumson will not emerge with a championship from this particular tournament. The Bulldogs still have to prove they can scoring runs against the kind of pitching they will see in the late rounds of this tournament, but there is no doubt Rumson has the pitching the match up with anyone. With Brady Williams and Cooper Jones as the right-left combination at the top, the Bulldogs throw a wave of different looks at teams from the mound, which is exactly the kind of pitching staff that can navigate four tournament rounds played over the course of nine days. Saturday’s opponent (Toms River South or Marlboro) is likely to be coming off a tough first-round game and a rematch with Ranney in the quarterfinals could be just over the horizon. Getting through Ranney and RBC to reach a final would not be easy, but neither will beating Rumson – especially if the bats begin to click.

The Favorites

1. Red Bank Catholic

To beat RBC this season, it seems as though a team has to bury the Caseys under a pile of runs. Outside of a 5-2 loss to Monroe in a showcase game, RBC’s only losses have been a trio of games in which its three opponents (Manalapan, Howell and CBA) scored a combined 42 runs with all three scoring at least 10. While that reveals a vulnerability in the Caseys’ pitching, it also displays a team that thrives on coming through late in the game and that is a worthwhile trait to have once the second half of May arrives. It’s not clear who RBC considers its ace at the moment, with Glen Popes, Anthony Scaglione, Tyler Hager, Joe Mauro and Sam French all throwing important innings with mixed success, but whichever pitching is on the mound, the Caseys tend to support them with runs and solid – and sometimes spectacular – defense. With the No. 1 seed and every game at Count Basie Park until the final, RBC has the conditions right for a run back to the championship game.

3. Brick Memorial

The defending SCT champs have a significant portion of last year’s team back and over the last three weeks, the Mustangs have played like a championship team. They steamrolled their way to an Ocean County Tournament championship last week and since dropping three games in a row in mid-April to fall to 5-5, the Mustangs are 10-1 in their last 11 games, with the lone loss coming to Red Bank Catholic the day before the OCT final vs. Toms River South. Brick Memorial has two big-game tested starters in Brody Moore and Zach Pirnik and while the pitching staff behind the two left-handers has been the Mustangs’ primary question this season, they have the lineup to outhit any team, no matter who is on the mound. It is rare that a team can get through four rounds in nine days with just two pitchers and if Moore and Pirnik are the only pitchers to touch the ball for Brick Memorial in this tournament, the Mustangs will likely be hoisting another trophy.

First Round Predictions

(8) Toms River East over (25) Keyport

(9) Wall over (24) Barnegat

(10) Manalapan over (23) Red Bank

(22) Lacey over (11) Manasquan

(12) Toms River South over (21) Marlboro

(20) St. Rose over (13) Shore

(14) Point Boro over (19) St. John Vianney

(15) Colts Neck over (18) Middletown North

(16) Southern over (17) Freehold Township