Poster announcing the 2026 Shore Sports Insider Baseball Second and Third Team All-Shore, with red and blue stadium lights and a baseball on the field.

2026 Shore Sports Insider Baseball All-Shore Team: Second and Third Teams

Matt Manley|June 28, 2026|Last Updated June 28, 2026

2026 Shore Sports Insider Baseball All-Shore Team

 

Read: 2026 Shore Sports Insider All-Shore First Team

Second Team
Catcher

Jake Liotti, So., Howell

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
84 37 8 8 2 5 18 .440 .489 .607

This season was the start of a new era for Howell Baseball, with Miguel Arroyo taking over for longtime head coach Eric Johnson. On the field, it was Liotti who marked the new era by bursting onto the scene as one of the Shore’s best underclassmen and backstops. Liotti finished 10th at the Shore in batting average and second among catchers behind Point Beach’s Dan Lubach. Howell made it all the way to the Monmouth County Tournament final and the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, with Liotti hitting a combined .429 (9-for-21) with a double and both of his home runs on the season during the two tournaments.

 

Joe McGlynn, Sr., Brick Memorial

AB H BB HBP 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
97 32 16 10 7 3 4 22 .330 .457 .495

McGlynn is back on the All-Shore Team for a second straight year, following up his junior season in which he hit .500 with a more nuanced contribution while hitting .330. The senior backstop, who hit in the middle of the order for the highest-scoring team in the conference, finished third among catchers with 22 RBI, and threw out seven of the 21 attempted base-stealers that attempted to swipe a bag against him. McGlynn opened Brick Memorial’s NJSIAA Group III championship run with a 4-for-4 performance vs. Brick that included a home run and concluded it with two hit off Old Tappan 12-0 ace and Columbia commit Selden Kolkebeck.

 

First Base

Luke Dana, So., Wall

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
85 36 11 10 1 3 22 22 .424 .495 .671 10

 

IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
8.2 5 3 4 7 2.42 1.04

The second of two sophomores on the All-Shore Second Team, Dana built upon an impressive debut season as a freshman by developing into one of the best all-around hitters in the conference with two years still to go in his high-school career. He finished in the top 15 at the Shore in batting average (14th), slugging percentage (13th), hits (ninth), doubles (tied eighth), and extra-base hits (tied 10th) while hitting in the middle of the lineup for a 20-win Wall team. Dana hit safely in 22 of Wall’s final 24 games, including a three-hit, two-RBI game vs. Raritan in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament.

 

Infield

Carney O’Donnell, Sr., Third Base/Catcher, Jackson

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
84 34 12 10 2 16 28 .405 .485 .595 7
Jackson senior Carney O'Donnell. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - Jackson Carney O'Donnell

Jackson senior Carney O’Donnell. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

During the 17 seasons in which both Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty High Schools played baseball, the former had a decided edge in résumés over the latter, even as Jackson Liberty built a quality program in its own right. Despite that, in the first year of a unified Jackson Township High School, the new-look Jaguars would have been lost without the contributions of the former Jackson Liberty players, led by O’Donnell. The Old Dominion commit split the season between catcher and third base and hit safely in all four of Jackson’s tournament games – including going 4-for-7 with a double and five RBI in three NJSIAA Group IV Tournament games.

 

Joey DiMeo, Jr., Shortstop, Toms River East

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
83 30 19 6 2 25 13 .361 .481 .506 28
Toms River East junior Joey DiMeo. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - TRE Joey DiMeo

Toms River East junior Joey DiMeo. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

DiMeo just completed his third season as a varsity starter for Toms River East, and he is now a three-time All-Shore player with one more season still to go. This year, DiMeo shifted from third base to shortstop, where he replaced 2025 Shore Sports Insider Player of the Year and current Philadelphia Phillies farmhand Matt Ferrara. DiMeo’s numbers took a dip from his 2025 First-Team All-Shore season, but he made a much greater impact as a defender and a leader for a Raiders squad that made it back to the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III semifinals with DiMeo going a combined 10-for-19 with two doubles in the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Tournaments.

 

Robbie Wrobel, Jr., Second Base, Ranney

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
78 35 9 4 1 19 9 .449 .511 .538 20
Ranney senior Robbie Wrobel attempts to turn a double-play as Rumson-Fair Haven's Lloyd Bush slides into second base. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - Ranney Robbie Wrobel

Ranney senior Robbie Wrobel attempts to turn a double-play as Rumson-Fair Haven’s Lloyd Bush slides into second base. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

A standout defender and table-setter for the Monmouth County Tournament champions, Wrobel finished seventh in the Shore Conference in batting and first among hitters in a Class A North division loaded with blue-blood programs in the Shore Conference (CBA, Red Bank Catholic, Manalapan, Howell, and Middletown South). Wrobel’s lone home run of the season came at an ideal time – against 21-win Shore Regional in the Shore Conference Tournament round of 16. After that game, Wrobel was hitting .508, and after enduring his first mini-slump of the season, he bounced back to collect a pair of hits and an RBI at Gloucester Catholic in the final game of the season.

 

Outfield

R.J. Conover, Sr., Centerfield, Colts Neck

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
93 35 11 10 3 1 26 36 .376 .439 .581 8

In his first two years as the starting centerfielder at Colts Neck, Conover batted low in the bottom of the order and was quietly one of the Cougars’ most productive players over the span of 2024 and 2025. This season, he moved to the top-three in the lineup and went from unsung to indispensable for a 20-win Colts Neck team that reached the semifinals of both the Shore Conference Tournament and the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Playoffs. His 36 RBI were second in the conference, and his combined 62 runs and RBI trailed only Tyler Garbooshian (84) and Dan Golembiewski (86) of Brick Memorial.

 

John Catanio, Sr., Leftfield/RHP, Wall

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
90 31 17 6 5 25 19 .344 .450 .578 11

 

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
4 2 47.1 36 14 21 28 2.08 1.20

Wall has a promising collection of sophomores, and they should all aspire to have careers as good as the one their senior teammate just concluded. Catanio completed his third straight All-Shore season as a two-way threat for the Crimson Knights, giving Wall 47 1/3 quality innings on the mound while slugging five homers at the plate for a 20-win team. Catanio finished his final season with a flurry, picking up the win on the mound while hitting a home run in Wall’s NJSIAA Central Group II first-round win over Ocean, then socking two home runs in a 9-1 win over Raritan in the sectional semifinals. Catanio’s other two homers were big as well: a go-ahead seventh-inning homer at Jackson and a solo blast of Brick Memorial left-hander Zach Pirnik – both part of early-April wins for Wall.

 

Brody Powers, Jr., LF/RF/2B, Point Pleasant Beach

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
82 30 14 6 1 3 20 34 .366 .466 .573 8
Point Beach junior Brody Powers. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - Pt Beach Brody Powers

Point Beach junior Brody Powers. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

After putting up impressive numbers as a starting underclassman for a championship-contending (and championship-winning) team, Powers authored his first All-Shore season as a junior while hitting in the middle of the order for the Shore’s No. 1 team. Powers drove in 11 runs during Point Beach’s six-game stampede to the Group I championship and also led the team with 13 RBI in Class A South division play as the Garnet Gulls captured the division championship in their first season playing against the best teams in Ocean County. His 34 total RBI led the team and placed Powers tied for fourth in the entire Shore Conference.

 

Designated Hitter

Ryan Todisco, Sr., Second Base, Howell

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
85 27 15 8 3 6 21 31 .318 .420 .694

Most other players on the All-Shore Team have higher batting averages than the .318 mark Todisco posted this season, but few were the extra-base-hit machine and RBI collector that Howell’s senior second baseman was this spring. He finished in the Shore’s top 10 in extra-base hits (tied third, home runs (tied sixth), RBI (tied seventh), and slugging percentage (10th), and he drove in five runs in four Monmouth County Tournament games during the Rebels’ run to their first championship game appearance in 60 years.

 

Utility

Ryan Rude, Jr., First Base/RHP, Colts Neck

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
99 45 13 6 1 3 24 23 .455 .513 .626 5

 

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
7 3 48.1 50 14 15 46 2.03 1.34
Colts Neck junior Ryan Rude. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - Colts Neck Ryan Rude

Colts Neck junior Ryan Rude. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

At 6-foot-6, Rude is an imposing figure for Colts Neck, whether he is standing on the mound, at first base, or in the right-handed batter’s box. He was also imposing on the stat sheet in 2026. Rude finished fourth in the Shore Conference in hits and seventh in batting average while providing some big moments for Colts Neck. Rude hit a combined .440 (11-for-25) in Colts Neck’s semifinal runs in both the Shore Conference Tournament and Central Group III playoffs, including the first of two seventh-inning home runs at Howell in the SCT quarterfinals that helped give the Cougars a dramatic win over the Rebels. Rude was also one of only nine Shore Conference pitchers to win seven games on the mound.

 

Chase Kaplan, Sr., LHP/First Base, Manasquan

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 0 37 16 8 19 66 1.51 0.95

 

AB H BB 2B 3B R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
52 20 11 5 1 16 11 .385 .500 .519 7

After back-to-back All-Shore selections in 2024 and 2025 – the latter of which was a First-Team nod – for his work on the mound, Kaplan added a significant offensive dimension to his game by hitting .385 and posting a .500 on-base percentage. In a cruel twist of irony, Kaplan’s offensive breakout also led to a hamstring injury while running out a ground ball in the Shore Conference Tournament first round, and he did not play in another game the rest of the year. Before the unfortunate injury, the Lafayette College commit pitched an opening-day no-hitter with 15 strikeouts vs. Central and went on to lead Manasquan to a share of the Class B South division championship by going a perfect 5-0 in his five starts in divisional play.

 

Pitchers

Brady Williams, So., RHP/3B/OF, Rumson-Fair Haven

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 3 50.2 32 11 10 66 1.52 0.83

 

AB H BB 2B R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
68 19 16 2 15 12 .279 .425 .309 5

A strong freshman-year showing by Williams suggested big things during his sophomore season, and the two-sport standout delivered on that potential in 2026. Williams – also the starting quarterback on the Bulldogs football team – struck the difficult balance of pounding the strike zone while suppressing hits like few others in the Shore could. Among pitchers with 50 or more innings, his 10 walks were topped only by Freehold Township marksman Jackson Redmond (six). Williams took three losses on the mound and might have done his best work in those defeats: 18 2/3 innings with 11 hits allowed, one walk, 23 strikeouts, and a 1.50 ERA.

 

Zach Pirnik, Jr., LHP, Brick Memorial

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
9 3 76 66 27 25 73 2.49 1.20
Brick Memorial junior Zach Pirnik. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - Brick Memorial Zach Pirnik

Brick Memorial junior Zach Pirnik. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

At first glance, it might appear that Pirnik was not quite as good as he was a year ago, when he just kept winning down the stretch as a sophomore to help lead Brick Memorial to its first Shore Conference Tournament title. Once you realize, however, that Pirnik battled three different episodes of strep throat and still led the Shore Conference in innings and wins, it becomes clear that the junior left-hander was as much of a horse as ever. One of those “strep” games was his complete-game win over Delsea in the NJSIAA Group III semifinals, which followed six innings of one earned run against Colts Neck in the Central Group III semifinals.

 

Ryan Spencer, Sr., RHP, Colts Neck

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 1 54.2 37 17 32 86 2.18 1.26

Spencer’s senior campaign was a tale of two seasons – perhaps even a tale of two pitchers. As a starter, Spencer was sporting a 3.62 ERA in 29 innings at the end of April when Colts Neck coach Mike Yorke decided to try him out in shorter stints in relief. The results were astounding. Starting with his first relief appearance on May 6, Spencer pitched in every one of Colts Neck’s remaining 11 games, going 2-0 with four saves and a 0.79 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. During that stretch, Spencer struck out 44 and walked just eight, which came after he struck out 42 and walked 24 in his first 29 innings. To hammer home Spencer’s dominance, his 11-game finish to the season included a combined 12 scoreless innings against four teams ranked in the final SSI Top 10: No. 7 Toms River East (three perfect innings, seven strikeouts), No. 1 Point Beach (three perfect innings, six strikeouts), No. 2 CBA (one scoreless innings), and No. 3 Brick Memorial (five innings, four hits, one walk, eight strikeouts).

 

Nick Plevier, Sr., LHP, Wall

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 4 65.2 50 17 21 58 1.81 1.08
Wall senior Nick Plevier. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - Wall Nick Plevier

Wall senior Nick Plevier. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

After he spent his entire junior season rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery, Plevier returned to the mound as one of the Shore Conference’s most efficient, effective pitchers. He took on Wall’s toughest opponents and went on to finish third in the conference in innings pitched, first among pitchers who did not pitch for Brick Memorial. Plevier finished top 25 in ERA and top 20 in WHIP despite facing a powerful collection of opponents: Point Beach (twice), Brick Memorial, all three Toms River public schools (Toms River East twice), and Central Jersey Group II runner-up Allentown. Plevier picked up wins over Brick Memorial, Toms River East, and Toms River South, and in his four losses, he posted a 1.68 ERA with 27 strikeouts, six walks, and 21 hits allowed in 25 innings.

 

Aiden Moylan, Jr., LHP, Toms River South

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
7 3 62.2 42 16 33 87 1.79 1.20
Toms River South junior Aiden Moylan. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - TRS Aiden Moylan

Toms River South junior Aiden Moylan. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

A year ago, Moylan earned big-game experience as Toms River South’s No. 2 starter, and in his junior season, he became the Indians’ ace and one of the most reliable workhorses in the Shore Conference. Moylan’s 62 2/3 innings ranked fourth in the conference, and his 87 strikeouts were sixth. The junior left-hander pitched a 12-strikeout no-hitter against Brick on May 1 and fired 5 2/3 no-hit innings in the opening round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III Tournament at Highland Regional – two starts that helped Toms River South win a share of the Class B South division championship and return to the South Group III semifinals for a second straight year.

 

Third Team
Catcher

Aiden Funk, Sr., Red Bank Catholic

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
83 31 15 9 2 7 19 .373 .481 .554

A three-year starter behind the dish, Funk earns his first All-Shore selection after finishing fifth in hits, third in doubles, and fifth in RBI among regular catchers at the Shore while also finishing fourth in on-base percentage and sixth in slugging among catchers outside of the Class D North division. RBC had to endure an early exit in both the Monmouth County and Shore Conference Tournaments, but Funk brought his bat to the postseason, during which he hit three of his nine doubles.

 

Riley Smaltini, Sr., Shore

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
95 33 9 11 1 20 19 .347 .415 .495

Shore finished off a huge spring for the program, winning 21 games, its first division title in 17 years, and reaching the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I final for the second time in three seasons. Smaltini was in the middle of all of it, handling a well-rounded pitching staff while also finishing second among all catchers in the Shore Conference with 11 doubles and 20 runs scored. The Blue Devils backstop was at his best against top pitching, smoking doubles off future Division I arms and All-Shore selections Jack Vallillo of Holmdel, Chase Kaplan of Manasquan, and Peter Nolan of St. Rose. He also went 2-for-3 in Shore’s sectional-final loss to No. 1 Point Beach.

 

First Base

Tyler Hager, Jr., Red Bank Catholic

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
85 27 12 5 1 4 22 23 .318 .426 .541 8

 

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
2 1 25.1 26 20 26 31 5.53 2.05

After leading the Caseys’ boys basketball team to its first-ever Shore Conference Tournament final appearance this past winter as the Shore’s leader in blocked shots, Hager brought his skills to the diamond, where he did just about everything for RBC. He finished fifth in runs scored, third in RBI, and second in home runs among Shore Conference first basemen while also giving the Caseys a rangy, 6-foot-6 target at first base. Hager even made his mark on the mound, pitching a five-inning shutout at CBA to clinch RBC the Class A North division title with a convincing, 13-0 win.

 

Infield

D.J. Ylagan, Sr., Third Base, Rumson-Fair Haven

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
81 29 18 7 1 2 24 20 .358 .475 .543

The entire Rumson team took a leap forward this season thanks to the coming-of-age of its talented group of juniors and sophomores, but right at the heart of it was the senior, Ylagan. Everything about the Bulldogs third baseman was steady, from his bat in the top-three of the batting order to his defense at the hot corner. That served Ylagan and his team well in Rumson’s eight tournament games, during which Ylagan hit .400 with two home runs and eight RBI. Even when Holmdel shocked Rumson in the first round of the Central Group II Playoffs, Ylagan came through with the team’s only two hits against Jack Vallillo – both clean singles to the pull side for the future infielder at St. Peter’s University.

 

Jackson Soos, So., Shortstop, Wall

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
86 27 16 7 4 27 16 .314 .434 .535 11

Soos started at shortstop at one of the Shore’s most decorated baseball programs from day one as a freshman and has developed into one of the most dynamic players in the conference with two years still left in his high school career. Among Shore Conference regulars at shortstop, he finished third in runs scored and tied for third in home runs, with his fourth and final home run coming off Allentown ace Chase Pullen in the third inning of the Central Group II semifinals. Soos also handled 105 chances at shortstop with a 91.4 percent success rate, which was fifth among everyday shortstops at the Shore.

 

Brayden Messina, Sr., Shortstop, Lacey

AB H BB 2B 3B R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
88 34 12 8 3 23 7 .386 .460 .545 9

Over the past two seasons, Messina established himself as one of Ocean County’s best players, hitting .500 as a junior last year and once again playing spectacular shortstop defense as a senior while setting the table for Lacey. Messina was fifth among the Shore’s shortstop regulars with a .386 batting average and he did not shrink vs. the top arms either, going 6-for-13 (.461) with vs. the four Division I commits he faced this season with a double each off Pittsburgh commit Peter Nolan (St. Rose) and Iona commit Nolan Arnold (New Egypt). Messina also hit .389 with a double and two triples in the Lions’ five games between the Ocean County, Shore Conference, and NJSIAA Tournaments.

 

Dylan Reynholds, Jr., Second Base, Christian Brothers Academy

AB H BB 2B 3B R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
77 31 15 3 3 22 18 .403 .505 .519

A .400 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage are difficult thresholds to break over a full season, and Reynholds did both while playing against an unforgiving overall schedule. The CBA second baseman finished fifth in the Class A North division in batting average and second in on-base percentage, and while extra-base hits were not a prominent part of his profile, Reynholds was one of 19 players in the entire Shore to hit at least three triples. Reynholds drove in eight of his 18 RBI during CBA’s march to the Shore Conference Tournament championship and subsequent run to the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A final.

 

Outfield

Lucas Melton, Sr., Rightfield, Toms River East

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
87 22 11 2 1 8 21 25 .253 .350 .575 19

When Lucas Melton stepped to the plate in 2026, he had only one thing on his mind: damage or nothing. His eight home runs tied him for third in the Shore Conference, and they came with 43 strikeouts in his 105 plate appearances. As he showed in robbing a grand slam in last year’s South Jersey Group III championship game, Melton has a flair for the big moment that came out in big games. The lefty-swinging masher homered off both All-Shore left-handers from Brick Memorial (Brody Moore and Zach Pirnik), tripled off Shawnee ace Tim Dougherty in the South Group III semifinals, and later won that game with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning. In nine tournament games, Melton hit .345 with three home runs, one of which was his homer off Moore, the 2026 SSI Pitcher of the Year.

 

Ronan Kiely, Sr., Rightfield/First Base, Colts Neck

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
76 25 21 7 1 3 29 15 .329 .485 .566 5

 

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
1 2 18 31 12 6 9 4.67 2.05

Speaking of homer-heavy damage, Kiely was a power-minded hitter in one of the Shore’s most dangerous lineups. Eleven of the seniors’ 25 hits went for extra bases, and his three home runs all came off pitchers named to an all-division team by both the coaches and by SSI: Rumson sophomore Brady Williams, Manalapan junior ace Jagger Golden, and Red Bank senior Sean Keatts. Kiely’s power came with patience and run production: he finished eighth in the conference in walks and sixth in runs scored.

 

Ryan Wetmore, Jr., Rightfield, Christian Brothers Academy

AB H BB 2B 3B R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
88 30 7 6 1 15 19 .341 .404 .432

Wetmore wore several hats for the Shore Conference Tournament champions this season, playing rightfield, filling in at catcher during a brief injury stint for starter Griffin Kilcullen, and serving as CBA’s designated hitter for much of the season. Whatever his role in the lineup, Wetmore hit when it mattered most for CBA, which was in mid-May going forward. During the Shore Conference and Non-Public A Tournaments, Wetmore hit .387 (11-for-29) with three doubles and a team-leading nine RBI, including a double and three RBI in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game vs. Rumson-Fair Haven.

 

Designated Hitter

Brody Garguilo, Jr., Catcher, Ranney

AB H BB 2B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
81 28 10 6 6 14 16 .346 .430 .642

Garguilo’s raw numbers make his case for an All-Shore spot obvious, but like any prospective driver or Ranney baseball player, he has to pass the road test. Playing away from Ranney’s hitter-friendly field, Garguilo indeed passed the test by actually hitting for a better batting average away from home (.362) than his year-long average while still producing four doubles, a homer, and eight RBI. During Ranney’s run to the Monmouth County Tournament championship and the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, the Panthers won when Garguilo hit. In his team’s five postseason wins, Garguilo was 9-for-17 (.529) with three home runs and five RBI.

 

Joe Pignatelli, Sr., Third Base, Colts Neck

AB H BB 2B 3B HR R RBI AVG OBP SLUG SB
80 30 16 8 1 2 21 35 .375 .495 .575 15

Colts Neck finished second in the Shore Conference with 219 runs on the season, and Pignatelli drove in 35 of them, finishing behind only Brick Memorial first baseman Dan Golembiewski and Colts Neck teammate R.J. Conover for the Shore Conference lead in RBI. Pignatelli fell just shy of a .500 on-base percentage, was second among Shore Conference third basemen with 15 stolen bases, and made only five errors at the hot corner this season. His seminal moment of the season was a go-ahead, two-out, two-run home run at Howell in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, which helped Colts Neck advance to the SCT semifinals.

 

Utility

John Loizos, Sr., RHP/1B/C, Point Pleasant Boro

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
7 2 49 32 13 15 52 1.86 0.96

 

AB H BB 2B R RBI AVG OBP SLUG
31 13 6 3 2 6 .419 .500 .516

Loizos began his varsity career as a catcher and still put on the gear a few times this season when he wasn’t pitching, but over the last two years, the Panthers right-hander has found a home on the mound. A hamstring injury slowed his start to the season, and he gave up nine hits in four innings to Toms River South in his season-opener, but from that point on, Loizos did not allow more than six hits in any start and finished off five complete games. One of those complete games was a five-hitter against Group III runner-up Brick Memorial in the Shore Conference Tournament round of 16, in which Loizos allowed three runs in seven innings against the Shore’s top scoring offense in a 4-3 upset win for the Panthers. In three tournament starts, Loizos was 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA with a 17-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 16 innings.

 

Pitcher

Danny DiTullio, Sr., LHP, Christian Brothers Academy

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 1 41.2 44 17 9 47 2.86 1.27

Dealing with arm discomfort in early April, DiTullio persevered for a start vs. Middletown South and struggled his way through four innings. He then took two weeks off from game action, came back, and looked like the Danny DiTullio that already made two All-Shore teams as one of the area’s best big-game pitchers. Removing that mid-April start vs. Middletown South, DiTullio pitched to a 2.23 ERA in 37 2/3 innings with 44 strikeouts and just seven walks. He went on to earn six-inning victories over Colts Neck in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals and Union Catholic in the South Jersey Non-Public A quarterfinals. DiTullio will continue his baseball career at Northeastern University.

 

Jonathan Pallman, Sr., LHP, Toms River East

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 0 37.1 21 4 12 38 0.75 0.88

Despite making zero starts on the mound this season, Pallman was one of the Shore’s most impactful arms while holding down a bullpen role for the Raiders. The submarine-style left-hander got off to a rocky start in the season-opener vs. Brick Memorial, then was lights-out the rest of the year. Toms River East often built its game plans around Pallman, who was 2-0 with a save across the three tournaments (Ocean County, Shore Conference, and NJSIAA), posting a 0.40 ERA and 0.69 WHIP in those 17 1/3 tournament innings. Even as a reliever who never started a game, Pallman pitched a seven-inning outing to earn a win over Wall in the Raiders’ 5-4, 12-inning victory over the Crimson Knights during the Class A South regular season.

 

Bennett Moberg, Sr., RHP, Point Pleasant Beach

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
8 2 60.1 55 27 29 52 3.13 1.39

Point Beach made it through the end of April in position to win the Class A South championship with senior left-hander Tommy Conroy leading the team on the mound, but with an eye on Moberg for the stretch run. The senior right-hander endured a rough stretch of performances in April, but the Garnet Gulls staff was optimistic he would turn with the weather, and Moberg rewarded the confidence of his coaches. Starting with a May 1 complete game win over Wall that clinched Point Beach the Class A South championship, Moberg went 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 42 innings for the remainder of the year, which is something resembling an All-Shore season on its own. That stretch included three straight seven-inning complete game wins against Wall, Ranney, and Lacey, as well as a 3-0 record during Point Beach’s run to the Group I championship.

 

Glen Popes, Sr., RHP, Red Bank Catholic

W L IP H ER BB SO ERA WHIP
5 4 53 46 18 21 49 2.38 1.26

Leading up to his senior season, Popes earned his spot as a starting pitcher with a regular turn in the rotation, and it would have been understandable had he requested to be deployed as a starter. Instead, he volunteered his services to coach Buddy Hausmann however they could be best used: starter, closer, fireman out of the bullpen, bulk arm in relief, etc. The 17 appearances made by Popes this season trailed only Colts Neck’s Ryan Spencer and Lacey’s Andrew Hollister, and more than half of his 53 innings this season (27) came against teams that were ranked in the final Shore Sports Insider Top 10. Through all that, his 2.38 ERA was the best of any Class A North pitcher who threw at least 40 innings

 

Coming Monday: All-Shore Fan Vote 

Check back on ShoreSportsInsider.com on Monday for the Baseball All-Shore Fan Vote, which will be your chance to select the final six members of the 2026 Shore Sports Insider Baseball All-Shore Team.

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