
Baseball SCT Watch: Projecting the 2025 Shore Conference Tournament, Final Update
The 2025 Shore Conference Tournament participants is now finalized, so it is time for the final projection before the tournament is seeded on Wednesday night. Here is a refresher on how the 24-team field was determined.
- The SCT field is determined by NJSIAA power points, which are determined by a formula that combines opponents’ win total and strength of schedule. The formula can be found in the NJSIAA Baseball Tournament rules and regulations.
- The Shore Conference teams have been ranked power points and the top 24 as of 8 a.m. on May 7 will qualify for the SCT. If a team failed to rank in the top 24 teams by power points, but has clinched an outright Shore Conference division championship by the time of the seeding meeting at 7 p.m. on May 7, that team will qualify for the SCT.
- The teams that qualify for the SCT via power points or by division championship will then be seeded by a seeding committee of seven Shore Conference coaches — one from each of the seven Shore Conference divisions
For the full Shore Conference Tournament rules and regulations, click here.
This year’s Shore Conference Tournament is scheduled to be played within a span of 10 days, with the tournament opening on Saturday, May 10 and concluding on Monday, May 19 with the championship game at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood. Here is the round-by-round schedule.
First Round: Saturday, May 10
Round of 16: Monday, May 12
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, May 14
Semifinals (at Central Regional): Saturday, May 17, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Championship (at ShoreTown Ballpark, Lakewood): Monday, May 19, 7 p.m.
Once the participants in this year’s SCT are determined, the teams will be seeded in similar fashion to year’s past, although it remains to be seen how much power points will be used — if at all — at the seeding meeting. Since power points are part of the qualifying process, logic would dictate they are at least a consideration when ranking the teams that qualify, so that is how this projection will operate. With that said, here are the Shore Conference power-point rankings as they stand through games played on Tuesday, May 6.
Shore Rank | Team | PP/Game | NJSIAA Section | Section Seed |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CBA | 30.934 | SJ Non-Pub A | 1 |
2 | Toms River East | 25.529 | SJ3 | 2 |
3 | Red Bank Catholic | 24.705 | SJ Non-Pub A | 3 |
4 | Brick Memorial | 21.78 | CJ3 | 3 |
5 | Colts Neck | 21.506 | CJ3 | 4 |
6 | Ranney | 21.081 | SJ Non-Pub B | 3 |
7 | Raritan | 20.945 | CJ2 | 5 |
8 | Manasquan | 20.801 | CJ2 | 6 |
9 | Ocean | 19.843 | CJ2 | 10 |
10 | Jackson Memorial | 19.689 | CJ3 | 6 |
11 | Point Beach | 19.645 | CJ1 | 3 |
12 | Holmdel | 19.324 | CJ2 | 13 |
13 | Howell | 19.081 | SJ4 | 8 |
14 | Toms River South | 18.791 | SJ3 | 10 |
15 | Wall | 18.578 | CJ2 | 15 |
16 | Rumson-Fair Haven | 18.368 | CJ2 | 16 |
17 | Brick | 18.106 | CJ3 | 7 |
18 | Southern | 18.017 | SJ4 | 11 |
19 | Middletown South | 17.868 | CJ3 | 8 |
20 | Monmouth | 17.854 | CJ2 | 17 |
21 | Toms River North | 17.727 | SJ4 | 12 |
22 | Keansburg | 17.716 | CJ1 | 4 |
23 | Central | 17.372 | SJ4 | 13 |
24 | Freehold Twp. | 16.923 | CJ4 | 8 |
St. John Vianney | 16.393 | SJ Non-Pub A | 9 | |
Barnegat | 16.175 | SJ2 | 7 | |
Shore | 16.161 | CJ1 | 6 | |
Middletown North | 15.789 | NJ2G3 | 11 | |
Point Boro | 14.582 | CJ2 | 18 | |
Lacey | 14.577 | SJ3 | 13 | |
Freehold Boro | 14.456 | CJ3 | 14 | |
Jackson Liberty | 14.003 | CJ2 | 19 | |
Manalapan | 13.76 | CJ4 | 10 | |
New Egypt | 13.258 | CJ1 | 11 | |
Marlboro | 12.793 | CJ4 | 12 | |
Manchester | 12.74 | SJ2 | 10 | |
Red Bank | 12.201 | CJ3 | 16 | |
Henry Hudson | 11.931 | CJ1 | 15 | |
Matawan | 11.655 | NJ2G3 | 15 | |
Keyport | 10.425 | CJ1 | 16 | |
Long Branch | 10.011 | CJ3 | 17 | |
Lakewood | 9.597 | CJ3 | 18 | |
Donovan Catholic | 9.431 | SJ Non-Pub A | 12 | |
Neptune | 9.298 | CJ3 | 19 | |
St. Rose | 9.298 | SJ Non-Pub B | 10 | |
Pinelands | 9.274 | SJ3 | 18 | |
Asbury Park | 4.618 | CJ1 | 20 |
The projection that follows uses these power-point rankings as a framework, but there are circumstances in which teams with fewer power points can be seeded ahead of teams with more. Those circumstances fall in line with seeding criteria that has been used in years past.
- Head-to-head results
- Wins vs. teams in the field/top 10
- Losses vs. teams outside the field
- Results vs. common opponents
- Division record (comparing teams within the same division)
Keeping those criteria and the above power-point rankings in mind, here is the official Shore Sports Insider projection heading into the final day of games prior to the SCT meeting. Wednesday’s results can impact how the teams are seeded, but the 24 teams that qualified for the tournament are set.
Through games played on May 6
1. Christian Brothers Academy (15-1, 9-1)
Division Wins: Marlboro (2), Middletown North (2), Ranney (2), at Manalapan, Middletown South, Red Bank Catholic
Division Losses: At Red Bank Catholic
Non-Division Wins: At Brick Memorial, vs. Hun, Holmdel (MCT), vs. Moorestown, Raritan (MCT), Ranney (MCT)
Non-Division Losses: None
Wednesday Opponent: Manalapan
Seed Breakdown: With one loss and the highest power-point average by a comfortable margin, CBA is a lock for the No. 1 seed. The Colts have played four of the other nine teams ranked in the top seven and gone 6-1 in those games, with wins over all four.
2. Toms River East (13-4, 6-4)
Division Wins: Donovan Catholic (2), at Brick Memorial, at Southern, at Wall
Division Losses: Brick Memorial, Jackson Memorial, Southern, Wall
Non-Division Wins: Barnegat, Jackson Liberty (OCT), vs. Rutherford, Brick (OCT), Colts Neck, at Point Beach (OCT), vs. Brick Memorial (OCT)
Non-Division Losses: None
Wednesday Opponent: None
Seed Breakdown: Even though Toms River East finished two games behind Brick Memorial in the Class A South division standings, the Raiders have the power-point advantage over the Mustangs and now they have a head-to-head edge too. With its win Tuesday over Brick Memorial in the Ocean County Tournament final, Toms River East not only climbs above Brick Memorial; the Raiders also jump Red Bank Catholic for the No. 2 seed.
3. Red Bank Catholic (12-5, 7-5)
Division Wins: Manalapan (2), CBA, at Marlboro, Middletown North, Middletown South, at Ranney
Division Losses: At CBA, Marlboro, at Middletown North, at Middletown South, Ranney
Non-Division Wins: Jackson Memorial, vs. Morris Knolls, South Plainfield, Howell (MCT), Ocean (MCT)
Non-Division Losses: None
Wednesday Opponent: None
Seed Breakdown: Even if Red Bank Catholic had beaten Marlboro on Tuesday, Toms River East was poised to take a run at the No. 2 seed. That loss to Marlboro made the move much easier to justify and there is now a worthy debate between RBC and Brick Memorial for No. 3. Since RBC has the power-point advantage, as well as an advantage in common opponents (2-1 to 1-2), the Caseys stay in the top three.
4. Brick Memorial (13-5, 8-2)
Division Wins: Donovan Catholic (2), Southern (2), Wall (2), Jackson Memorial, at Toms River East
Division Losses: At Jackson Memorial, Toms River East
Non-Division Wins: Brick, Pinelands (OCT), Jackson Liberty, Barnegat (OCT), Southern (OCT)
Non-Division Losses: CBA, at Central, vs. Toms River East (OCT)
Wednesday Opponent: None
Seed Breakdown: Brick Memorial’s argument for the No. 3 seed is that the Mustangs are the outright champion of a tough Class A South division and their worst loss is at Central – an 11-6 team that is in the SCT – while RBC has two losses to teams that did not make the SCT (Marlboro, Middletown North).
5. Colts Neck (10-4, 7-2)
Division Wins: Matawan (2), Rumson-Fair Haven (2), at Howell, at Monmouth, at Shore
Division Losses: Howell, Monmouth
Non-Division Wins: Marlboro, Manasquan (MCT), Middletown South
Non-Division Losses: At Steinert, at Toms River East
Wednesday Opponent: Ocean
Seed Breakdown: After Colts Neck’s bats went cold for a four-game stretch, the Cougar are red-hot again. They lost a 15-5 game at Toms River East that got out of hand in the latter innings, with the Cougars going with their depth pitchers rather than their top arms to deal with a potent Raiders lineup. Ranney has a win over Red Bank Catholic that could warrant a jump over Colts Neck for No. 5, but there are no advantages for Ranney in common opponents and Colts Neck is the better team on power points.
6. Ranney (9-5, 7-4)
Division Wins: Marlboro (2), Middletown South (2), Manalapan, at Middletown North, at Red Bank Catholic
Division Losses: CBA (2), at Manalapan, Red Bank Catholic
Non-Division Wins: Red Bank (MCT), Middletown North (MCT)
Non-Division Losses: At CBA (MCT)
Wednesday Opponent: Middletown North
Seed Breakdown: Ranney’s appeal as the No. 3 seed prior to last week was rooted in its losses. The Panthers had only lost to CBA and Red Bank Catholic heading into the middle of last week, but an extra-inning loss at Manalapan changes that profile. Still, Ranney has a win over Red Bank Catholic, has swept both Middletown South and Middletown North and was competitive in three losses to CBA. That is enough for the Panthers to seriously challenge for a seed as high as No. 3.
7. Raritan (12-5, 10-2)
Division Wins: Freehold Boro (2), Freehold Twp. (2), Neptune (2), Red Bank (2), Holmdel, at St. John Vianney
Division Losses: At Holmdel, St. John Vianney
Non-Division Wins: Monmouth, Wall (MCT)
Non-Division Losses: Shore, at Colonia, at CBA (MCT)
Wednesday Opponent: Long Branch
Seed Breakdown: Raritan clinched its first division championship in seven years Tuesday when the Rockets beat Freehold Township, despite being no-hit. That win also catapulted them to the No. 7 spot in the power-point rankings and while there are some qualitative hang-ups one could use to drop Raritan lower (losses to Shore and St. John Vianney, being no-hit), any team that wants to climb over Raritan has similar issues.
8. Manasquan (10-4, 7-2)
Division Wins: Central (2), St. Rose (2), Toms River North (2), Point Boro
Division Losses: At Point Boro, at Jackson Liberty
Non-Division Wins: Holmdel, Rumson-Fair Haven (MCT), at Wall
Non-Division Losses: Freehold Boro, at Colts Neck (MCT)
Wednesday Opponent: Point Beach
Seed Breakdown: Manasquan has been steady enough throughout the season to land at No. 8 in the power-point rankings, but all four of its losses are going to be scrutinized in the SCT meeting. Point Boro, Freehold Boro and Jackson Liberty are all out of the SCT field and Manasquan’s only loss to a team in the field was an 11-0 drubbing at Colts Neck. On the positive side, the Warriors have three quality non-divisional wins over Holmdel, Rumson and Wall and a pitching staff that will make potential opponents uneasy if the Warriors are on their side of the bracket. A win over Point Beach on Wednesday would be enough to push Manasquan up a spot to No. 7.
9. Jackson Memorial (9-6, 7-3)
Division Wins: Donovan Catholic (2), Southern (2), at Brick Memorial, Toms River East, Wall
Division Losses: Brick Memorial, at Toms River East, at Wall
Non-Division Wins: Vs. Randolph (forfeit), at Manalapan
Non-Division Losses: At Red Bank Catholic, Brick, Southern (OCT)
Wednesday Opponent: None
Seed Breakdown: Jackson Memorial was awarded a forfeit win over Randolph due to a pitch-count violation, so the Jaguars are comfortably in the field after hanging uncomfortably close to the bubble last week. Wins over Toms River East and Brick Memorial help Jackson Memorial’s top-10 case and a loss to Brick is a strong “worst loss.” With a division record two games better than Wall, the Jaguars grab No. 9.
10. Wall (8-7, 5-5)
Division Wins: Donovan Catholic (2), Jackson Memorial, Southern, at Toms River East
Division Losses: Brick Memorial (2), at Jackson Memorial, at Southern, Toms River East
Non-Division Wins: Toms River South, Middletown South, Long Branch (MCT)
Non-Division Losses: At Raritan (MCT), Manasquan
Wednesday Opponent: Rumson-Fair Haven
Seed Breakdown: Heading into last Sunday, Wall was not even in the top 24. A week later, the Crimson Knights are No. 15 on power points and have an ironclad case to be seeded ahead of the teams in the 11-to-14 range. Six of Wall’s seven losses are to teams in the top 10 and they also have wins over two of those teams (Toms River East and Jackson Memorial). The seventh loss is to Southern – a team firmly in the SCT field and on that Wall also beat during their Class A South series. This is the kind of résumé that makes a seeding meeting essential, because the power points are not doing Wall justice.
11. Southern (6-8, 3-6)
Division Wins: Donovan Catholic, Toms River East, Wall
Division Losses: Brick Memorial (2), Jackson Memorial (2), at Toms River East, at Wall
Non-Division Wins: At Jackson Memorial (OCT), at Central (OCT), at Manalapan
Non-Division Losses: At Brick Memorial (OCT), at Ocean City
Wednesday Opponent: St. John Vianney
Seed Breakdown: Southern has a lot of the same arguments that Wall has to be seeded higher than its power-point ranking, which is No. 18. The slight difference is the Rams are behind the Crimson Knights in the Class A South standings and will stay there, even if they win their makeup game vs. Donovan Catholic later this month. Other than that, the profiles are very close, with Southern countering Wall’s non-division wins over Toms River South and Middletown South with its own wins over Central and Manalapan.
12. Ocean (11-5-1, 4-4-1)
Division Wins: Howell, Matawan, Monmouth, Shore
Division Losses: At Matawan, at Monmouth, at Rumson-Fair Haven, at Shore
Division Tie: At Rumson-Fair Haven
Non-Division Wins: Manchester, vs. Birdlebough (N.Y.), vs. Tallwood (Va.), vs. Chesterfield (S.C.), Hillsborough, at Middletown South (MCT), at Red Bank
Non-Division Losses: At Red Bank Catholic (MCT)
Wednesday Opponent: At Colts Neck
Seed Breakdown: Ocean started last week ranked No. 4 at the Shore in power points, but a 1-3 week dropped the Spartans out of the top 10 heading into Tuesday. Tying Rumson-Fair Haven Tuesday pushes Ocean back into the power-point top 10, but a loss to two-win Matawan is enough to move Ocean below Wall and Southern in the projected seeds.
13. Point Pleasant Beach (13-4, 9-0)
Division Wins: Central (2), Jackson Liberty (2), Point Boro (2), St. Rose (2), at Toms River North
Division Losses: None
Non-Division Wins: At Donovan Catholic, at Brick, Donovan Catholic (OCT), Toms River South (OCT)
Non-Division Losses: At Toms River South, Manchester, at Barnegat, Toms River East (OCT)
Wednesday Opponent: At Manasquan
Seed Breakdown: Point Beach has fallen to No. 11 in power points heading into Wednesday’s showdown at Manasquan and it’s hard to argue the Garnet Gulls should currently be ahead of Southern or Wall considering both teams have wins over Toms River East and no bad losses. Meanwhile, Point Beach has dropped games to Manchester and Barnegat – two teams that missed the SCT. The good news for Point Beach is if the Garnet Gulls can beat Manasquan on Wednesday, that should give them a case to climb a few spots.
14. Holmdel (12-4, 9-2)
Division Wins: Freehold Boro (2), Freehold Twp. (2), Neptune (2), Raritan, at Red Bank, St. John Vianney
Division Losses: At Raritan, at St. John Vianney
Non-Division Wins: St. Rose, Matawan (MCT), at Long Branch
Non-Division Losses: At Manasquan, at CBA (MCT)
Wednesday Opponent: Red Bank
Seed Breakdown: Since losing an 8-7 heartbreaker to crosstown rival St. John Vianney on April 14, Holmdel has won nine out of 10, with its lone loss coming at CBA in the Monmouth County Tournament round of 16. The schedule has been much more forgiving than it was early in the year, when the Hornets opened the season with a one-run loss to Manasquan and division splits with Raritan and St. John Vianney, but Holmdel has done enough to earn a home game.
15. Central (11-6, 4-5)
Division Wins: Jackson Liberty (2), at St. Rose, Toms River North
Division Losses: Manasquan (2), Point Beach (2), at Toms River North
Non-Division Wins: Lacey, Freehold Boro, at Pinelands, Brick Memorial, Red Bank, New Egypt (OCT), New Egypt
Non-Division Losses: Southern (OCT)
Wednesday Opponent: At Central
Seed Breakdown: There are teams getting hurt by bad losses and then there is Central, which is getting hurt by “bad wins.” By power-point value, wins over St. Rose (1-11) and Pinelands (2-13) have the impact of losses on the résumé, while wins over teams like Jackson Liberty (5-10), Toms River North (5-7), New Egypt (4-8) and Red Bank (5-12) don’t hurt, but they are light on points. None of Central’s losses, meanwhile, are all that bad, with only Toms River North ranked outside the top 12. On top of that, the Golden Eagles beat Brick Memorial, which has a chance to rank as high as No. 3. With a loss to Toms River North as its worst loss, the Golden Eagles should be treated better by the seeding committee than they are by the power points.
16. Toms River South (11-5, 8-2)
Division Wins: Lacey (2), Manchester (2), Pinelands (2), Barnegat, New Egypt
Division Losses: At Barnegat, at New Egypt
Non-Division Wins: Point Beach, Point Boro (OCT), Howell
Non-Division Losses: At Wall, Toms River North, at Point Beach (OCT)
Wednesday Opponent: At Brick
Seed Breakdown: Toms River South’s six-game winning streak ended with a loss to rival Toms River North last week and the Indians suffered another setback with a 24-5 loss to Point Beach in the OCT quarterfinals. Since that one-sided loss, however, Toms River South has showed its resolve by sweeping Lacey in an important Class C South division series while also beating Howell in a rain-shortened affair. At the moment, that win over Howell might be what lands Toms River South a home game in the first round.
17. Howell (10-8, 6-5)
Division Wins: Shore (2), at Colts Neck, Matawan, at Monmouth, Rumson-Fair Haven
Division Losses: Colts Neck, at Matawan, Monmouth, at Ocean, at Rumson-Fair Haven
Non-Division Wins: At Bridgewater-Raritan, St. John Vianney (MCT), Middletown North, Point Boro
Non-Division Losses: At Freehold Twp., at Red Bank Catholic (MCT), at Toms River South
Wednesday Opponent: None
Seed Breakdown: The Rebels have a blowout win over Colts Neck that should carry plenty of weight, but a few factors are holding them back. The clean résumé of Wall, Southern and Central are all hard to combat, while a loss to Matawan serves as a blemish on Howell’s résumé. Toms River South also has a similar loss to New Egypt, which is why that five-inning with for the Indians over Howell is such a rough one.
18. Middletown South (7-8, 5-5)
Division Wins: Manalapan (2), Marlboro (2), Red Bank Catholic
Division Losses: Ranney (2), at CBA, at Middletown North, at Red Bank Catholic
Non-Division Wins: Rumson-Fair Haven (MCT), at Allentown
Non-Division Losses: Ocean (MCT), at Colts Neck, at Wall
Wednesday Opponent: None
Seed Breakdown: Middletown South was in the mix for a top-five seed a couple of weeks ago, but has fallen on hard times. Fortunately for them, the Eagles made it to the cutoff with enough to make the SCT field and now that they are in, there are some things to like about Middletown South. A win over Red Bank Catholic is enough to slot them ahead of several teams in this area of the seeding and a win over Rumson certainly puts them ahead of the Bulldogs.
19. Brick (10-5, 7-0)
Division Wins: Manchester (2), New Egypt (2), Barnegat, Lacey, Pinelands
Division Losses: None
Non-Division Wins: At Jackson Memorial, vs. Bandys (N.C.), Toms River North (OCT)
Non-Division Losses: Point Beach, at Brick Memorial, Austintown-Fitch (Oh.), at Toms River East (OCT), Toms River North
Wednesday Opponent: Toms River South
Seed Breakdown: Brick doesn’t have a bad loss, with its worst loss coming to a Toms River North team that is in the tournament. The bad news is the Green Dragons are limited in their big wins, with an April win over Jackson Memorial the only one that is really carrying the résumé, and that is more based on Jackson Memorial’s own résumé rather than a huge power-point haul. It is enough, though, for Brick to jump Rumson in this projection despite the Bulldogs owning a slight power-point edge.
20. Rumson-Fair Haven (10-7-1, 7-4-1)
Division Wins: Matawan (2), Shore (2), Howell, Monmouth, Ocean
Division Losses: Colts Neck (2), at Howell, at Monmouth
Division Tie: Ocean
Non-Division Wins: Point Boro, at Red Bank, Marlboro
Non-Division Losses: At Manasquan (MCT), at Middletown South (MCT), Caldwell
Wednesday Opponent: At Wall
Seed Breakdown: The Bulldogs’ résumé is about as middle-of-the-road as any team in the tournament. They have divisional splits with Howell and Monmouth, a home win over Ocean with another game vs. the Spartans scheduled before the cutoff, and no bad losses within their body of work. On the flip side, Rumson also has not jumped up and beaten a top 10 team and its three wins outside the division are against teams that did not make the SCT – although Marlboro’s win over Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday provided a healthy dose of residual power points.
21. Monmouth (8-8, 6-6)
Division Wins: Matawan (2), at Colts Neck, at Howell, Ocean, Rumson-Fair Haven
Division Losses: Shore (2), Colts Neck, Howell, at Ocean, at Rumson-Fair Haven
Non-Division Wins: St. John Vianney (MCT), Shore (MCT)
Non-Division Losses: St. Rose (MCT), at Raritan
Wednesday Opponent: At Freehold Boro
Seed Breakdown: Monmouth will be the team that higher seeds will be leery of facing because of the presence of ace Collin Denton. Colts Neck and Rumson-Fair Haven have experienced first-hand how much Denton can change the complexion of a match-up with the Falcons when he is on the mound and that might have to be taken into account when seeding Monmouth, which also beat Ocean without Denton pitching. A loss to St. Rose and two to Shore, meanwhile, are reasons for pause.
22. Toms River North (5-7, 3-6)
Division Wins: Central, at Jackson Liberty, at Point Boro
Division Losses: Manasquan (2), at Central, Jackson Liberty, Point Beach, Point Boro
Non-Division Wins: At Toms River South, at Brick
Non-Division Losses: At Brick (OCT)
Wednesday Opponent: At St. Rose
Seed: Breakdown: Toms River North’s wins over Toms River South and Brick last week secured the Mariners a spot in the Shore Conference Tournament despite a sub-.500 record and the absence of a win over a team ranked higher than 14 on the power-point list. That is because Toms River North did not have to play St. Rose until after the cutoff – a quirk in the power-point system that punishes teams for beating opponents with one or two wins. While a team like Central is dealing with the pitfalls of that system, Toms River North has avoided it and done well enough against a solid collection of teams – including a head-to-head series split with Central.
23. Freehold Township (7-7, 6-6)
Division Wins: Freehold Boro (2), St. John Vianney (2), at Neptune, Red Bank
Division Losses: Holmdel (2), Raritan (2), Neptune, at Red Bank
Non-Division Wins: Howell
Non-Division Losses: At Roxbury
Wednesday Opponent: Jackson Liberty
Seed Breakdown: Freehold Township was in danger of missing the tournament with its loss to Raritan on Tuesday coupled with St. John Vianney’s win at Manchester, but the Patriots got several breaks on residual points and those two wins over St. John Vianney to open the season proved crucial in staying ahead of the Lancers at the cutoff. There are some bad losses within its body of work, but Freehold Township does have a 12-2 win over Howell that makes it clear the Patriots should avoid the No. 24 seed.
24. Keansburg (7-1, 7-1)
Division Wins: Lakewood (2), Long Branch (2), at Asbury Park, Henry Hudson, at Keyport
Division Losses: At Henry Hudson
Non-Division Wins: None
Non-Division Losses: None
Wednesday Opponent: Keyport
Seed Breakdown: Wednesday will be a great day for the Keansburg program if the Titans can beat rival Keyport. It would clinch an outright division title for the Titans for the first time since 1997, which would have been enough for Keansburg to be included in the Shore Conference Tournament field. Instead, though, the Titans made the top 24 without needing the auto-bid that comes with winning a division title – a major accomplishment for a program that has not made the SCT since 2018. Keansburg is actually better than Central and Freehold Township on power points, but its lack of overall games played and absence of any games outside of Coastal division play will likely land the Titans at No. 24.
Projected Pairings
Opening Round
(24) Keansburg at (9) Jackson Memorial
(23) Freehold Twp. at (10) Wall
(22) Toms River North at (11) Southern
(21) Monmouth at (12) Ocean
(20) Rumson-Fair Haven at (13) Point Beach
(19) Brick at (14) Holmdel
(18) Middletown South at (15) Central
(17) Howell at (16) Toms River South
Round of 16
(17) Howell/(16) Toms River South at (1) CBA
(18) Middletown South/(15) Central at (2) Toms River East
(19) Brick/(14) Holmdel at (3) Red Bank Catholic
(20) Rumson-Fair Haven/(13) Point Beach at (4) Brick Memorial
(21) Monmouth/(12) Ocean at (5) Colts Neck
(22) Toms River North/(11) Southern at (6) Ranney
(23) Freehold Twp./(10) Wall at (7) Raritan
(24) Keansburg/(9) Jackson Memorial at (8) Manasquan