For the third time in seven years, Shaler was raising Class 5A gold when the 2025 district baseball playoffs concluded.
Shaler and Pine-Richland shared the Section 3-5A championship after splitting against each other in the regular season.
The two met for the rubber game at Wild Things Park in Washington for the district championship, the Titans as the No. 3 seed and the Rams as the top seed.
In a title game classic, Shaler jumped out on top 2-0 before Pine-Richland tied the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Titans scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to take any more drama that was left out of the stadium to win the program’s seventh district crown.
Here is a rundown of the 2026 preseason top 5 teams, some players to watch and other diamond notes in WPIAL Class 6A baseball.
Preseason Top 5
1. Pine-Richland (21-5 last season)
After losing in the district semifinals the two previous seasons, the Rams finally cleared the final-four hurdle last spring by edging Bethel Park, 5-4. However, district championship No. 7 eluded the Rams when they lost to Shaler in extra innings in the 5A finals. An elite program, there is plenty of talent returning despite losing big-time players to graduation. The Rams have four seniors back who will be playing at the next level in pitcher Drew Boivin (NW Florida State College), infielder Ben Husted (Denison), pitcher Logan Plummer (Mercyhurst) and infielder Kyler Bell (Tampa). Also back after strong campaigns are junior outfielder Austin Cwynar and sophomore pitcher Carson King.
2. Bethel Park (16-8)
The Patrick Zehnder era continues to be a big success at Bethel Park. In five years, the Black Hawks have been WPIAL semifinalists all five years, district runner-up three times and PIAA champions twice. Last spring, they lost to Pine-Richland in the final four, 5-4. They then lost to WPIAL champion Shaler in the state quarterfinals. Bethel Park looks to continue piling up victories with the return of key seniors, including Mike Bruckner (Akron), infielder Nick Rillo (Marietta), pitcher Matthew Hughes (Coppin State), infielder and pitcher Tyler Stewart (Cal (Pa.)) and outfielder Owen Turoski (LaRoche). Also returning is junior infielder Chase White.
3. Plum (18-3)
The 2025 season was the thrill of many victories for Plum and the agony of one defeat. The Mustangs impressively galloped to the Section 1-5A title, edging Penn-Trafford by one game. They started the season with six straight wins and then concluded the regular season with 11 consecutive victories. However, none of that mattered for No. 2 seed Plum as it was stunned in the first round by Mars, 1-0. The Mustangs hope to keep that regular season magic going, this time bringing the mojo into the postseason. They are led by junior infielder Max Vollmer, the son of coach Carl Vollmer, senior outfielder Ryan Lafferty (Westminster) and senior pitchers Braden Kemmerer and Gregory Huff (Westmoreland CC). Also back after a strong freshman season is sophomore outfielder and pitcher Dominic Lauletta.
4. Moon (6-13)
Moon was a young team that took its lumps in 2025. The Tigers finished in sixth place in the seven-team Section 2-5A and finished the season with a record of 6-13 and with only three wins in their last 10 games. But there is excitement in the West Hills this spring with lots of experienced players coming back. The list of returning starters includes senior infielders Andrew Cross (Penn State), Thad Longwell (Cal (Pa.)) and Chris Sandor (Penn State-Behrend), senior pitcher Nate Weber (Penn State-Behrend), senior outfielder Owen Amey (Hagerstown CC), junior infielder Nick Muchusko (Virginia), junior infielder Will Swisher (Pitt) and junior outfielder Savario Vandetti. One new face is coach Josh Rankin, a 2016 grad of Moon.
5. Fox Chapel (15-6)
In the gauntlet that is Section 3-5A, Fox Chapel finished in third place in 2025, two games behind co-champs Shaler and Pine-Richland, which happened to be the two teams that played for district 5A gold a year ago. The Foxes finished last year strong with an eight-game winning streak that was part of a 12-2 finish. However, their postseason ended quickly with a first-round loss to Latrobe. Two of the top pitchers in the class return for Fox Chapel with senior Blake Krushinski, a West Virginia commit, and junior Tristan Blum, a Kent State recruit. Also back for the Foxes is talented sophomore infielder Milan Fluhme.
Players to watch
Max Vollmer, Jr., INF, Plum
Ryan Lafferty, Sr., OF, Plum
Braden Kemmerer, Sr., P, Plum
Gregory Huff, Sr., INF-P, Plum
Dominic Lauletta, So., OF-P, Plum
Colton Tyburski, Sr., C, Penn-Trafford
Logan Matrisch, Sr., OF, Penn-Trafford
Dom DeLio, Sr., P, Penn-Trafford
Aiden Drotos, Jr., OF-P, Penn-Trafford
John DeLuca, Sr., INF, Kiski Area
Zachary Hald, Jr., C, Kiski Area
Luke Williams, Sr., INF, Franklin Regional
James Templeton, Sr., P, Franklin Regional
Anthony Mitchell, Jr., INF-OF-P, Franklin Regional
Cole Short, Sr., P, Latrobe
Aaron Gaskey, So., P, Latrobe
Rory Pschirer, Sr., INF/P, Armstrong
Andrew Cross, Sr., INF, Moon
Thad Longwell, Sr., INF, Moon
Nick Machusko, Jr., INF, Moon
Chris Sandor, Sr., INF-P, Moon
Nate Weber, Sr., P, Moon
Own Amey, Sr., OF, Moon
Savario Vandetti, Jr., OF, Moon
Reese Clarke, Sr., OF, Peters Township
Brody Pirosko, Sr., UTIL-P, Peters Township
Brody Takacs, Sr., INF, Peters Township
James Tygard, Sr., INF, Peters Township
Brad Bucci, So., UTIL, Peters Township
Adam Koraido, Soph., INF, Peters Township
Colin Stofik, Jr., INF, Peters Township
John Byrwa, Sr., INF-P, Peters Township
Mike Bruckner, Sr., UTIL, Bethel Park
Nick Rillo, Sr., INF-C, Bethel Park
Owen Turoski, Sr., OF-P, Bethel Park
Chase White, Jr., INF/P, Bethel Park
Matthew Hughes, Sr., P, Bethel Park
Tyler Stewart, Sr., INF-P, Bethel Park
Dominic Haas, Sr., INF, Trinity
Jonah Williamson, Sr., C, Trinity
Derek Falvo, Sr., C, Trinity
Zach Schrader, Sr., P, Trinity
Liam Sexton, Sr., P. Trinity
Karson Hathaway, Jr., INF, Trinity
Nico D’Orazio, Sr., INF, Upper St. Clair
Nolan Wilson, Jr., OF, Upper St. Clair
Tanner Schroeck, Jr., INF, Upper St. Clair
Finn Baird, Sr., INF, Upper St. Clair
Jules Prozzoly, Sr., P, Chartiers Valley
Christian King, So., P, Chartiers Valley
Colton Koza, Sr., OF-P, Chartiers Valley
Trey Skeen, Jr., INF-P, South Fayette
Drew Boivin, Sr., P, Pine-Richland
Ben Husted, Sr., INF, Pine-Richland
Austin Cwynar, Jr., OF, Pine-Richland
Carson King, So., P, Pine-Richland
Logan Plummer, Sr., UTIL-P, Pine-Richland
Kyler Bell, Sr., INF, Pine-Richland
Daniel Murray, Jr., INF, Mars
Grady Speigle, Sr., INF-P, Mars
Braden Schmitt, Sr., P, Mars
Tim Joos, Sr., INF, Mars
Brody Malatak, Sr., C, West Allegheny
Bryson Zirwas, Sr., C-P, West Allegheny
Brandon Boyce, Jr., OF-P, West Allegheny
Blake Krushinski, Sr., INF-P, Fox Chapel
Tristan Blum, Jr., P, Fox Chapel
Milan Fluhme, So., INF, Fox Chapel
Lukas Stead, Sr., INF, Allderdice
Brendan Stecik, Sr., OF, Allderdice
Ben Yeckel, Sr., INF, Shaler
Dominic Miller, Sr., INF, New Castle
Dom Metz, Sr., P, Thomas Jefferson
Justin Fry, Sr., INF, Thomas Jefferson
Josh Chalovich, Jr., C, Thomas Jefferson
Eli Graff, Sr., DH, Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Brunsak, Sr., INF, Thomas Jefferson
Colin Pearson, Sr., INF-P Thomas Jefferson
Noah Sear, So., P, Thomas Jefferson
Mike Ivanoff, Sr., DH, Montour
Matteo Weber, Sr., OF-P, Montour
Zander Stern, Sr., OF, Montour
Gavin Foley, Sr., UTIL, Montour
Cyprian Slifkey, Sr., P, Montour
Aiden Robinson, Jr., INF, Baldwin
Trey Alario, Sr., UTIL, Baldwin
Nico Macurak, Sr., INF, Baldwin
Matt Musial, Jr., OF, Baldwin
Roman Jennings, Jr., INF, Gateway
Jon Saunders, Jr., P, Gateway
Grady Dunsmore, Sr., INF-OF, Gateway
Jeff Dunaway, Sr., OF-P, Connellsville
Noah Zawislan, Jr., C, Connellsville
Diamond notes
• If Shaler is able to repeat as WPIAL Class 5A baseball champion this spring, it will make history. In the eight years of 5A postseasons, no team has been able to win back-to-back crowns. In fact, the Titans are the only school to win multiple 5A titles, claiming district gold in 2019, 2023 and 2025. The last school to repeat as district baseball champs in the second-highest classification was West Allegheny winning two straight Class 3A titles in 2007-2008.
• WPIAL winner Shaler losing in the PIAA championship game to District 1 Upper Dublin, 8-2, made it two straight years a District 7 team did not win state gold in 5A. That is newsworthy after Bethel Park captured PIAA championships in 2021 and 2022 and Shaler won it all in 2023. Going back to the first Class 5A state final won by Latrobe in the spring of 2017, the WPIAL has had a team in the 5A state championship game in all but three years: 2018, 2019 and 2024.
• Senior Ben Yeckel of Shaler is one of the 5A players to watch. Now his father Ben is the new head coach of the reigning 5A champions. Coach Yeckel takes over after 10 years as an assistant for the Titans. He played his high school ball at Shaler, graduating in 2000. To keep it all in the family, sophomore Evan Yeckel is also part of the Titans team. Also, former West Allegheny and Carlynton baseball coach Dave Oddi is back, taking over as head coach at Chartiers Valley.
• Class 5A has a reputation of being very competitive no matter what the sport, and the 2026 baseball campaign should be no different. There are plenty of teams that did not crack out Preseason Top 5, but should be in the hunt for a section title and more. They include Section 1 playoff teams a year ago Penn-Trafford, Latrobe and Franklin Regional, Section 2 postseason teams from 2025 Upper St. Clair, Peters Township and Trinity, traditional powers West Allegheny and Mars along with defending champion Shaler in Section 3 and Thomas Jefferson, Montour, Baldwin and Gateway as teams to watch from Section 4.
• Re-alignment is coming again this offseason, although it doesn’t look like major changes are going to affect Class 5A, which currently has four sections and 28 teams. North Hills and Woodland Hills will be coming down from 6A and Pine-Richland and Connellsville are going up. Also, Upper St. Clair looks like it will be moving up to Class 5A for the next two-year cycle.
Alignment
Section 1: Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Penn Hills, Penn-Trafford, Plum
Section 2: Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley, Moon, Peters Township, South Fayette, Trinity, Upper St. Clair
Section 3: Allderdice, Fox Chapel, Mars, New Castle, Pine-Richland, Shaler, West Allegheny
Section 4: Baldwin, Connellsville, Gateway, McKeesport, Montour, Thomas Jefferson