Shore Sports Insider Baseball 2026 Preseason Top 10

Shore Sports Insider Preseason Baseball Top 10

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Although a number of Shore Conference teams opened their seasons over the past four days, the season begins en masse this week with divisional play getting underway on Monday. With that, the Shore Sports Insider Preseason Top 10 takes a crack at an early forecast for the end of the season. Can Brick Memorial defend its 2025 No. 1 ranking by besting the non-public trio from Class A North?

1. Christian Brothers Academy

Despite graduating three top-four bats from the lineup and the best relief pitcher in the state, CBA will be a loaded roster again in 2026. The Colts return three Division I arms at the top of the rotation, led by All-Shore hurlers Danny DiTullio (Northeastern) and Dylan Iwanyk (Michigan). There are more young arms now in the pipeline to add some depth to the mix and keep the workloads of the top guys reasonable, while the offense should remain solid and the defense strong. Although the lineup will be steady from top to bottom, CBA may not boast a ton of raw power, so if a team with a quality pitcher can play a clean game in the field, there will be opportunities to beat the Colts.

2. Brick Memorial

Speaking of beating CBA, Brick Memorial is coming off its best season ever, during which the Mustangs won 22 games, their first outright Shore Conference division title since 1996, reached the sectional final round of the NJSIAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years and claimed their first ever Shore Conference Tournament championship. That run to the SCT title included a win at CBA in the semifinals, followed by a win over Red Bank Catholic in a championship game classic. With two top left-handers – Brody Moore and Zach Pirnik – back on the mound and five impact hitters returning from an imposing offense, Brick Memorial has all the pieces to run it back in 2026.

3. Ranney

For the past two seasons, Ranney has leaned heavily on the Class of 2027 to fill spots in the lineup and in its rotation and in both seasons, the Panthers held their own as a Top 10 team in the conference while playing some of the toughest schedules they have ever played. Now, that group heads into its junior season and will have a chance at starting out a decorated two-year run. The Panthers don’t have the shutdown power arms that CBA has, but the depth of the rotation is quality and shortstop Ricky Lopez was in the conversation for best hitter in the conference as a sophomore.

4. Red Bank Catholic

RBC took on heavy graduation losses in its infield and at the top of the rotation, but the Caseys will have one of the best outfields in the conference along with one of the Shore’s top catchers in Aiden Funk. They also have a track record of producing capable pitchers, which, along with good infield defense from returning senior Drew Cannon and three new starters, will be the key to success in 2026. Glen Popes has pitched in big games for RBC over the past two seasons, junior Anthony Scaglione is hoping to break out like Luke Meyers did as a senior last year, while sophomore Sam French has the tools to be a future ace.

5. Point Pleasant Beach

It has reached a point that you can pencil in Point Beach to play in the Central Jersey Group I final, but the Garnet Gulls are more than just a good Group I team. With First Team All-Shore catcher Dan Lubach and two-way senior Tommy Conroy back for a fourth varsity season, Point Beach is one of the best returning rosters in the conference and could give Brick Memorial a run as the best public-school team in the conference as both teams battle it out in Class A South and the Ocean County Tournament.

6. Toms River East

While Brick Memorial is the defending Class A South and Shore Conference Tournament champion, Toms River East enters 2026 as the two-time defending Ocean County Tournament champion, which the Raiders claimed last year by beating Brick Memorial in the OCT championship game. The pitching staff will look different without the top two from 2026 and 2025 Shore Sports Insider Matt Ferrara is now in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, but the return of All-Shore infielder Joey DiMeo, a strong supporting cast and a solid group of newcomers should keep the Raiders in the championship mix again.

7. Rumson-Fair Haven

The top ranking among Monmouth County public schools belongs to the Bulldogs, who improved over the course of last season with a young lineup and pitching staff. With four starting pitchers back and All-Shore third baseman D.J. Ylagan leading a deep pool of returning position players, Rumson has the talent to challenge the likes of CBA, RBC and Ranney in Monmouth County, the Ocean County trio in the Shore Conference Tournament and Governor Livingston in Group II.

8. Wall

After enduring an insurmountable number of pitching injuries and missing out on the NJSIAA Tournament due to the overwhelming difficulty of qualifying for the Central Group II Tournament, Wall is out for redemption this season with a senior-heavy team that also has a super-talented sophomore group that will raise the ceiling of this year’s team while also making Wall a dangerous team over these next three years.

9. Colts Neck

A strong start to 2025 helped Colts Neck capture the Class B North division championship, but a 3-7 finish to the campaign has a senior-heavy group of returnees eager to finish strong in 2026. The Cougars bring back all by one starter in the batter order and while the pitching staff will look different from last year, Colts Neck has a group of position players behind ace Ryan Spencer ready to contribute on the mound. Colts Neck hammered Rumson in two meetings last season, so even as Rumson enters the season two spots ahead in the rankings, the Cougars enter the season with the psychological edge on the Bulldogs.

10. Point Pleasant Boro

After barely beating out Wall and Monmouth Regional for the last playoff spot in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II bracket last year, Point Boro nearly pulled off the upset of the season when the Panthers took a 5-1 lead on 28-0 Governor Livingston in the fifth inning of the opening round in the NJSIAA Central Group II Playoffs. The Panthers came up short vs. the state’s No. 1 team in their final 2025 game, but bring back the double-play combination of second baseman Nick Carmino and Jake Clayton, plus an experienced pitching staff to help make a run at a Class B South title and tournament glory.

 

The Next 10

Jackson – The fusion of Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty will help both teams overcome some significant losses as the new super-team in Jackson looks to make noise in its first official year as a school.

Toms River South – In its first season under the direction of coach Jim Rankin, Toms River South made it back to the South Group III final for the first time in 22 years and brings back an impressive nucleus that helped make that happen.

Manasquan – With Chase Kaplan on the mound, Manasquan will be hard to beat and if junior right-hander Logan Cleveland can also break out as a co-ace, the Warriors will be a terrifying tournament matchup.

Middletown South – The Eagles used a committee approach to pitching last year and will likely try some version of that again this season, with Peter DeNicola leading the staff and Jack Concordia in centerfield.

Raritan – Boston College commit and ace Will Meehan will give Raritan a chance to repeat as a division champion in a new division and if the young newcomers make enough of a splash, the Rockets can once again give Governor Livingston and the Group II field a challenge.

Barnegat – Nick Malinowski is another ace that could separate Barnegat, which will be more likely to happen this year because the Bengals’ many sophomores and juniors from a year ago are now mature enough to carry some real expectations into the year.

Lacey – The Lions are already 2-0 with wins over Class C North favorite Holmdel, plus rival Central. Dalton Johnson’s 12 strikeouts in five one-hit innings marked an eye-opening performance for the Class C South division title hopefuls.

Holmdel – The Hornets have a pair of Division I arms atop their rotation in Dylan Zammit (NJIT) and Jack Vallillo (Seton Hall), which gives Holmdel an edge in the Class B North division.

Shore – Outside of a couple of corner outfielders, Shore brings back every starter from a team that finished better than .500 in a difficult Class B North division. Now in C North, Shore will eye a division title before making another run in Central Jersey Group I.

Toms River North – Four players who did not play baseball last year for one reason or another returned to this year’s Mariners team, which also has an established group of seniors back and trying to push Toms River North back into the upper-tier of Ocean County.