Carlmont Scots

While the bitter aftertaste of last season's Central Coast Section tournament ouster – a nine-inning 5-4 opening-round loss to Santa Clara where they blew a three-run lead with two outs in the seventh inning – still lingers with coach Ryan Hamilton and a few holdovers, this year brings with it a fresh start and great promise.

Their hopes hinge on pitching and a strong junior class, Hamilton says.

"This is the best pitching Carlmont will have had in four years not only at the top end but also in the depth," he said. "We are a young team, so a lot of players will need to take a significant step offensively in their development from JV to varsity, but the talent is there."

Carlmont graduated the bulk of its 2025 squad but returns one of the best starting pitching tandems in the PAL Bay Division.

Junior Nate Werbinski and senior Levi Wellman combined to throw fewer than 46 innings a year ago, but figure to blow past that mark this year. Werbinski started four games and went 2-4 with a 3.69 earned-run average on a senior-heavy squad last year. Wellman 9.2 innings and factors into Hamilton's plans more greatly in 2026.

Werbinski will man one of the middle infield spots when he's not pitching. His bat is lively as was apparent in his final at-bat last season – a long fly ball that looked like it might be a game-tying home run but got knocked down by the wind and ended up a long out in the loss to the Bruins.

Wellman will slot into one of the outfield spots. His 66 plate appearances nearly double the number of the rest of the returners, while senior second baseman Mikey Nishikawa is dependable in the field and Ryan Weiss has the inside track to the third base job.

A reason for optimism is a junior varsity team that won 20 games last year, including all five contests against WCAL opponents. Catcher Ryan Attard could find his way into the lineup, while there are high hopes for junior outfielders Caden Stinson and Zayden Luzzo.

Juniors Ryan Kelly and Arnav Prathpati add pitching depth, while Serra transfers Vishnu Iyer, a middle infielder, and first baseman and outfielder Nolan Hahm, could find their way into the lineup.

 "If we stay healthy this year and our juniors make those strides, we will be a tough team to beat," Hamilton said.

2026 Schedule

Feb. 27 at Half Moon Bay, 3:30 p.m.

March 2 vs. Palo Alto at Wilcox tournament, Washington Park, Santa Clara, 4 p.m.

March 4 Wilcox tournament, Washington Park, Santa Clara, TBA

March 7 Wilcox tournament, Washington Park, Santa Clara, TBA

March 10 at Sacred Heart Prep, 4 p.m.

March 13 at St. Ignatius Prep, 4 p.m.

March 14 Mitty, 11 a.m.

March 18 at Terra Nova, 4 p.m.

March 20 Live Oak, 4 p.m.

March 21 at Los Altos, noon

March 25 at Hillsdale, 4 p.m.

March 27 Hillsdale, 4 p.m.

March 28 at Riordan, 11 a.m.

April 1 at Sequoia, 4 p.m.

April 3 Sequoia, 4 p.m.

April 7 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 3:30 p.m.

April 11 Bellarmine, 11 a.m.

April 15 at Menlo Atherton, 4 p.m.

April 17 Menlo Atherton, 4 p.m.

April 22 at Menlo School, 4 p.m.

April 23 Menlo School, 4 p.m.

April 29 The King's Academy, 4 p.m.

May 1 The King's Academy, 4 p.m.

May 6 at Burlingame, 4 p.m.

May 8 Burlingame, 4 p.m.

May 13 at Capuchino, 4 p.m.

May 15 Capuchino, 4 p.m.