Welcome to a new baseball season

Year Two of the PeninsulaPrepBaseball.com experiment begins today. What’s our end game? We have no idea, other than watching a ton of high school baseball. We’re going to ride this wave as far as we can and when it’s time to stop, you’ll tell us.

Until then, you’re stuck with us.

Last year was magical. Of the 31 teams in our coverage area, 23 qualified for the Central Coast Section tournaments. Three of them – Serra, Santa Clara and Menlo School – won CCS crowns. Three others got to their respective championship games, while four more teams advanced to the semifinal found. In all, five teams advanced to the NorCal playoffs. Menlo School brought home a crown, while Serra and Saint Francis lost in their respective NorCal title games.

Yes, it was a special year, one that illustrates the level of baseball being played on the Peninsula, which explains why the number of ball players being recruited to play at the college level is growing exponentially.

We expect that to continue, which justifies the reason for PeninsulaPrepBaseball.com.

We salute the start to a new season. We welcome 31 teams, including seven teams from the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division. We knew immediately after launching last year – and seeing Santa Clara and Los Gatos on the first two days of the season – that we needed to expand our coverage area.

We also are excited to see games at the new diamond at Terra Nova, which played all last year on the road. In addition, Half Moon Bay, which already was a picturesque baseball setting, has undergone renovation by replacing its artificial surface with a new one. We’d put it right up there with our favorite places to see a game

That list includes Saint Francis, Capuchino, Menlo School, Sacred Heart Prep and The King’s Academy, which has the best dirt-and-grass infield around. Take in a game or two at any of those venues this year. It’ll be worth the drive.

We’ve been at it for weeks, crunching the numbers and putting together our team previews, rankings and the first of many versions of our Preseason Prime 31 list, which we will begin unveiling this week.

In late January, we hosted our annual preseason photo shoot, inviting six of the best seniors on the Peninsula to pose for group and individual shots. Believe it or not, all six of them showed up on time to The King’s Academy in Sunnyvale. We placed bets on who would be the last player to arrive. No wagers were cash that day because each of them showed up early. Yes, early. And on a Sunday morning, mind you.

Then again, we contend that Serra’s Nate Hui, Los Gatos’ Brady Simon, The King’s Academy’s Nate Plata, Sequoia’s Morgan Winfield, Saint Francis’ Gino Cappellazzo and St. Ignatius Prep’s Archer Horn are not your typical teenagers.

There were a handful of others that were considered for the photo, but we think we struck it rich with those six. We also started a new tradition of having seniors sign the PeninsulaPrepBaseball.com banner.

We could have extolled the virtues of each of them in this story, but you’ll read plenty about each of them in the coming days, weeks, months – and, yes, years. They are difference makers, ball players who tend to come through when the game gets tight and the lights come on. And each of them will play at the next level.

Instead, we’re using this space to make some observations and predictions, not about league championships, but those teams we think have a chance to make dramatic improvements from a year ago, as well as some of the ball players we expect to have productive and memorable seasons.

Sleeper Teams to Watch

PAL-Bay Division: Burlingame struggled offensively last year, but the Panthers have a ton of returning talent, including their share of pitching. They will also get needed help from a JV team that ran through the Bay Division last year.

PAL-Ocean Division: Half Moon Bay. Terra Nova is considered the favorite, but the Cougars lurk in the background, armed with plenty of returning talent and a lot of newcomers. But keep an eye on Woodside, which also has a good young team coming back. If the Wildcats get pitching, they’ll be tough to beat.

WCAL: Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Irish, led by senior Jacob Vines, have a three-headed rotation that sets them up to be competitive. The return of Zach Stallworth deepens the staff considerably.

SCVAL-De Anza Division: Homestead. Los Gatos is the favorite, while Wilcox is always good, but keep an eye on the Mustangs. In the competitive De Anza Division, Travis Sunseri has a squad that could sneak up on a lot of teams.

Breakout seasons

PAL-Bay Division: Nate Werbinski, Carlmont. The junior is getting looks from a handful of D-1 schools as both a pitcher and at the plate. He’ll be counted on for both this season for the Scots.

PAL-Ocean Division: Emilio Oseguera, South San Francisco. The Warriors will step up to the Ocean Division with plenty of talent. We'd love to hear more about them and patiently await Matt Schaukowitch's call. Oseguera compiled a 1.52 earned-run average with 86 strikeouts in 55 innings last year.

WCAL: Colton Hadfield, Valley Christian. The UCLA commit stepped up as a sophomore second baseman in 2025 on a team loaded with D-1 talent. This year, he’ll play shortstop and, with a fastball that hits 90 mph, will be at the top of Valley’s rotation.

SCVAL-De Anza Division: Drew Hamburger, Homestead. Hamburger was good last year, hitting .286, but we think there is potential for a dramatic statistical breakout in 2026.

Bounce Back Seasons

PAL-Bay Division: Taiyo Peterson, The King’s Academy. Peterson was a mop-up pitcher last year. This year he’s the Knights’ ace and has already impressed catcher Nate Plata with his bullpen sessions.

PAL-Ocean Division: Clark Colucci, Half Moon Bay. The infielder and pitcher has put last year in the rear-view mirror. It’s perfect timing for a Half Moon Bay team that is poised to win. And we’re betting that Rallin Covey, the Sacred Heart Prep senior, will be better this year.

WCAL: Kelley Crawford, Serra. If Crawford pitches as well as he did in a WCAL tournament shutout of Riordan last May, the Padres will be tough to beat this year. The hard-throwing right-hander has a D-1 arm.

SCVAL-De Anza Division: Ian Johnston, Palo Alto. Vikings coach Pete Fukuhara says Johnston has the potential to be a D-1 pitcher. A strong offseason helped him to hone his location. If he cuts down on the walks, he has the stuff to be dominant.

Top Newcomers

PAL-Bay Division: Connor Murray, Sequoia. The Ravens will have a new starting catcher for the first time in four years with the graduation of Logan Mathias. Coach Mike Doyle sees the same type of athleticism in Murray.

PAL-Ocean Division: Paxton Holden, Half Moon Bay. Holden actually made his varsity debut last year, filling in for one game while Riley Jackson was hurt. He collected two hits. Having him in the lineup every day will help the Cougars.

WCAL: Brody Crudeli, Serra. The Padres have openings in the middle infield spots and Crudeli figures to step into the lineup with a big way by filling one of them.

SCVAL-De Anza: Preston Jetson, Wilcox. He’s an athletic middle infielder with pop in his bat. Jetson dominated at the JV level last year by hitting .511 and figures to transition nicely to the varsity level.