Ready for baseball? What to know about the Rock Hill-area high school teams in 2022

Baseball teams in York, Chester and Lancaster counties won’t see a shortage of talent in 2022.

From lefty aces committed to ACC schools, to All-State players returning for their senior years — here’s what you need to know as the season heads into full swing.

Teams to know

Andrew Jackson: The reigning Class 2A state runners-up (25-9 last year) are loaded — with talent from seniors in pitcher Kyle Percival (UNC commit), centerfielder Bryce Helms (Spartanburg Methodist College commit) and rightfielder/pitcher Ashton Phillips (Spartanburg Methodist College commit). The Volunteers are further stacked with junior shortstop Landon Peavy and freshman catcher Skyler Hegler (who is a Clemson University commit and who contributed as an eighth-grader to last year’s team). AJ was ranked No. 1 in the state’s 2A preseason poll and has championship expectations.

Catawba Ridge: Coach Stas Swerdzewski has an experienced club for the first time in school history. The Copperheads, in only their third year as a program, are returning their entire starting lineup after winning 15 games and finishing second in Region 3-4A last season. The Copperheads will lean on a trio of seniors to contend for a region title and more in 2022: Trevor Testerman (Newberry College commit), Greyson Wild (Spartanburg Methodist College commit) and Harrison Wilson (Winthrop University signee).

Fort Mill: The Yellow Jackets have been consistent winners with 88 victories in the last five seasons under Coach Travis Collier (including the COVID-shortened, 2020 season). But they missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016 after barely losing a win-or-go-home thriller to rival Nation Ford to end the 2022 regular season. This year, Fort Mill has plenty of motivation to get back on track: Mathieu Curtis (USC Upstate commit), Connor Rasmussen (East Carolina signee), Scott Young (USC Union commit) and Luke Garabedian (Indiana State signee) comprise a powerful senior class. Junior Dylan Schaefer (UNC Wilmington commit) returns to Fort Mill’s lineup, too.

Legion Collegiate: The defending 2A state champions will now compete in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association as conditional members, which means they won’t be able compete in the postseason this year. But Coach Devon Lowery and Lancers have the talent to play well with All-State performers in senior pitcher Joey Hylinski (Winthrop University signee), junior outfielder/pitcher Ethan Belk (Wofford College commit) and others to lead the way.

Lewisville: The reigning 2-1A champions return six starters on a team with the experience to make a deep playoff run. Those players include senior All-State pitcher Ben Coyle and All-Region junior Seth Morrow.

Nation Ford: The Falcons will have a younger team in 2022 — losing all three of their pitchers from the starting rotation last year — but they can count on All-State juniors Gabe Simmons (N.C. State commit) and Kenan Bowman (East Carolina commit) to lead both the Nation Ford offense and defense.

Northwestern: The Trojans will look to an experienced pitching staff with seniors Nathan Clack (Wilson College commit), Ethan Darden (Clemson University signee) and Michael Gibson (Charleston Southern commit) to lead a team that finished as Region 4-5A runners-up to Blythewood a year ago.

York: The defending, Region 3-4A champions have a wealth of experience back in the lineup in 2022. Those guys include Andrew Kinsey, Hunter Latham, Jackson Peeler, Landon Sexton, Ryley Stout, Trace Thompson and All-State sophomore Cooper Parks. (York won 22 games in 2021 — the most the program has ever seen.)

Some players to watch

Caleb Cox, Clover baseball. The North Greenville University commit (3.50 earned-run average (ERA) last year) gives Clover all three starting pitchers back in 2022. He’ll be joined by juniors Sam Czyz and River Joye on the mound and will be throwing to experienced senior catcher Elijah Krause (Limestone University signee).

Ben Coyle, Lewisville baseball. The Co-Region 2-1A Player of the Year will be relied upon heavily for the Lion offense and defense after a stellar junior season: He was 6-0 on the mound with four complete games and hit .347 with 10 doubles at the plate in 2021.

Ethan Darden, Northwestern. The Clemson University signee and co-Region 4-5A pitcher of the year is a rare talent as left-hander with a 90-plus mile per hour fastball.

Cooper Parks, York. The Cougars’ all-state shortstop/pitcher headlines a veteran group. He’s returning to a team that made a deep run in last year’s playoffs.

Kyle Percival, Andrew Jackson. The 6-foot-5 left-handed All-State pitcher can bring the heat with a 91-mile per hour fastball that is already attracting the attention of Major League Baseball scouts. The University of North Carolina commit had a school-record 108 strikeouts last year — while also hitting .347 at the plate — and looks to be even better in his final high school season.

Connor Rasmussen, Fort Mill. The East Carolina signee is a two-way standout, hitting .385 at the plate while boasting a 2.40 ERA on the mound last year. He already has notched a no-hitter against St. James this season.

Ron Robinson, Lancaster. The Bruin senior and All-Region pick a season ago will play an integral role at the plate (.314 with nine doubles last year) and on the mound (65 strikeouts in 47 innings of work last year) for a Lancaster squad looking to get back in postseason play.

Gabe Simmons, Nation Ford. The N.C. State commit and All-State pick can make a major impact at the plate in 2022. Last season, he hit .398 with 15 doubles, four triples and 26 RBI. He also scored 31 runs and stole 15 bases as a sophomore.

Braden Small, Indian Land. The USC Lancaster commit and All-Region performer plays a lead role on the mound, at the plate and at third-base for a Warriors team that should be improved in their second year with coach Hal Bagwell at the helm.

Ethan Wilson, South Pointe. The Spartanburg Methodist College commit will be part of a veteran pitching staff with classmates Cole Montgomery (USC Sachahatchie commit), Ben Rehkow (USC Lancaster commit) and Redden Smith in 2022.

Harrison Wilson, Catawba Ridge. The Winthrop University signee and senior hit .321 with five doubles last year. He and classmate/All-State performer Trevor Testerman (.389, five doubles, Newberry College signee) will help power the Catawba Ridge offense.

John Wimmer, Rock Hill. The Bearcat junior shortstop/pitcher and The Citadel commit will play a lead role on the mound and at the plate for Rock Hill this season.

Young players on the rise

Miles Baker, Nation Ford. The Falcon sophomore outfielder was the team’s defensive MVP (one error in 37 chances) and also hitting .347 in 2021. He also stole nine bases as a freshman. Look for Baker to have a big impact in 2022.

Dion Brown, Clover. The Blue Eagle sophomore outfielder has great expectations as a Clemson University commit.

Skyler Hegler, Andrew Jackson. The Volunteer freshman catcher is among the top players in the country in his class (2025) and has already committed to Clemson University. He played for AJ sparingly as an eighth-grader because of an injury for most of the season, but he still made an impact in the 2A state finals.

Zachary Langley, Great Falls. The Red Devil junior is one of the most versatile players in the area as he will likely see time as a pitcher, shortstop, third baseman and first baseman.

Jayce Leflore, South Pointe baseball. The Stallion sophomore looks to be even better after hitting .344 with five doubles as a freshman.

Lane Sullivan, Chester. The Cyclone junior third baseman/pitcher will pair with classmate Britt Fleming (outfielder/pitcher) to lead a Chester squad that returns nine starters from a team that went 8-6 in 2021.

South Carolina high school baseball coaches preseason poll

Note: These rankings came out in January, months before the season started in early March.

Class 5A: 1. Hillcrest, 2. Summerville, 3. Blythewood, 4. River Bluff, 5. Berkeley, 6. Dorman, 7. Socastee, 8. Lexington, 9. Byrnes, 10. (tie) Carolina Forest and TL Hanna

Class 4A: 1. AC Flora, 2. Eastside, 3. James Island, 4. York, 5. Hartsville, 6. Airport, 7. North Myrtle Beach, 8. Laurens, 9. Catawba Ridge, 10. (tie) Easley and South Florence

Class 3A: 1. Oceanside Collegiate, 2. Brookland-Cayce, 3. Chapman, 4. Gilbert, 5. Bishop England, 6. Wren, 7. Hanahan, 8. West Oak, 9. Georgetown, 10. (tie) Broome and Blue Ridge

Class 2A: 1. Andrew Jackson, 2. Gray Collegiate, 3. Crescent, 4. Chesnee, 5. Chesterfield, 6. Abbeville, 7. Phillip Simmons, 8. Latta, 9. Barnwell, 10. Batesburg-Leesville

Class 1A: 1. Green Sea-Floyds, 2. Southside Christian, 3. East Clarendon, 4. Lake View, 5. Lewisville, 6. Bamberg-Ehrhardt, 7. Johnsonville, 8. Ridge Spring-Monetta, 9. McBee, 10. Branchville

This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.