Five new coaches will look to reshape their respective Southern Tier baseball teams this season, including new Binghamton coaches Leo Gallagher and Michael Howell, who are entering their first year as head coaches of Seton and Binghamton, respectively.
With the Southern Tier housing some of the best high school players in the state, here’s a look at which teams, players and games to pay attention to ahead of the 2026 season.
12 players to look out for from top divisional teams
Cooper Ball [1B/P, Horseheads, JR.]: Named to the West All-Division team as a freshman (2024). Ball has hit 4 HRs and pitched 12 SO in the Blue Raiders’ last four games.
Gavin Brady [CF, Vestal, JR.]: Made the West/Metro All-Conference team as a sophomore last season. Brady was also named the all-state fourth team in Class AA last season, selected by the New York State Sports Writers Association.
Connor Kotski [1B/P, Owego, SR.]: Named to the Central All-Division team last season. Kotski has pitched 14 strikeouts in the Riverhawks’ last three games, allowing less than an average of 3 HRs since the start of the season.
Brady Carr [1B, Oneonta, SR.]: Made the Central/East All-Conference team as a sophomore (2024) and the following year, as a junior. Carr was also the all-state first-pick in Class B last season, selected by the New York State Sports Writers Association after batting .500 with 40 hits and a .967 fielding percentage.
Ronin Ault [1B/LF, Waverly, SR.]: Named to the Central All-Division team last season. Ault recorded 3 HRs, 2 hits, and 1 RBI in the Wolverines’ 2-0 start to the season.
Michael Jamba [3B, Maine-Endwell, JR.]: Named to the Metro All-Division team as a freshman (2024) and the following year, as a sophomore. Jamba was also named the all-state fourth team in Class A last season, selected by the New York State Sports Writers Association.
Colin Fimbres [SS/P, Vestal, SOPH.]: Made the West/Metro All-Conference team as a freshman. Fimbres has recorded 2 HRs and 8 strikeouts in the Golden Bears’ early 3-1 start to the season.
Andrew Welch [P, Corning, JR.]: Welch has made a significant impact for the Hawks in the start of the season, pitching a total of 21 strikeouts and recording 3 HRs.
Keagan Monahan [CF/P, Horseheads, SR.]: Made the West/Metro All-Conference team last season. Monahan has hit 7 HRs in the Blue Raiders’ 3-3 start to the season.
Nolan Stark [SS/P, Oneonta, SR.]: Made the Central/East All-Conference team as a sophomore (2024) and the following year, as a junior. Stark was an all-state first-team selection, picked by the New York State Sports Writers Association last season after hitting six home runs with a .456 batting average.
Tyson Schmitt [2B/C, Windsor, SR.]: Made the Central/East All-Conference team as a sophomore (2024) and 2025 season. Schmitt has recorded 5 HRs since the start of the season.
Brady Palmer [SS/2B, Maine-Endwell, JR.]: Named to the West All-Division team last season.
Games to watch in April
Owego v Oneonta at 5 p.m. on April 13: Oneonta has reached the state finals in back-to-back seasons, claiming the Section 4 Class B championship last season and the year prior. Owego has had a similar run in Class A in recent years and took a 6-5 loss against the Yellowjackets in the regular season last year. Despite Owego taking another close loss to Oneonta (5-4) in 2024, the River Hawks still managed to deprive Oneonta of the 2024 STAC Championship with 8-0 shutout. The regular-season matchup this year may be a preview of which team will be stronger in the postseason.
Waverly at Vestal at 12 noon on April 18: As two competitively different teams, with Vestal serving as one of the STAC’s strongest teams in the regular season, and Waverly with upset potential, this cross-divisional matchup is worth looking out for.
Maine-Endwell v Vestal at 5 p.m. on April 27 and April 29: Maine-Endwell came out of last season as a New York State finalist and with the Section 4 Class A championship. The Spartans play fellow Metro division contender, Vestal, in a three-game series toward the end of April, heading into the first week of May. The Golden Bears have been a consistent, dominant force in the Southern Tier, with an overall record of 13-9 in STAC championships. Having lost out on the No. 1 spot in the division last season, Maine-Endwell’s outcome in the series may rectify the Spartans’ title as the best in the division.
Notable Mentions
Corning v Elmira (May 4, 6, 8 @5pm): Although the game is much later in the season, the regular-season matchup between Corning and Elmira may very well be a practice run for the two teams that have met in the Section 4 Class AAA and AA championships since 2022.
Deposit-Hancock v Seton Catholic Central (April 20, 4:30 p.m.): Deposit-Hancock, although not a Southern Tier team, is a notable Section 4 team that made it to the state finals in Class C last year and was crowned the 2025 Section 4 Class C champions. A returning roster that helped foster an undefeated regular season last season also makes Deposit a must-watch MAC team–especially against Seton Catholic Central, whom the team hasn’t faced since 2022.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Southern Tier Baseball Players to Watch & Games to Catch in April
Reporting by Aniya Sumner, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
