ARCHIVE PHOTO / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
EYE ON THE TITLE … Montpelier’s Wesley Hartsock smacks a double versus Hilltop last season. Hartsock is one of the top returners for the Locos this season.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
After falling one game short of a trip to the Division VII state baseball tournament last spring, the Montpelier Locomotives are hoping to get over the hump this coming season and perhaps make it to state for the first time in over two decades.
Despite graduating just one senior from last year’s squad, the Locomotives return almost their entire starting lineup this season and again they are the heavy favorites to defend their Buckeye Border Conference title.
Expected to give the talent-laden Locomotives a challenge are North Central and Pettisville, both of which return several talented and experienced players.
Following is a capsule look at the BBC race with teams in order of last year’s league standings.
1. Montpelier
HEAD COACH: Toby Hutchison (15th season, 155-121 coaching record)
2025 RECORD: 20-6 overall, 7-0 BBC champions (lost in Div. VII regional final to Minster)
LETTERMEN LOST: Tyler Plourde
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Wesley Hartsock (junior, pitcher/shortstop, All-Ohio second team (Prep Baseball Report & Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association, 1st team BBC and Northwest District, 10-2 pitching record, 1.88 ERA, 81 strikeouts, .359 average, 25 RBI), Kenneth Smeltzer (senior, pitcher/shortstop, 1st team BBC, Northwest District, Division VII Prep Baseball Report, 5-0 pitching record, 1.11 ERA, 59 strikeouts, .297 average, 25 RBI), C.J. Fidler (sophomore, outfield, 1st team BBC, 2nd team Northwest District, .385 average, 18 RBI), Malachi Smeltzer (sophomore, catcher/outfield, BBC honorable mention), Griffin Cooley (senior, outfield/catcher, BBC honorable mention), Jaxon Stahler (senior, third base/pitcher), Hayden Sharps (senior, first base/pitcher)
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Drake Farley (junior, utility), Kade Stewart (junior, utility), Zaine Stull (sophomore, utility), Braxton Henry (freshman, utility), Dominic Guilford (freshman, utility)
COACHES OUTLOOK: “As we head into the 2026 season, there’s a genuine sense of excitement around Montpelier baseball.
“This group combines experienced leaders with a promising core of young talent. What stands out most about this year’s Locomotives is their mindset. They’re hungry, coachable, and committed to doing the little things right.
“We’ve emphasized playing clean defense, competing in every at-bat, and trusting one another in big moments. Losing in the regional final to eventual state champion Minster gave our group motivation, but also perspective.
“It showed how small the margin is between advancing and going home, and how important execution and composure are in those moments.
“With a majority of our production returning and some new contributors stepping in, we believe this group has the potential to be competitive.
“At the same time, we understand there is a lot to prove. We’ll need to continue to grow, stay consistent, and earn everything we get throughout the season.
“Our focus will be on improving each day and playing the game the right way. If we can do that and stay committed to our approach, we’ll give ourselves a chance to be in meaningful games late in the season and see where that takes us.
“The BBC should be competitive again this season, with several teams capable of making noise on any given day. There’s a good mix of experienced groups and younger teams looking to take a step forward, which should create a lot of tight, competitive games throughout the schedule.
“Holgate and Pettisville both return solid cores and will be tough outs, while North Central is always well-coached and capable of competing with anyone when they play clean baseball.
“Across the board, there aren’t many easy games, and teams that take care of the small details, throwing strikes, playing solid defense, and executing offensively will separate themselves.
“Overall, the BBC feels balanced, and consistency will be the key. Teams that show up ready to play every day and avoid giving games away will put themselves in the best position to compete for the top spot.”
2. Edon
HEAD COACH: Creed Muehlfeld (first season)
2025 RECORD: 13-9 overall, 6-1 BBC
LETTERMEN LOST: Kyler Sapp, Max Radabaugh, Christian Owens, Zayne Oberlin
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Corbin Chrisman (junior, .323 average, 9 RBI, 14 SB), Korbin Olds (.365 average, 10 RBI, 7 SB), Lane Brandt (5 RBI, 1 SB), Braeden Wehrle (.365 average, 14 RBI, 10 SB), Kadin Stantz (.267 average, 6 RBI, 14 SB), Wyatt Wheeler (.375 average, 1 RBI, 4 SB), Gage Cisneros, Cayden Thiel
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Brady Hand (catcher/outfield), T.J. Wehrle (utility), Trevor Hake (utility)
COACHES OUTLOOK: “The overall outlook for the season is to develop our young players by gaining valuable game experience, while continuing to compete at the high standard that Edon Baseball is known for.
“We still expect to be competitive to win the BBC. While we have a young roster, we believe our players will continue to develop as the season progresses and put us in a position to compete with anyone. Our focus will be on steady improvement, playing fundamentally sound baseball, and staying consistent throughout the season.”
T3. Hilltop
HEAD COACH: Tony Gerig (16th season, 144-212 coaching record)
2025 RECORD: 12-11 overall, 4-3 BBC (lost to Edgerton in Div. VII district semifinal)
LETTERMEN LOST: Devin Dempsey (1st team BBC, NW 1 District), Cameron Schlosser (2nd team BBC, NW 1 District), Zander Runkel
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Terry Rebeck (junior, BBC first team, .378 average, 23 RBI), Cameron Shimp (junior, .333 avg, 17 RBI, 2.85 ERA, 56 K’s), Brady Wagner (senior), Jacob Haskell (senior), Brennan Dempsey (junior, 24 K’s), Flint Bowman (junior), Toby Hartman (senior), Corbin Hartman (sophomore)
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Camryn Nichols (junior), Ezra Mahlman (freshman), Alejandro Rubalcava (freshman), Bryson Kesler (sophomore), Roarke Layman (freshman)
COACHES OUTLOOK: “Hilltop baseball is in a solid position entering 2026. Over the past decade-plus, we have consistently been at or above .500 and that is by far the best prolonged stretch of competitive baseball in school history.
“Reaching districts in consecutive seasons is a great testament to how far we’ve come over the years, and we’re very proud of that. Success has us motivated and hungry to take the next step.
“We are small in numbers this year, but the kids we do have really want to be here and are working very hard to earn any success that we are fortunate enough to have.
“In the BBC, Montpelier is certainly the favorite given all the talent they return after a very successful season a year ago. There are a number of other BBC teams who are talented enough to give Montpelier a run for its money. We hope to be right in that mix.”
T3. North Central
HEAD COACH: Anthony Kidston (second season, 9-13 record)
2025 RECORD: 9-13 overall, 3-4 BBC
LETTERMEN LOST: Gavin Shockley, Wyatt Gruber, Kade Stewart (transferred to Montpelier)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Logan Clark (senior, pitcher/first base), Brody Taylor (senior, pitcher/second base), Tyler Meyers (senior, pitcher/outfield), Jackson Poynter (junior, pitcher/infield/outfield), Garrett Shockley (junior, pitcher/outfield), Alex St. John (junior, pitcher/catcher), Carsen Nixon (junior, pitcher/first base), Kendon Brigle (junior, pitcher), Cooper Lashaway (junior, infield), Masen Boles (sophomore, pitcher/infield), Briggs Fiser (sophomore, outfield/catcher), Thane Martin (sophomore, outfield)
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Aiden Meyers (freshman, outfield/first base/pitcher), Gentry Fackler (freshman, infield/outfield), Jacob Poynter (freshman, outfield), Easton Fidler (freshman, infield/pitcher), Ashaun Dickey (freshman, outfield), Matt Hausch (freshman, outfield)
COACHES OUTLOOK: “We return eight guys who started most of our games last year. Overall, our lineup should be more competitive on an everyday basis.
“We have a little more depth on the mound compared to last year but still have opportunities to be had. Although we return a lot of starters, we are still young and have had limited success in some areas.
“I think we are going to have a very competitive team this spring. I believe with our lineup we can beat anyone on our schedule on any given day.
“In the BBC, Montpelier will be the unanimous favorite with the caliber of players they have returning. After that, the conference opens and we fully expect to be towards the top of the conference by the end of spring.
T5. Pettisville
HEAD COACH: Paul Bishop (21st season, 143-254 coaching record)
2025 RECORD: 8-12 overall, 3-4 BBC
LETTERMEN LOST: Caden Bishop, Rylan Warner
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Creighton Aeschliman (senior, catcher, .333 average), Sebastian May (senior, second base/outfield, .278 average), Luke Horning (senior, pitcher/outfield, 31 strikeouts), Quinn Ripke (senior, shortstop, .258 average), Aiden Crawford (senior, third base/first base), Sam Hastings (sophomore, second base/third base/catcher/pitcher/outfield, .217 average), Ryan Bishop (junior, first base/pitcher/outfield), Josh Morris (junior, second base), Rylee Bevard (junior, third base/pitcher)
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Jack Leppelmeier (senior, outfield/infield), Khail Bieber (freshman, infield/outfield), Lincoln Aeschliman (freshman, infield/outfield/catcher)
COACHES OUTLOOK: “We have a lot of returning lettermen with a lot of experience. Our defense should be strong with Creighton Aeschliman as a three-year starter behind the plate, Quinn Ripke two years at shortstop, Rylee Bevard a year at third base, and Ryan Bishop a year at first base.
“We also have Luke Horning with three years outfield experience and Sam Hastings with a year of experience in the outfield.
“Horning will also provide experience on the mound as he had the second most innings pitched last year. We need some guys to step up on the mound. We also need to do a better job of hitting with runners in scoring position.
“We hope to continue building off last season. We had a good summer and look to continue being competitive in every game and winning a few more of the close games. We lost five games by one or two runs last year.
T5. Holgate
HEAD COACH: Tim Kelly (38th season)
2025 RECORD: 5-15 overall, 3-4 BBC
LETTERMEN LOST: Izzy Resendez
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Matt Verhoff (junior), Grady Hoffer (junior), Zack Boecker (junior), Vincent Peck (junior), Austin Medina (senior), Matt Healy (senior), Wyatt Meyer (senior), Holden Hartman (senior), Wes Stalnaker (sophomore), Izayah Martinez (sophomore), Brock Verhoff (sophomore)
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Evan Crumrine (junior), Colton Wilhelm (freshman), Logan Geahlen (freshman), Gabe Tolson (freshman), Garrett Sheets (freshman)
COACHES OUTLOOK: “If defense comes around, we will compete. The BBC will be competitive for the top spot.”
7. Fayette
HEAD COACH: Matt Maginn (ninth season)
2025 RECORD: 3-13 overall, 1-6 BBC
LETTERMEN LOST: Caden Leininger, Xander Goble
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Carter Lavinder, Dane Andrews, Zach Oehlers, Zander Johnston, Wyatt Bieber, Cru Lavinder, Caleb Lerma, Mason Leininger
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Avery Berg, Joseph Ohlemacher, Hayden Wagner
COACHES OUTLOOK: “We look to be more competitive. Our conference is going to have a couple of really good teams at the top, and the rest should be very competitive.
8. Stryker
HEAD COACH: Austin Nickells (eighth season)
2025 RECORD: 2-14 overall, 0-6 BBC
LETTERMEN LOST: Daniel Donovan, Jacob Myers
LETTERMEN RETURNING: Chandler Lloyd (junior, pitcher/outfield/infield), Cooper Stuckey (sophomore, pitcher/infield/catcher), Dylan Rivas (sophomore, outfield), Walker Atkinson (sophomore, outfield/catcher), Will Donovan (senior, pitcher/infield), Rustin Nafziger (senior, infield), Bradley Williams (senior, pitcher/infield/outfield)
PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Camden Boggess (freshman, infield/outfield), Lane Breen (freshman, catcher/pitcher/infield/outfield), Logan Emmons (freshman, pitcher/infield), Liam Lee (freshman, infield/outfield), Cody Walters (freshman, outfield), Ayden Rodriguez (freshman, infield/outfield)
