After a successful inaugural year, the Southeastern High School Baseball Classic returns with another lineup of star-studded programs as each prepares for the three-day tournament. This year, all games on March 7th and 8th will be played between Northside-Columbus High School and Buford High School, with the Wolves set to host the championship game on March 15th. The championship game and consolation game on the 15th will both be televised on the Peachtree Sports Network, and streamed digitally on the Atlanta News First app.
The first round of the tournament will commence on March 7th with games split between Buford High School and Northside-Columbus High School. The first round matchups at Buford are Tallulah Falls vs. Prince Avenue and Walker vs. Buford. At Northside-Columbus, the first-round matchups are Lewisburg (MS) vs. Northside-Columbus and North Cobb Christian vs. Piedmont (AL). Second round matchups will be played on March 8th to determine the championship and consolation brackets.
Returning to the event are the Lewisburg Patriots, who claimed the first-ever championship during last year’s inaugural Southeastern High School Baseball Classic. The Patriots are currently 7-2 on the season and came all the way from Mississippi for the event. With them, they bring left-handed pitcher and first baseman Talon Haley. Haley is committed to play collegiate ball at Vanderbilt, and is batting .390 on the year with a 1.83 ERA and 43 strikeouts through 23 innings pitched. Brayden Bennett, a second baseman and catcher, will play college ball at Freed-Hardeman University.
Lewisburg will first face off against Northside-Columbus, which was also featured during last year’s event. This year, the Patriots are led by new head coach Tracy Powell, who looks to improve on the team’s 10-17 record last season. The team returns senior Caden Clay, an outfielder who is committed to play football at Charleston Southern. Alongside Clay are the junior pair of pitcher Sam Laney and pitcher/utility player Chris Biggs, who will look to take Northside to the final game of the tournament.
North Cobb Christian joins the event with one of the younger rosters in the state. The Eagles bring championship experience with them, as they’ve claimed back-to-back state titles in Class 2A. Senior Rilee Hutchinson, a middle infielder and outfielder, is committed to Coastal Alabama and is joined by junior Gardner-Webb-commit Hudson Newell, sophomores Austin Tamborra, JD Aufderheide and Carson Bruce to round out this high-potential program. The Eagles will first face off against Piedmont, which traveled from Alabama for the event. A trio of seniors in catcher Kale Austin, first baseman Cole Wilson and pitcher Brodie Homesley give Piedmont plenty of veteran experience. Paired with freshman short stop Cole Austin, the No. 5 ranked player in Alabama for the Class of 2028, Piedmont has its eyes set on the championship game.
On the other side of the bracket, Tallulah Falls enters the tournament with a strong group of seniors that give the Indians their firepower. Third baseman/pitcher Chase Pollock, right fielder Danny Grant and short stop/pitcher/catcher Diego Gonzalez all bring veteran experience, while first baseman/pitcher Cole Bonitatibus (Gordon State-commit) rounds out the group. The Indians will face off against Prince Avenue in the first round, which is coming off a 33-3 2024 season that saw the Wolverines win their second-straight Class A Division 1 championship. While Prince Avenue lost some of its depth with the graduating of its 2024 class, the Wolverines do return first baseman/pitcher Judson Hartwell who is committed to play at Georgia Tech.
Walker last won a state title in 2002, but enter the tournament with plenty of talent to claim a top-place finish. The Wolverines are coming off an elite eight appearance from last season, and return senior pitcher/infielder Tyler Fallmann who is committed to West Georgia. Alongside him will be junior catcher Jonathan Griggs, a Wofford College-commit, who is the team’s defensive anchor. Buford joins the tournament for the first time, and brings along a young team after graduating its entire 2024 infield and top-two arms. However, the Wolves aren’t without senior leadership, as they return senior center fielder/pitcher Cannon Goldin who is committed to Ole Miss. With up-and-coming talent like freshmen pitcher/left fielder Dexter McCleon Jr. and short stop Lio Garcia, Buford’s inexperience may be less of a handicap than previously thought.
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