St. Raymond’s Marc DeLuca is the All-Bronx baseball Coach of the Year. (Denis Gostev)
It wasn’t a typical year for The Bronx.
Fordham Prep made the CHSAA Class AA intersectional finals in the CHSAA, St. Raymond won the Bronx/Manhattan title and All Hallows, like those teams, reached the Class AA championship round.
In the PSAL, though, it was a down season. Monroe made its first Class A quarterfinals in two seasons, but not a single team reached the semifinals.
Fieldston had a big year in the Ivy Prep League, beating Poly Prep in the regular season and reaching the NYSAISAA final, where Poly got revenge, for the first time. Riverdale and Horace Mann also had solid seasons in the private school league.
All-Bronx baseball Player of the Year: Andrew Velazquez, Fordham Prep
When he reached base with a single, he’d almost always end up on third base with his blazing speed. He started off the season with three home runs in his first three games. He played a nearly flawless – and sometimes spectacular – shortstop.
That’s the reason why the Diamondbacks took Velazquez in the seventh round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, making him the highest CHSAA player taken directly out of high school in a decade. The senior, who has signed with the Arizona organization, led Fordham Prep to the CHSAA Class AA finals.
“He does it all – he’s a five-tool player,” Fordham coach Pat Deane said. “He can run, he can hit, he hits for average, he hits for power, he’ll take a walk. As he goes, we go.”
All-Bronx baseball Coach of the Year: Marc DeLuca, St. Raymond
Last year, DeLuca was upset with what he felt was a subpar performance by his team. It was the former assistant coach’s first season at the helm of the program and the last thing he wanted to do was tarnish the legacy left by longtime head man Ron Patnosh.
In 2012, St. Raymond came back strong, DeLuca guiding a team that didn’t have a lot of star power to a CHSAA Bronx/Manhattan title and trip to the Class AA championship round.
FIRST TEAM
SS Stephen Alemais, All Hallows
The Tulane-bound junior has a chance to be the best player in the city next year with his five-tool ability. This year, he was a significant force in All Hallows’ lineup and also the team’s closer en route to the CHSAA Class AA championship round.
CF Harrison Bader, Horace Mann
A five-tool player headed to Maryland after de-committing from Pittsburgh, Bader enjoyed a solid senior season as Horace Mann’s top hitter and rock in centerfield. He played a major role in the Lions’ fourth-place finish in the Ivy Prep League and will be nearly impossible to replace next spring.
C Leo Bravo, St. Raymond
One of the senior leaders, Bravo set the tone for a big season for St. Raymond, which won the CHSAA Bronx/Manhattan title. The Dominican College-bound slugger was also an impact player in the middle of the lineup for the Ravens.
P Daniel Brickner, Fieldston
The staff ace behind Fieldston’s greatest year in memory, he pitched the Eagles to their first NYSAISAA championship game with a complete-game gem in a 5-3 win over Rye Country Day. The gritty and poised right-hander’s return from mononucleosis after missing the start of the year gave The Bronx school the top pitcher it needed to finish second in the Ivy Prep League.
P Anthony Colon, St. Raymond
The senior led an unheralded pitching staff to an incredible season and he ended up with a career year. Every time Colon, who got by on guts and guile, went to the mound, St. Raymond felt like it had a strong chance to prevail.
P/LF Steve Fondu, Fordham Prep
Call him the Xaverian killer. After his bullpen blew a seeding round game against the powerhouse Clippers, the Furman-bound Fondu, known for his slugging, came in and shut them down again in a CHSAA Class AA championship-round victory.
1B Matt Guzman, Fieldston
One of the city’s breakout stars this spring, his emergence was integral to Fieldston’s successful season, which included a second-place finish in the Ivy Prep league and the school’s first NYSAISAA finals berth. The consistent power hitter’s highlight was a game-tying, three-run homer in a dramatic 8-7, 10-inning victory over league dynamo Poly Prep. A .500 hitter with 20 RBIs and nine doubles, he will attempt to walk-on at Villanova.
P Sean McNamara, Fordham Prep
Location, location, location. McNamara didn’t have a blazing fastball or swing-and-miss breaking stuff, but the junior’s pinpoint precision was incredible – just ask St. Joseph by the Sea, the team he beat to get Fordham into the CHSAA finals.
P/2B Jason Reyes, All Hallows
He had big shoes to fill with ace James Norwood graduated and pitching at St. Louis. But Reyes came up big, pitching great against St. Francis Prep in a CHSAA Class AA third round series and also emerging as one of the team’s top hitters.
P Chris Sholkoff, Cardinal Spellman
After would-be ace Nick Padilla went down with a sore arm early in the season, Sholkoff became the guy. He responded with a huge season, capped by a complete-game, two-hitter against Xavier in the CHSAA Class AA second round.
HONORABLE MENTION
SS Orlando Collado, St. Raymond
P Cole Dreyfuss, Riverdale
SS Dom Luongo, Cardinal Spellman
3B/P Phillie Guzman, John F. Kennedy
P Christian Lozano, Monsignor Scanlan
3B Lance Montano, All Hallows
CF Justin Morales, Monroe
CF Joe Morel, All Hallows
2B Oldanny Morillo, Cardinal Hayes
3B/P Randy Perez, Monroe
P Jesse Roth, Horace Mann
SS Will Savage, Fieldston
1B Jack Sexton, Fordham Prep
P Bruce Valentin, Walton
P/SS Kevin Victoriano, South Bronx
