State baseball preview: Top players to watch as Trinity tries to defend title
No. 1 Trinity returns to Lexington this week to defend its state crown as a prohibitive favorite for the Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare considering how it dominated in-state competition during the regular season.
The Shamrocks (37-3) are loaded and led by Grayson Willoughby, last year’s state tournament most valuable player, and this year’s front-runner to earn Mr. Baseball honors as the state’s top senior player. On Monday, he was named Kentucky Gatorade player of the year.
Willoughby is a Kentucky commit and the top Major League Baseball prospect in the state. There’s considerable talk of him going in one of the big-money slots of the early rounds of July’s MLB draft.
If Trinity avoids getting upset at Legends Field this week, Willoughby will get to play in UK’s Kentucky Proud Park the following week for a third year in a row. Time will tell if those are his only appearances there.
This year’s tournament bracket will be a challenge. It features 10 teams ranked in the final PrepBaseballReport.com “Power 25” of the regular season, including six teams in the top 10.
No. 2 Whitley County looms as a potential semifinal opponent for the Rocks, but No. 11 Beechwood could be a stumbling block for Trinity in the quarterfinals if both survive the first round. The Tigers have junior Louisville commit Tyler Fryman, who rates as one of the top offensive threats in the field.
The other side of the bracket has No. 6 Sayre, the 11th Region champion and the rest of the top 10 teams — No. 3 McCracken County, No. 5 Bowling Green and No. 7 University Heights.
Willoughby and Fryman are just a fraction of the players in the field who are committed to continuing their careers in college. In all there are two Kentucky commits, four Louisville commits and a dozen more aimed at Division I programs.
Here’s a glance at the state tournament’s top players and teams.
The ranked contenders
No. 1 Trinity (37-3): The defending state champions are loaded for a repeat with eight college committed players, including seven with high-Division I offers. If Willoughby does indeed earn a top slot in July’s Major League Baseball Draft, the state tournament semis and final might be the chance folks will get to see him at Kentucky Proud Park.
No. 2 Whitley County (38-3): This year’s Kentucky 2A champions return to the big tournament after a two-year absence. The last time the Colonels were here, they won it all. Whitley County has the lowest team earned run average at 1.04 in the field and is led by Ethan Allen (10-1, 0.82 ERA, 67 Ks).
No. 3 McCracken County (31-8): The Mustangs have dominated the 1st Region since Heath, Lone Oak and Reidland merged more than a decade ago, but haven’t cracked the state championship code. McCracken has finished runner-up three times.
No. 5 Bowling Green (34-5): The Purples beat four state tournament teams in the regular season and bested No. 22 Greenwood 7-5 in the 4th Region final for their first state tournament trip since 2021. Belmont commit Jack Cowan ranks among their top pitchers and offensive threats.
No. 6 Sayre (26-9): The Spartans defended their 11th Region title and hope to advance further than last season’s first round defeat to Taylor County. They mercy-ruled first-round opponent Johnson Central 11-0 in five innings during the Fayette County Invitational in Lexington on May 9.
No. 7 University Heights (29-8): This year’s All “A” Classic small-school state champion makes its first full state tournament appearance. Indiana State signee Hayden Hunt leads the Blazers with a .510 average and 32 stolen bases.
No. 11 Beechwood (32-9): The Tigers make their sixth state tournament appearance overall and first in three seasons. In addition to Fryman, fellow junior Caleb Arrasmith helps lead the offense with a .451 average. He’s also 9-2 on the mound with a 1.96 ERA.
No. 15 South Oldham (27-8): The Dragons took down No. 13 North Oldham in both its district and region final led by Louisville commit Luke Belardo, a senior shortstop who has a .408 average, 10 home runs and 41 RBI.
No. 19 Boyd County (26-7): The Lions dropped both of their regular season matchups to rival Ashland Blazer and then edged the Tomcats 6-5 for the district title and routed them 13-1 for the 16th Region title to earn back-to-back trips to state.
No. 21 LaRue County (30-8): The Hawks earned their third state trip in four years by knocking off last year’s 5th Region champ, No. 20 Taylor County last week in the final, despite losing star pitcher Brayden Singleton to a shoulder injury early in the year.
The spoilers
Apollo (21-12): The Eagles lost to No. 10 Owensboro Catholic in their district championship but then upset No. 16 Meade County in the 3rd Region final. The Green Wave took out Apollo’s rival Aces in the region semis.
Bullitt East (24-11): The Chargers lost seven of their last 12 and two in a row heading into the postseason, but knocked off No. 18 North Bullitt in the region semis and went on to win the 6th Region for the fourth time. They last made state in 2023.
Campbell County (24-13): The 10th Region champions feature senior Marshall signee Tyler Schumacher, who leads the team with a .509 average and has an 8-1 record on the mound with a 1.03 ERA and 107 strikeouts.
Johnson Central (32-8): The Golden Eagles make their second state trip in a row as 15th Region champions. Chase Preece leads them with a .309 average, 10 home runs and 41 RBI.
West Jessamine (20-19): The Colts make state for the second time in three seasons after stunning No. 8 Boyle County 2-0 in the 12th Region semis thanks to a combined two-hit shutout by Jacob Cissell and Kaden Floyd.
Wolfe County (24-10): Last season’s state tournament darlings are back for more after graduating only one senior from a tight-knit squad that claimed both its first 14th Region title and its first state tournament win in 2025.
In-state Division I commitments
Kentucky: Grayson Willoughby, Sr., right-hander, Trinity; Brayden Singleton, Jr., left-hander, LaRue County (out for the season).
Louisville: Luke Belardo, Sr., shortstop, South Oldham; Zach Floyd, Sr., outfielder, Trinity; Nolan Hosking, Sr., first base, Trinity; Tyler Fryman, Jr., outfielder, Beechwood
Belmont: Jack Cowan, Sr., left-hander, Bowling Green.
Morehead State: Brooks Becker, Sr., shortstop, and Caleb Arrasmith, Jr., left-hander, Beechwood; Camden Tiemeier, Sr., catcher, Campbell County.
Other Division I commitments
Alabama: Grant Slater, Jr., right-hander, Boyd County. Cincinnati: Cole Adams, Sr., left-hander, Boyd County. Clemson: Gray Davis, Jr., right-hander, Trinity. Indiana State: Hayden Hunt, Sr., shortstop, University Heights. Marshall: Tyler Schumacher, Sr., right-hander/shortstop, Campbell County. Memphis: Keith Mitchell, Jr., outfielder, South Oldham. Virginia: Hudson Meredith, Jr., left-hander, Trinity. Wake Forest: Max Phillips, Jr., outfielder, Trinity.
Small college commitments
Beechwood: Brant Stiles (Thomas More); Hudson Edwards (Transylvania); Sawyer Carlisle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Bowling Green: Landon Gilbert (Cleveland State CC); Matt Mosley (Rend Lake). Bullitt East: Cooper Warnecke (Brescia); Channing Bibelhauser (Marion Military Institute); Bryce Abrahamson (Hanover); Hunter Holland (Walters State CC); Kadin Adams (Lake Michigan JC). Campbell County: Gavin Kramer (Wabash Valley).
LaRue County: Brady Skaggs (Campbellsville). McCracken County: Joshua Penrod and Caden Kern (John A. Logan); Grant Vinyard (Wabash Valley). Sayre: Camden “Chip” Stout (Centre). South Oldham: Jair Funes (Lindsey Wilson). Trinity: Zach Swope (Rose-Hulman).
West Jessamine: Benton Rogers (Colorado School of Mines); Tyler Giles (Frontier CC); Dylan Milholland (Clark State CC). Whitley County: Henry Bowling (Alice Lloyd); EJ Allan (Hanover). Wolfe County: Max Whisman (Midway).
By the numbers
Statistics according to the latest available on KHSAA.org.
Hitting for average: Tyler Fryman, Beechwood, .533; Tyler Schumacher, Campbell County, .514; Hayden Hunt, University Heights, .510
Home run power: Fryman, Beechwood, 11; Chase Preece, Johnson Central, 10; Luke Belardo, South Oldham, 10.
Driving them in: Camden Tiemeier, Campbell County, 56; Dawson Russell, South Oldham, 51; Fryman, Beechwood, 50.
Stolen base leaders: Cale Boarman, Trinity, 42; Fryman, Beechwood, 39; Ethan Allen, Whitley County, 34.
Best on the bump: Ethan Allen, Whitley County, 10-1, 0.82 ERA; Grayson Willoughby, Trinity, 10-0, 0.83 ERA; Konnor Stargel, Trinity, 8-0, 0.85 ERA.
Strikeout kings: Tyler Schumacher, Campbell County, 97; Banks Heinrich, Sayre, 82; Willoughby, Trinity, 80.
Team batting average leaders: Boyd County, .366; Trinity, .364; Beechwood, .358.
Team runs leaders: Trinity, 377; Whitley County, 375; Beechwood, 344.
Team homers: South Oldham, 27; Trinity, 24; Beechwood and Campbell County, 22.
Team ERA: Whitley County, 1.04; Trinity, 1.71; McCracken County, 1.77.
State High School Baseball Tournament
What: Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare
Where: Legends Field (this week) and Kentucky Proud Park (semis and final).
Tickets: via GoFan.
Streaming: KHSAA.tv.
Thursday’s first-round games
10 a.m.: South Oldham (27-8) vs. Boyd County (26-7).
1:30 p.m.: McCracken County (31-8) vs. Bowling Green (34-5).
5 p.m.: Wolfe County (24-10) vs. University Heights (29-8).
8:30 p.m.: Sayre (26-9) vs. Johnson Central (32-8).
Friday’s first-round games
10 a.m.: Campbell County (24-13) vs. LaRue County (30-8).
1:30 p.m.: Apollo (21-12) vs. Whitley County (38-3).
5 p.m.: Trinity (37-3) vs. Bullitt East (24-11).
8:30 p.m.: West Jessamine (20-19) vs. Beechwood (32-9).
Saturday’s quarterfinals
10 a.m.: McCracken County-Bowling Green winner vs. Sayre-Johnson Central winner.
1:30 p.m.: South Oldham-Boyd County winner vs. Wolfe County-University Heights winner.
5 p.m.: Campbell County-LaRue County winner vs. Apollo-Whitley County winner.
8:30 p.m.: West Jessamine-Beechwood winner vs. Trinity-Bullitt East winner.
June 12 semifinals
10 a.m.: Friday’s early quarterfinals winners.
1:30 p.m.: Friday’s evening quarterfinals winners.
June 13 final
3:30 p.m.: Championship game.
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
