Final GMC Top 10
1. Monroe (15-14) – preseason No. 9: Winning the big one does have to count for something. So when it was all said and done, Monroe earned the No. 1 ranking as our top GMC team for 2026. The Falcons had sort of a roller coaster spring starting 4-0 and 5-1, then falling into a 3-8 stretch entering the GMC Tournament as the No. 9 seed. Through it all, the players remained confident and upbeat, knowing they had talent and dropped some winnable games. That was confirmed 84 outs and a trophy celebration later. Monroe upset No. 8 Colonia (9-2 win), No. 1 Edison (9-1) and No. 5 South Plainfield (1-0) to reach the final against No. 3 Old Bridge. The Falcons scored twice in the first and led 6-0 after three innings and Ben Faigin dominated with a one-hit shutout in a 7-0 championship win.
2. Old Bridge (21-10) – preseason No. 7: The Knights could make a case as the No. 1 team. Old Bridge had the most consistent GMC season across the board, finishing as runners-up in the GMCT and in Central Group 4, as well as taking second in the Red Division. That’s high-level play against high-level opponents on a nightly basis for two months. The Knights checked in at No. 7 in our preseason poll because of questions after graduation losses that included a pair of aces and their top two RBIs leaders. Well, the pitching trio of Blake Dunleavy, Brady Meyer and Mason Mule combined to become the staff workhorses. Hitting-wise, Matt Chin had a breakout sophomore year (.407 BA, team-high 22 RBIs), while Michael Chiarella, Chris Crosta and Jared Volpe each hit over .300.
3. South Plainfield (17-12) – preseason No. 6: The Tigers have proven time and time again to never count them out on the diamond. Not that we expected a down season by any means, just, South Plainfield returned three regulars and faced questions with pitching depth after winning the North 2 Group 3 title in 2025. Well, South Plainfield finished third in the GMC Red Division, reached the GMCT semifinals, losing 1-0 to champion Monroe, and upset top-seeded Chatham as the No. 4 seed to reach another sectional final. Sparkplug Dom Massaro (.524 BA, 39 runs, 26 SB) and ace Aiden McCarthy (8-2, 74 Ks, 2.00 ERA and .367 BA, 28 RBIs) provided star power and players like sophomore Andrew Bena (28 RBIs, .299 BA and 3.53 ERA) stepped up.
4. Middlesex (22-6) – preseason No. 2: There’s a lot of pressure when returning nearly everyone after winning a state title. The Blue Jays, though, put together another great season following their 2025 Group 1 championship. Middlesex captured the tough GMC White Division pennant with a 13-1 campaign. Consider this: they gave up just 28 runs in 14 division games – now, that’s dominant pitching. In fact, Middlesex had a team 1.69 ERA in 207 1/3 total innings. Chris Kozak (66 2/3 IP, 1.26 ERA, 76 Ks) and Dom Long (58 1/3 IP, 1.68 ERA, 69 Ks) led the way with Dylan Ianiero, Dalton Michael and Devin Jackson throwing the bulk of the other innings.
5. Edison (19-8) – preseason No. 1: The Eagles navigated through the always-tough Red Division by capturing the pennant with an 11-3 record, two games ahead of Old Bridge. Edison suffered some key injuries toward the stretch run and bowed out of the GMCT in the quarters and fell in the Central Group 4 first round. Connor Murphy once again excelled as one of the area’s best pitchers (39 IP, 83 Ks, 0.54 ERA) and Robert Roma hit .407 (33-for-81).
6. Woodbridge (16-11) – preseason No. 4: The Barrons had too much talent, too much firepower, too much lock-down pitching to not get going at some point. After a 1-5 start, Woodbridge had a scorching stretch by winning eight of 10 entering the GMCT. The Barrons fell to finalist Old Bridge 1-0 (8 innings) in the quarterfinal and reached the North 2 Group 4 quarterfinals. Gavin Slicner set the program’s single-season hits record along the way and hit .517 (46-for-89) with nine home runs and 32 RBIs, while Michael Gurovich and Kevin Arroyo were front-line starters.
7. St. Thomas Aquinas (14-15) – preseason No. 8: The Trojans get a bump in the final poll after reaching the Non-Public B North championship game. The No. 3-seed beat second-seeded Rutgers Prep 7-3 in the semifinals fueled by Louis Rizzolo’s strong start and three-run blast and Nikash Patel’s grand slam. Rizzolo was one of the league’s best two-way players, having a 0.90 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings and hitting .382. Patel made a triumphant return after missing 2025 coming off Tommy John surgery, while Adrian Sanchez was one of the best catchers in the league.
8. Metuchen (19-8) – preseason No. 10: The 2025 GMC Blue Division champions moved up into the White Division and did just fine, placing second in the grouping with a 10-4 record. That includes dropping a pair of 2-1 games. The Bulldogs featured stingy pitching with a team 2.47 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 170 innings. James Fenton (1.10 ERA, 92 Ks), Matt Jelleme (1.71 ERA, 50 Ks), Lucas Malamug (0.78 ERA, 38 Ks) and Jon Nugent (3.33 ERA, 19 Ks) led the way.
9. Colonia (14-10) – preseason No. 3: The Patriots were the type of team built for nice GMCT and sectional tournament runs with their pitching. However, injuries to Colin Kroner and Tyler Chiola down the stretch hampered their postseason hopes. Still, Colonia had a strong campaign finishing third in the White Division with a 9-5 record. Kroner proved to be one of the GMC’s top pitchers striking out 74 in 48 innings with a 1.75 ERA. Jake Gotti (.427 BA), Dylan Chiera (.383) and Joseph Massimino (.351) had strong offensive seasons.
10. South Brunswick (12-12) – preseason unranked: The Vikings have been a strong program but had an uncharacteristic 4-20 season in 2025. Enter a bounce-back campaign under first-year head coach Lou Urbano, a legendary name among GMC baseball fans. South Brunswick finished fourth in the White Division (7-7) snagging wins over Middlesex and Colonia. Collin Perna excelled by hitting .493 with 22 stolen bases and carried a 2.01 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings. Jack Whitlock hit .432 with a team-high 19 RBIs.
NJ Baseball final 2026 Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10
