By Brian Bobal | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
PJ Potter | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kevin Minnick | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Group rankings
Group 1
1-Middlesex (23-5)
2-Schalick (22-3)
3-Midland Park (21-9-1)
4-Audubon (20-8)
5-Brearley (15-10)
6-Wallkill Valley (17-7)
7-Point Pleasant Beach (20-8)
8-Pequannock (17-8)
9-Woodstown (16-10)
10-Verona (19-7)
Group 2
1-Gov. Livingston (28-0)
2-Haddonfield (24-6)
3-West Morris (20-11)
4-Glen Rock (24-6)
5-Pascack Valley (22-7)
6-Collingswood (17-10)
7-Mendham (11-15)
8-Rutherford (18-8)
9-West Essex (16-9)
10-Raritan (20-8)
Group 3
1-Northern Burlington (28-2)
2-Morris Knolls (15-12)
3-Ramapo (25-5)
4-Brick Memorial (22-7)
5-Toms River East (20-7)
6-South Plainfield (18-11)
7-Colonia (23-5)
8-Lawrence (21-8-1)
9-Mainland (17-10)
10-Shawnee (14-12)
Group 4
1-Cherokee (28-3)
2-Westfield (20-7)
3-Passaic Tech (24-7)
4-Eastern (20-7)
5-Kingsway (20-7)
6-Ridgewood (21-8)
7-Livingston (20-8)
8-Ridge (21-7)
9-Hillsborough (14-11)
10-Old Bridge (18-11)
Non-Public
1-Don Bosco Prep (26-2)
2-Gloucester Catholic (24-3)
3-Delbarton (24-5)
4-Christian Brothers (22-5)
5-DePaul (21-7)
6-Seton Hall Prep (22-2)
7-Red Bank Catholic (20-8)
8-St. Augustine (18-8)
9-Bishop Eustace (22-7)
10-St. Joseph (Met.) (16-7)
Conference rankings
Greater Middlesex Conference
1-St. Joseph (Met.) (16-7)
2-Middlesex (23-5)
3-South Plainfield (18-11)
4-Old Bridge (18-11)
5-Woodbridge (18-8)
6-Edison (17-11)
7-Spotswood (15-11)
8-Colonia (23-5)
9-St. Thomas Aquinas (16-9)
10-Metuchen (17-10)
Baseball: Final Group and conference rankings for 2025 - nj.com
Salute to the Greater Middlesex Conference banner winners of 2025
Here are salutes to the champions.
State: Middlesex – The Blue Jays have the type of program where DNA through the years, fathers and brothers, don the same blue uniform and past players happily come back to talk with the current generation. This squad added to that legacy. First, Middlesex won the Central Group 1 title by outscoring its four opponents by a combined 35-2. The Blue Jays then took two thrillers for the state championship. In the Group 1 semifinals, Middlesex topped Schalick 4-3 in eight innings on pinch hitter Dalton Michael’s walk-off hit. In the final, Luke Jones drove in two runs and Marcus Lavornia added an RBI as the Blue Jays prevailed 3-2 over Midland Park. Dominic Long and Chris Kozak combined to throw all but two innings in the six-game postseason run.
Sectional: South Plainfield – The Tigers entered the North 2 Group 3 tournament as the No. 3 seed. No problem. South Plainfield got hot at the right time and outscored its first three opponents by a combined 28-3, including an 8-1 semifinal win over No. 2-seeded Millburn. In the final, Kevin Penny threw six shutout innings and the Tigers held off a late rally to stop top-seeded Colonia 5-4. To make the victory even more memorable, the school’s prom was that evening and the players certainly enjoyed their double celebration.
Jim Muldowney GMCT: St. Joseph – Four walk-off wins. The Falcons certainly won’t have any trouble finding material for a season highlight reel. St. Joseph did the improbable by capturing the GMC Tournament with four wins in its last at-bat. That includes a pair of 1-0 victories in extra innings. Richie Zangara threw an eight-inning shutout to defeat Sayreville in the first round and Joseph Barca twirled seven shutout innings in the win over Metuchen in the quarterfinals. Walter Christian and Luke Palermo had the respective game-winning singles. In the semifinals, Spotswood led St. Joseph 3-1 entering the bottom of the seventh. Bobby Christensen hit a two-RBI double to tie it and JP Zayle’s single gave St. Joseph the win. The finals had the highlight of highlights as Zayle’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh topped Edison 7-4 for the trophy.
Ray Cipperly GMCT Invitational: New Brunswick – Consider this, the last time New Brunswick won a baseball title Ronald Reagan was president and the iPhone was still a couple decades away. That changed this spring. The Zebras, who won a sectional title in 1986, captured the Invitational as the No. 5 seed with wins over No. 4 Piscataway, No. 1 J.P. Stevens and third-seeded East Brunswick Magnet in the final. Kelvin Heuston hit .444 in the run with Yeuri Garcia, Jacob Henderson and Elkin Reyes excelling on the mound.
Red Division: Woodbridge – The Barrons accomplished what is believed to be a first in the GMC baseball annals – win a division title in back-to-back seasons in different divisions. After capturing the White pennant in 2024, Woodbridge took the difficult Red Division crown with an 11-3 record and a two-game lead. The Barrons answered pitching questions with Kevin Arroyo, Michael Gurovich and Ryan Leach eating the innings and juniors Xavier Diaz (.436) and Gavin Slicner (.400) led the offensive attack.
White Division: St. Thomas Aquinas – The Trojans were in a loaded White Division with Middlesex, pitching-strong Colonia, always-good Spotswood and pesky teams like Sayreville, Perth Amboy and North Brunswick. Yet, St. Thomas Aquinas found a way. What makes it even more impressive is STA played without key starter Nikash Patel, who was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Louis Rizzolo had a 1.17 ERA with 98 strikeouts and Declan DiCarlo was 5-1 with two saves in 22 innings. But really, it was a team effort with the offensive production spread around.
Blue Division: Metuchen – Many fans probably didn’t tab the Bulldogs as preseason favorites in the Blue. The reason? Aside teams such as Carteret, North Plainfield and South River looming, Metuchen was coming off an 8-15 campaign, had two freshmen in the lineup and graduated its best hitter. However, nearly everyone returned from a mostly young team and some fledgling stars blossomed. Juniors Lucas Malamug (57 1/3 IP, 82 Ks, 1.47 ERA and .333 batting average) and Matt Jelleme (37 1/3 IP, 51 Ks, 2.81 ERA and .447, 20 RBIs) and freshman James Fenton (38 1/3 IP, 72 Ks, 3.10 ERA) led a slew of breakout players who are back in 2026.
Gold Division: East Brunswick Magnet and New Brunswick (co-champs) – There couldn’t have been more drama as the Gold pennant race went down the stretch with EB Magnet and New Brunswick tussling in the final two-game series to decide the winner. It lived up to the excitement as the squads split for a tie atop the standings. First, EB Magnet won 5-3 behind ace Anthony Bienvenue’s complete game. A day later, New Brunswick won 5-3 as Yeuri Garcia earned the win by allowing three runs in three innings and Jacob Henderson shut the door with four scoreless frames in relief.
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