The usual teams should still be a force in Class C South baseball, but there is room for other squads to step in and swipe one of the region’s top seeds.

“This is the first time in a long time that you can look up and down the (region), and you can’t put a finger on that team where you can say, it’s just not there,” Sacopee Valley coach Jamie Stacey said. “I mean, it could be as the season goes on; it could play out that way. But, you know, looking at it preseason-wise, this is the most wide-open I can remember in a long time.”

The region boasts the past two Class C champions in Sacopee Valley (2024) and Monmouth Academy (2023), but each has holes to fill, with the Hawks losing five players and the Mustangs seven to graduation.

Both also have talent returning, though. Sophomores Jacob Harmon, Levi Laverdiere and Noah Schultz, along with senior Sam Schultz, are back for Monmouth. Sacopee will lean on veterans Bradly Metcalf, Keegan Thibodeau and Bryce Stacey.

“I think Monmouth is going to be just as good as they always are,” Mountain Valley coach Mason Corriveau said. “Coach (Eric) Palleschi has done a heck of a job down there, building that program. His youth system is incredible, and he’s kind of the model right now, I think, in Class C baseball and how you kind of want to build a program and sustain it. I think Sacopee Valley graduated a ton. I think they’re coming back down to real life a little bit. So I think, probably, the top is a little bit lower than usual, but I definitely don’t think you can take any of those teams at the top lightly.”

Jamie Stacey said he’s impressed with the younger talent that is stepping up to fill in the gaps for Sacopee Valley.

Palleschi isn’t counting on his team being underestimated, despite the key losses. He notes that many of the Mustangs were on the soccer or basketball teams that were supposed to retool this year, but both made it to regional finals.

“I don’t think they’re going to sneak up on anybody,” Palleschi said. “We’ve had a pretty successful baseball program for a number of years, so, you know, we don’t sneak up on anybody, which is quite a testament to the kids and how hard they work.”

Mt. Abram finished third in 2024 and is poised to have another strong season, with the likes of Logan Dube, Ash Rollins, Killian Pillsbury and Bryce Wilcox back on the diamond.

The Roadrunners, as Palleschi points out, are similar to Monmouth in that they have athletes who excel in multiple sports. In fact, the Mt. Abram boys basketball team beat the Mustangs to win the Class C South crown before claiming the state title this winter.

“There’s a good group of athletes up there that have been competing at a high level for a number of years, whether it’s soccer or basketball or baseball. They compete,” Palleschi said.

Maranacook and Winthrop have fewer holes to fill. The Black Bears were ranked fifth in C South last year, while the Ramblers, without a senior on the roster, were ranked seventh.

“Maranacook is returning everybody on the mound. They’ve got all their starting pitching back, plus they added some. So I would look for Maranacook to have a really good year,” Palleschi said. “Winthrop is in the same boat as them, you know, they’ve got everybody back.”

Mt. Abram coach Jeff Pillsbury said a lot of 2024’s middle-of-the-pack teams, especially those from the Mountain Valley Conference, bring back some big arms this spring, namely Grady Hreben of Maranacook, Trent Collin of Winthrop and Cody Osmond of Lisbon.

“Maranacook, the Hreben kid on the hill, and Winthrop, the Collin boy, he’s a hard thrower,” Pillsbury said. “I think Lisbon might have one of the best arms in the conference (in Osmond).”

Stacey said one of Sacopee Valley’s Western Maine Conference foes, Old Orchard Beach, has the experience to make a run in Class C South.

“They have been young for a long time, and I think this is one of those years where (Old Orchard Beach coach Tom LaChance) finally got the veterans,” Stacey said. “He’s been in the spot that I’ve been in the past, where I came in and I had those talented young guys and then they became not young guys anymore.”

The Seagulls were ranked fourth in the region last year.

The teams that earned the final three playoff spots last year, Hall-Dale (eighth place), Lisbon (ninth) and Mountain Valley (10th), should again be competitive.

Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said the Greyhounds’ goal is to improve on last year’s record.

“Our goal is to at least host one or two home games in the playoffs,” Ridley said. “We want to do way better than what we did last year. We want to really improve on what we built last year.”

Corriveau said earning the 10th seed last season was big for the Falcons. They defeated Winthrop, 8-4, in a preliminary game for the program’s first playoff win since 2018, before losing to Monmouth in the quarterfinals.

“I tell (my team) all the time, all you need is a ticket (to the playoffs),” Corriveau said. “Just get us a ticket to the dance, and then who knows what can happen when you’re in.”