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2026 New England High School Team Previews

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2026 Spring Team Preview: Bishop Hendricken (RI)

WARWICK, R.I. - A win over Cumberland in the Division I finals last year was the 24th state championship for Bishop Hendricken. With a ton of returning talent, the Hawks look to have a strong chance at making it number 25 in 2026.

“We’ve had a lot of good players come through the school at Hendricken,” explained Ed Holloway, the head coach since 1995. “The kids we get are very hard working and focussed. They want to be good baseball players. They wanted to carry on the tradition and continue playing at the next level.”

Dylan Poloski, the winning pitcher in last year’s state title game, returns to lead the staff. A Northeastern commit, the junior right-hander was 5-1 with a 1.27 ERA last season, fanning 41 in 44 innings. 

“He’s consistently improved,” noted Holloway. “He’s one of the top pitchers in the state.”

Mason (Moose) Marchessault, a senior headed to Saint Anselm, will be the number two pitcher coming off a 4-1 season with a 1.42 ERA.

Steve Maynard, the 65th-ranked junior pitcher in New England, was 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA last year while Mason Crain, the number one senior third baseman in Rhode Island, was 5-0 with a 1.28 ERA bringing more depth to the staff.

Juniors Brett Knight and Greg Fleury, the fourth-rated 2027 right-handed pitcher in Rhode Island, will be two-way players, Knight at first, third or outfield and Fleury in the middle infield or outfield.

Seamus Keller, a 6-7 230-pound junior ranked 97th in the nation among 2027 right-handed hurlers, is coming off Tommy John and his status is in doubt.

“He’s been throwing,” Holloway said. “We’re excited to see what he can do for us. He may not be ready at the beginning of the year, but he said he’ll be ready by the end of the year.”

In addition to pitching, Crain, whose older brother Griffin was the R.I. Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024, will play third base with twin brother Cullen Crain at shortstop. Both are left-handed hitters.

“He had an unbelievable year as a junior at shortstop, as good as any in Rhode Island last year,” Holloway said of Cullen, who hit .452 with a .475 OBP and .571 slugging percentage.

Edgar Rodriguez, the 17th-ranked junior shortstop in New England, returns to play second with Ryan Pierce and Knight seeing action at first base.

Yadier Blanco, the fourth-rated 2027 catcher in Rhode Island, is a leading candidate to take over behind the plate after serving as the third catcher a year ago.

Parker Boyd, the ninth-ranked senior outfielder in New England and team captain along with the Crain twins, is back in right field with the Stonehill College commit getting help running down balls by Jude Monti, the 10th-rated senior outfielder in Rhode Island. Fleury and Maynard also play outfield for the Hawks.

“We have a very good defensive team with strong pitching,” Holloway related. “We have a lot of depth and we will hit the ball.”

Holloway, who has led Bishop Hendricken to 18 state championships in his time as head coach at the school, is anxious to see it all come together. 

“Every year we have guys that surprise, guys that didn’t get much playing time before but they step it up,” Holloway said. “We have a chance to be a really good team this year.

“The key is the pitching staff. We have to pitch to win. We have some good young guys, we just need to score some runs to help out the pitching staff.”

Holloway is confident it could be another special season.

“The tradition we have motivates the players to work hard to keep it going,” Holloway said. “We’re playing an outstanding schedule, but we do that to challenge our team. We’re playing some good out-of-state competition which will prepare our players to be the best they can be.”

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