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NEW PHILADELPHIA — New Philadelphia, which should be a strong Ohio Cardinal Conference title contender, as well as one of the top teams in the Division III postseason, features a veteran baseball squad loaded with top hitters and pitchers this spring.
“The goals for this team, they’re lofty,” said Tyler Weisel, who enters his ninth season as the Quakers’ head coach after guiding the team to a 15-8 overall record and 10-4 ledger in the OCC last season. “We’re coming off a couple pretty good years in a row. Last year, we were district runners-up to St. Clairsville and prior to that we were district champions, so to get to the Elite 8, that’s cool, but now it’s time to come home with a regional championship.”
More: Neff lands 'dream job' as New Philadelphia City Schools new athletic director
Ohio's best: The top 25 baseball teams in the state ahead of the 2025 season
The Quakers return 13 letter-winners and seven of nine starters from last season. This year’s starting lineup includes an outfield of senior Carson Long, senior Mac Steele, junior pitcher-outfielder Owen Courtney, sophomore Caleb Crowthers and junior Cameron Wright. The veteran infield will include junior Seth Beaber, sophomore Kaine Otte, senior Mason Caterina, junior Braylon McBride, senior Matthew Meiser, junior Cohen Winters, freshman Jackson Martini and senior catcher-infielder Keaton Fausel. The other catcher will be freshman Jack Range.
“The experience that we have coming back, with only losing two seniors from last year’s team, is incredible,” Weisel said. “Outside of the two freshmen and a sophomore that will start in the outfield, we’ve got guys who are going to be three and four-year starters.”
The pitching staff is talented and deep, led by junior right-hander Owen Courtney, who earned first team All-District and first team All-OCC last season. Courtney posted a 4-2 record with a 1.23 ERA. He struck out 43 batters in 45 innings of work and only allowed eight earned runs all season.
“I’ve been playing since I was about 5,” Courtney said. “I just want to use all the work I’ve put in during the offseason and just get better at everything overall. It (confidence on the mound) is just a mindset that you can pitch wherever, whenever and nobody can really hit off of you.”
Weisel loves having a true No. 1 pitcher like Courtney to lead his mound staff.
“He (Courtney) is a junior, and I actually told somebody the other day I feel like he’s been around for 10 years already,” he said. “Owen doesn’t say a whole lot but when he does talk, it’s really important. He leads by example. He’s working hard and he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, and he excels at it.”
Courtney leads a pitching staff that is talented and deep. Other hurlers in the Quakers’ large starting and relief rotation include right handers Caterina, Fausel, Beaber, Otte, McBride and Martini and junior left-hander Jackson Norris.
“We’ve got a lot of arms this year,” Weisel said.
Weisel loves having the senior leadership his team possesses. The old saying is “you win with seniors,” and the Quakers have five of them with vast starting experience in Fausel, Meiser, Long, Steele and Caterina.
“We’ve got five seniors and four of them have played every game the last three years,” he said. “The experience factor going into this year is probably the best it’s ever been since I’ve been head coach. Our senior class is phenomenal — not just players on the baseball field — but great people. Keaton Fausel is coming off a great football year and is a great leader for us, Matthew Meiser is kind of stepping into his own right now and had a great camp, Carson Long is that steady Eddy dude. Two other guys that I think are very important are Mac Steele and Mason Caterina.
"When you put a baseball team together, you kind of work through the middle of the field, and those dudes are awesome. Caterina has personality, he’s talking, he’s laughing and having a great time, and Max is kind of the guy who keeps everybody in line. They both communicate extremely well in the field.”
New Philadelphia lost a deciding game to OCC champ Mount Vernon last season, but Mount Vernon has since departed the conference, and three teams are seen as the frontrunners to claim the league crown in 2025.
“We were tied for first going into the last (league) game of the year (last year),” Weisel said. “They (the Yellow Jackets) have gone (to another conference), so I would say the frontrunners in the OCC are Wooster, us and probably West Holmes.”
Weisel said the Quakers have loaded up the non-conference by design, picking up last year's D4 state champs in Berlin Hiland and D1 Canton McKinley.
"We play John Glenn and they’re tough, and we also play Claymont, and they’ve got some good arms," he said. "We also play Indian Valley, and that’s kind of a rival for us outside of Dover, and they’re going to be tough again this year.”
It’s a slate he hopes will pay dividends in the postseason.
“Our non-conference is tough,” he said. “I come from a background where if the Yankees roll into town, we’re going to roll out and we’re going to play them and play hard."
New Philadelphia has moved down from Division II to Division III, which consists of only five teams in the Eastern District: New Phila, Steubenville, Zanesville, Tri-Valley and Dover.
“That will be very competitive," Weisel said. "The days of having a walk-thru in the sectional semis and sectional finals is over. We’re going to have to fight tooth and claw to get that district championship.”
Weisel, Courtney and Co. are ready to see where this promising season takes the Quakers.
“As a team, we just want to make it back to where we were and go past that and take it farther in the tournament,” Courtney said.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: New Philadelphia baseball 2025 season preview
Continue reading...
“The goals for this team, they’re lofty,” said Tyler Weisel, who enters his ninth season as the Quakers’ head coach after guiding the team to a 15-8 overall record and 10-4 ledger in the OCC last season. “We’re coming off a couple pretty good years in a row. Last year, we were district runners-up to St. Clairsville and prior to that we were district champions, so to get to the Elite 8, that’s cool, but now it’s time to come home with a regional championship.”
More: Neff lands 'dream job' as New Philadelphia City Schools new athletic director
Ohio's best: The top 25 baseball teams in the state ahead of the 2025 season
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New Phila’s starting lineup loaded with multi-year experience
The Quakers return 13 letter-winners and seven of nine starters from last season. This year’s starting lineup includes an outfield of senior Carson Long, senior Mac Steele, junior pitcher-outfielder Owen Courtney, sophomore Caleb Crowthers and junior Cameron Wright. The veteran infield will include junior Seth Beaber, sophomore Kaine Otte, senior Mason Caterina, junior Braylon McBride, senior Matthew Meiser, junior Cohen Winters, freshman Jackson Martini and senior catcher-infielder Keaton Fausel. The other catcher will be freshman Jack Range.
“The experience that we have coming back, with only losing two seniors from last year’s team, is incredible,” Weisel said. “Outside of the two freshmen and a sophomore that will start in the outfield, we’ve got guys who are going to be three and four-year starters.”
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Pitching staff led by ace Owen Courtney
The pitching staff is talented and deep, led by junior right-hander Owen Courtney, who earned first team All-District and first team All-OCC last season. Courtney posted a 4-2 record with a 1.23 ERA. He struck out 43 batters in 45 innings of work and only allowed eight earned runs all season.
“I’ve been playing since I was about 5,” Courtney said. “I just want to use all the work I’ve put in during the offseason and just get better at everything overall. It (confidence on the mound) is just a mindset that you can pitch wherever, whenever and nobody can really hit off of you.”
Weisel loves having a true No. 1 pitcher like Courtney to lead his mound staff.
“He (Courtney) is a junior, and I actually told somebody the other day I feel like he’s been around for 10 years already,” he said. “Owen doesn’t say a whole lot but when he does talk, it’s really important. He leads by example. He’s working hard and he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, and he excels at it.”
Courtney leads a pitching staff that is talented and deep. Other hurlers in the Quakers’ large starting and relief rotation include right handers Caterina, Fausel, Beaber, Otte, McBride and Martini and junior left-hander Jackson Norris.
“We’ve got a lot of arms this year,” Weisel said.
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Five senior leaders on and off the field
Weisel loves having the senior leadership his team possesses. The old saying is “you win with seniors,” and the Quakers have five of them with vast starting experience in Fausel, Meiser, Long, Steele and Caterina.
“We’ve got five seniors and four of them have played every game the last three years,” he said. “The experience factor going into this year is probably the best it’s ever been since I’ve been head coach. Our senior class is phenomenal — not just players on the baseball field — but great people. Keaton Fausel is coming off a great football year and is a great leader for us, Matthew Meiser is kind of stepping into his own right now and had a great camp, Carson Long is that steady Eddy dude. Two other guys that I think are very important are Mac Steele and Mason Caterina.
"When you put a baseball team together, you kind of work through the middle of the field, and those dudes are awesome. Caterina has personality, he’s talking, he’s laughing and having a great time, and Max is kind of the guy who keeps everybody in line. They both communicate extremely well in the field.”
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Quakers among trio of OCC title contenders
New Philadelphia lost a deciding game to OCC champ Mount Vernon last season, but Mount Vernon has since departed the conference, and three teams are seen as the frontrunners to claim the league crown in 2025.
“We were tied for first going into the last (league) game of the year (last year),” Weisel said. “They (the Yellow Jackets) have gone (to another conference), so I would say the frontrunners in the OCC are Wooster, us and probably West Holmes.”
New Phila loads up the non-conference slate
Weisel said the Quakers have loaded up the non-conference by design, picking up last year's D4 state champs in Berlin Hiland and D1 Canton McKinley.
"We play John Glenn and they’re tough, and we also play Claymont, and they’ve got some good arms," he said. "We also play Indian Valley, and that’s kind of a rival for us outside of Dover, and they’re going to be tough again this year.”
It’s a slate he hopes will pay dividends in the postseason.
“Our non-conference is tough,” he said. “I come from a background where if the Yankees roll into town, we’re going to roll out and we’re going to play them and play hard."
Quakers move down from Division II to Division III
New Philadelphia has moved down from Division II to Division III, which consists of only five teams in the Eastern District: New Phila, Steubenville, Zanesville, Tri-Valley and Dover.
“That will be very competitive," Weisel said. "The days of having a walk-thru in the sectional semis and sectional finals is over. We’re going to have to fight tooth and claw to get that district championship.”
Weisel, Courtney and Co. are ready to see where this promising season takes the Quakers.
“As a team, we just want to make it back to where we were and go past that and take it farther in the tournament,” Courtney said.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: New Philadelphia baseball 2025 season preview
Continue reading...
