2025 MIAA Golf Preview
Defending champions St. Paul's, Boys' Latin and Indian Creek drive for more low scores
The reward for defending A Conference champion St. Paul’s and runner-up Calvert Hall will be a chance to play at Caves Valley when the team championships unfold in mid-May.
That alone should motivate the Cardinals and Crusaders — and fellow league rivals Loyola Blakefield, Gilman, McDonogh, Mount St. Joseph and Archbishop Spalding — this spring. The Gaels and Eagles have already posted convincing wins over St. Paul’s, showing that the A Conference should provide plenty of competition for whichever team can advance to the final round.
Three-peat seeking Boys’ Latin and Archbishop Curley, last year’s B Conference finalists, and Indian Creek and Jemicy, who shared the 2023 C Conference banner before the Eagles prevailed last season, could also earn return engagements at the challenging Owings Mills course.
A CONFERENCE
If early-season results are indicative of things to come, Mount St. Joseph has some fun times ahead.
The Gaels have already posted two conference wins, 17.5-3.5 over defending champion St. Paul’s and 13-8 over Loyola Blakefield
With five seniors, a junior and two freshmen, St. Joe has a nice mix of youth and experience.
Senior Aidian Tudor (Sewanee: The University Of The South) and Alexei Voice (University of Maryland Eastern Shore) are the old hands on a team that also boasts promising freshman Carter Perkins.
Coach Ed Schultheis is in his first year at the helm after the untimely death of MSJ legend Mike Dooley, who was in charge for the previous 33 years.
“I am trying to adhere to the same philosophy of coaching and competing in the MIAA,” Schultheis said. “His impact on Mount St. Joseph golf, and the MIAA in general, cannot be overstated, and his loss is being felt by the program. We are doing our best to play just as Coach Dooley would want us to play, and through our competitive play this year, we hope to make him proud.”
St. Paul's appears to have rediscovered the same magic that propelled the program to a league-record 12th A Conference crown last spring.
Calvert Hall, last year’s runner-up, features 10 returners from a team that went 9-3 in the regular season before falling in the championship match to St. Paul's.
Senior co-captain Clayton Wright and juniors Ryan Hoffner, Brooks Manning, Enzo Pobletts and James Jean-Baptiste lead the way with newcomer Ashton McMyne, a former lacrosse player, also vying for a spot.
Freshmen Landon O'Hara and Liam Cambley will add more talent to the Cardinals’ nest.
"We've put in a lot of time and energy since mid-January to get ready for the MIAA season," 13-year CHC coach Drew Forrester said. "But it all comes down to the shots you hit on the golf course, obviously. We have a lot of individual talent on our roster. We're just trying to figure out how to piece together 11 points in every match. The conference as a whole is going to be very strong in 2025."
Despite shifting its home course from Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix to the school’s neighboring Country Club of Maryland in Towson, the Cardinals have produced wins over Archbishop Curley, Bullis and Georgetown Prep, “so it’s good to see us play well at home in the non-conference portion of the schedule,” Forrester added.
McDonogh is another team beginning the season on a high note, topping Landon, Boys’ Latin and St. Paul’s.
Eldridge’s consistency and the way he “thinks his way” around the course makes him a key figure while Nguyen’s improvement “by leaps and bounds” gives coach Andy Motsko confidence in the duo.
A pretty swing and a good short game marks sophomore Cole Maller’s game while playing a notch ahead of senior captain Michael Tardivo, who won the final hole in an 11-10 victory over Landon.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the sport, freshman Boden Borz shows a lot of promise and has a high ceiling, according to Motsko.
Senior Keegan Nolan could make a career out of golf, considering that the former JV lacrosse player plans to major in golf management at Penn State,
All in all, the Eagles have to like what has transpired this season.
“All I can say is that we’re off to a hot start,” Motsko said.
Gilman is reloading with a pair of returning starters — senior Lucas Carrion-Mong and sophomore Drew Klein — giving the Greyhounds stability.
Seniors Jackson Brooks, Sawyer Enright, Gavin Root and Eric Chen should also play pivotal roles this spring, coach Mike Wallace said.
Seniors Andy Yoon and Charlie Lowther, juniors Jame Hobelmann, Dylan Sopher and Barrett Anderson and sophomore Will Keterer are newcomers poised to contribute to the cause.
“The collective landscape of the A Conference has continued to evolve as the ebb and flow of golf talent has shown up through my years of coaching in the league,” Wallace said. “I predict another exciting ride this year, and I look forward to the terrific competition that awaits all of our brave competitors as we head into warmer weather.
Wallace added that he would like to see the MIAA Individual Tournament named for late Mount St. Joseph coach Mike Dooley.
Loyola Blakefield will be led by senior captain and two-time MIAA golfer Ethan Coleman, “whose leadership will be pivotal to our team’s success,” coach Joe Ciattei said.
The Dons also return veterans in senior Harrison Meyer and juniors Nolan Vogel and Will Ballard, all three of whom will provide more leadership for the underclassmen.
“The depth of our squad will play a huge factor in our team’s success this season,” Ciattei added.
B CONFERENCE
Boys’ Latin will return four experienced players and a pair of promising freshmen, which should be enough for coach Garrett Glaeser "to feel very confident about making another run to the championship. However, we are coming off a season where we graduated seven seniors, so our team will have a new look this year and will have to keep proving themselves throughout the season."
Glaeser said that his "match-by-match mentality, knowing the three-peat is our goal” tells the Lakers that they won’t be able to play Caves Valley unless they put in the effort to win each match.
The fun starts with sophomore Harrison Roberts, whose standout freshman campaign helped to key the 2024 title.
Glaeser added that senior Matt Overholt (Alvernia University) has improved tremendously and will be a great asset in matches, as will juniors Charlie Miller and Lucas Erdman, who have been playing in the same pairing since their freshmen year and will look to continue their winning ways.
Freshmen, James Barrett and Harris Rubenstein should make an immediate impact for BL.
Saints Peter & Paul, which had enough talent to reach the semifinal round of the year's playoffs, returns its two top golfers in stellar juniors Trent Turner and Reed Frankos.
Juniors Mason Jacobs and Grady Campbell, who have also started for three years, gave the team more heft
Adding.freshmen standouts Gavin Corner and Chase Olavsrud should only make the future a lot brighter for coach Tony Del Puppo’s club.
Sophomores Harrison Tindall and Casey Boyd give Severn a solid one-two punch at the top of the lineup.
As freshmen playing in the top spots, they both won more than 60% of their match points and each qualified for the second round of the MIAA individual stroke play championship, coach Matthew Reichwein said.
This article will be updated as teams respond to our preseason questions.