La Cueva has seriously armed itself as the Bears look for a Class 5A state championship baseball season

Most any prep baseball season is, more or less, defined by the arms race.

The team in Class 5A that has stockpiled the best arms for the 2026 season is the La Cueva Bears.

“From a front end of the rotation, this is definitely the most talent we’ve had in my tenure,” Bears coach Gerard Pineda said. “They’ll be exciting to watch.”

La Cueva, which opens Saturday against Volcano Vista, has three Division I signees in this rotation, led by Dylan Blomker (LSU). Everett Burdett has signed with Oregon State, and Luke Feist is going to be a UNM Lobo.

The Bears return six position starters; Kaiden Nerhood, a senior outfielder who missed all of 2025 with an injury, has returned.

La Cueva will miss this year’s metro tournament as the Bears are headed to Phoenix for a tournament. It is possible in that Boras Classic that La Cueva might run into defending 6A Arizona state champion Corona del Sol out of Tempe. This is the school Colton Floyd left Sandia for earlier this year.

While Pineda rightly is pleased with his pitching options, he said “offensively, we won’t be as good as we’ve been the last few years.”

Sandia last season won state as a 6 seed, dominating Eldorado in the final at Santa Ana Star Field for the program’s first blue trophy since 1980.

Repeating might take multiple strokes of genius from the Matadors, who graduated most of their starters. Generally speaking, Sandia’s got multiple kids moving up from the JV who’ll take on larger roles.

“Most inexperienced varsity roster that’s been put out in a while by Sandia,” coach Marc Hilton said, adding, “It’s young, but a good young. The future is very bright.”

One of the team’s returners, senior catcher Aiden Mobley, is going to miss at least the first month of the season, a further complication. Players to watch in this lineup include senior right-handed pitcher/infielder Sylas Arrambide, sophomore shortstop Xavier Newsome-Gonzales and junior outfielder Shane Casaus.

Eldorado was in the state final for the first time in 10 years, and the Eagles hope to continue this surge in 2026.

Five starters return for the Eagles, including senior centerfielder Tim Kamphuis, junior pitcher Cooper Burak, senior third baseman Nathaniel Armijo and senior catcher Sullivan Wilson.

“I personally think we’ll pick up where we left off,” Eldorado coach Ambrose Romero said. “They know the culture and our standard.”

From District 1-5A, Rio Rancho was a state semifinalist, and the Rams are off to a solid start having won three games at a season-opening tournament in El Paso. Six position player starters return for Rio Rancho, although one of the team’s key contributors, senior left-handed pitcher/first baseman Dean Ellison is going to miss a pretty large chunk of the season with an injury.

Shortstop Wyatt Tinker, a fifth-year senior, and junior centerfielder Chase Rivera both return for the Rams, and they’ve got enough pitching depth, coach David Gomez said, to overcome the absence of Ellison.

With the loss of metro-area stars like Sandia’s Colton Floyd and Los Lunas’ J.J. Utash, who both transferred to high schools in the Phoenix area, that leaves Cleveland’s Anthony Del Angel, a University of Oklahoma signee, as clearly the top returning position player in Class 5A baseball.

He hit .545 with seven home runs as a junior, and is the Storm’s senior shortstop.

“He’s very talented, but also one of the hardest working players I’ve ever had,” Cleveland coach Shane Shallenberger said. “He puts everything into his craft. He’s a seven-days-a-week guy.”

The Storm roster is experienced, with 10 seniors. Other players to watch include utility Caleb Sandoval, senior left-handed pitcher Jacob Vasquez (one of the top front-line starters in 5A) and senior infielder/designated hitter Francisco Hernandez.

“I really like this group,” Shallenberger said.

Volcano Vista, a junior-heavy roster, was a top-eight seed at state last May, but had a quick exit at the hands of Los Lunas.

Senior ace lefty Aaron Sanchez gives the Hawks an alpha at the front of the rotation, and he’ll need to be sharp on an inexperienced pitching staff. Coach Scott Brandt also sees good upside in junior shortstop Bradyn Mazrunish.

Cibola was a surprise state quarterfinalist last May after the 14th-seeded Cougars went on the road and upset No. 3 Carlsbad in the first round. Cibola, like Rio Rancho, went to El Paso last weekend (a first for the program) to open its season, and despite starting 0-4, the trip, coach Robert Puentes said, served its purpose. 

“We definitely wanted to give ourselves an early test as to where we stand,” he said. “We have a good team, but we definitely realized we have to work to do to break into that upper echelon.”

Cibola lost nine seniors, but they do return two senior pitchers in Austin Zapach and Ryan Hutchinson. The lineup’s top hitter is sophomore third baseman/catcher/middle infielder Daniel Kean.

The depth of 1-5A is further exemplified by Piedra Vista, a team that returns most of its roster, including an excellent starting pitcher in senior lefty JW Bayless.

From District 5-5A, Rio Grande and Los Lunas have been the best two teams in this league in recent years, and that trend could continue.

Los Lunas is one of the interesting stories in 5A, as the Tigers changed head coaches in the offseason (longtime assistant Cliff De Graaf is taking over), plus they’ve been forced to deal with the loss of Utash, who is considered one of the top senior prep prospects in the region.

Los Lunas reached the semis last May following a stunning, last-inning upset of No.1 La Cueva.

Jasiah Byers, a first-team all-stater for the Tigers a season ago, is shifting from first base to third base to replace Utash. Other players to watch on this team include senior left-handed pitcher/outfielder Kaiden Reese (an Eastern New Mexico signee), junior catcher Stran English and junior centerfielder and leadoff man Mark Scime.

“I think we’re still on track,” De Graaf said. “Not a whole lot has changed.”

Longtime Rio Grande coach Orlando Griego, who is starting his 31st season in the South Valley, has got five starters back in the fold, including four-year senior starter Luis Guillen, the best shortstop, Griego said, he’s ever had with the Ravens.

There are two other four-year senior starters that give Rio Grande strength up the middle with second baseman Luis Salinas and centerfielder Fabian Mendez.

This is a team, as usual, that will try to use team speed to manufacture runs. And the Ravens have a dozen arms they’ll feel confident using.

Other teams from outside the metro area to watch in 5A include Carlsbad, Centennial and Las Cruces.

Class 4A 

Artesia, led by University of Arizona pitching commit Jack Byers, is the defending 4A state champion, and returns a majority of its players from the 2025 championship team.

Who could contend from the metro area?

St. Pius, Albuquerque Academy and Hope Christian were all state quarterfinalists last spring.

The Sartans, in fact, got to the semis before falling to Bloomfield.

St. Pius opens Saturday with two games against Atrisco Heritage, and the Sartans will have a talented group of seniors in the dugout. Six starters return.

“We’re in a pretty good place,” St. Pius coach Jim Stebbins said.

Hunter Jiron was a tremendous freshman last year for the Sartans on the bump, and he had the ball for most of the team’s important games. The sophomore will play some corner infield and outfield when he’s not pitching this season.

“There’s a gap between them and everyone else,” Belen coach Justin Miller said of the Sartans.

Other players of note on the St. Pius team include senior centerfielder Kaiden Swanson, senior outfielder Zane Unis, senior left-handed pitcher Ashton Warren and junior catcher Chris Aguilar. Stebbins said this team should be a heavy run-producing group.

From its district (District 5), Belen was a 4 seed at state but suffered a first-round upset loss.

“Left a sour taste in our mouths,” Miller said. “The boys are hungry.”

This is an extremely young Belen roster, with just two seniors. One of them is shortstop/centerfielder Logan Gonzalez. Ethan Haldeman, a junior RHP/first baseman, is expected to a steady contributor.

Both Academy and Hope Christian in District 6 expect to be prominently in the mix come May.

Prominent starters returning for the Chargers are senior left-handed pitcher Brian Valdez, senior DH AJ Lenhart and senior third baseman Ryan Williams.

“We’re young,” Academy coach Chris Alexander said, “but we’re young with a lot of experience. We’ve got talent, and if they figure it out we’re gonna be alright.”

Hope Christian, which lost a close game to Artesia in the state quarters, is one of the veteran teams in 4A with nine seniors and six returning starters. Key players include senior DH/IF Caleb Peña, senior catcher Trey Baillio and senior shortstop Avery Deerholt. Deerholt and Luciano Gabaldon give the Huskies solid starting pitching depth.

Class 3A-2A

East Mountain is coming off a season in which it reached the Class 3A state semifinals. The Timberwolves, however, changed coaches in the offseason.

New coach Chris Moya inherits a team with eight seniors and an extremely strong foundation as East Mountain looks to take that next step.

Among the seven starters who return are senior middle infielder/centerfielder Charlie Birdwell, big right-handed pitcher Cole Darnell and senior left-handed pitcher Luke Stoerner.

“We’re gonna have to rely on our big arms to get there,” Moya said. “I believe we have the offense to compete.”

Sandia Prep made it to the quarters, but was ousted there by eventual state champion New Mexico Military Institute.

The Sundevils are poised to return to the postseason, led by junior shortstop/pitcher Logan Lemons, senior pitcher/first baseman Jonas Mahboub and senior leadoff batter, centerfielder Landon Hardcastle.

It’s a relatively young team, with just two seniors and two juniors.

From 2A, Oak Grove Classical Academy reached the state quarters, and the Owls graduated a few hugely influential players as they open the 2026 season.

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.