Head of the Class: The top WPIAL baseball coaches in each classification for 2025

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Wednesday, June 18, 2025 | 6:36 PM


Five WPIAL teams made it through the first three rounds of the PIAA playoffs to finish the Path to Penn State and play in the state championship games in their respective classifications.

Only two of the five district teams returned home with gold, but that was two more than the previous season when there were no teams from the WPIAL that won PIAA gold.

Trib HSSN salutes all of the coaches and their assistants for the great work they did on the baseball diamonds this spring; however, these coaches receive a special “one flap down” Jeffrey Leonard salute as they sit at the head of the class in 2025.

Class 6A

Eric Semega, Seneca Valley

Over a decade ago, the Seneca Valley baseball program was the gold standard for Quad-A district baseball, winning three WPIAL championships in a four-year span from 2011-2014. This spring was a return to glory for the Raiders as they captured their first Class 6A crown. Just concluding his 25th season as head coach, Eric Semega led Seneca Valley to a second-place finish in Section 1-6A, one game behind 2024 WPIAL champion North Allegheny. The Raiders rolled past Mt. Lebanon, Canon-McMillan and Norwin to win the school’s fifth district baseball title and first in 11 years. Seneca Valley eliminated Erie McDowell in the opening round of the state playoffs before losing in the PIAA quarterfinals to eventual state champion Cedar Cliff and finished its season with a record of 18-7.

Class 5A

Brian Junker, Shaler

Following realignment this offseason, perennial power Pine-Richland was thought to be the team to beat with a talented roster moving down from Class 6A to an always deep 5A field. The Rams were co-champs in Section 3-5A with the team that ended up beating them for the WPIAL title, Shaler. It was a spring to once again remember the Titans as Brian Junker’s team captured its second district championship in three years and third WPIAL crown since 2019 with district playoff wins over Montour, Connellsville, Peters Township and Pine-Richland. A strong pitching staff and a lineup littered with clutch hitters helped Shaler beat Montour, Connellsville, Peters Township and Pine-Richland for district gold, and Conestoga Valley, Bethel Park, Lampeter-Strasburg before settling for state silver after losing to Upper Dublin.

Class 4A

Dan Petroff, Indiana

Two years ago in his final season as head coach at Indiana, Bill Thompson was named the Trib HSSN Class 4A Coach of the Year. Now it is back-to-back honors for the man who took over the program prior to the 2024 campaign, Dan Petroff. A year ago, he guided the Little Indians to both the WPIAL and PIAA championship games where they settled for silver each time. This spring, Indiana returned to the WPIAL finals and needed 11 innings before outlasting Elizabeth Forward to win the program’s first district title. Tight, extra-inning games kept coming for Indiana in the PIAA playoffs, as did the wins. A 12-inning win in the first round and a record breaking 17-inning triumph in the semifinals came before the Little Indians held on to beat Montoursville, 4-3, giving Indiana district and state gold a year after WPIAL and PIAA silver.

Class 3A

Dan Oliastro, Riverside

Two years ago, the Riverside baseball team put together an undefeated season in winning both WPIAL and PIAA championships. This spring, the Panthers weren’t perfect, but they were once again golden. Led by 81-year old legendary coach Dan Oliastro, who just completed his 58th year as head coach, Riverside won its first four games, lost its only contest of the season to Ellwood City, won five more games before a nonsection loss to 5A power Bethel Park, and then was victorious in the final 12 games of the season. In the district playoffs, the Panthers edged Shady Side Academy in the first round, 4-3, then outscored Burrell, South Park and Quaker Valley 13-0 to win a seventh WPIAL championship. Four more wins in the state playoffs gave Riverside a leading fifth PIAA baseball championship.

Class 2A

Dan O’Leary, Freedom

There were not a lot of championship vibes for Freedom following a third-place finish in Section 2-2A and a No. 8 seed in the WPIAL playoffs, but the competition soon found out that these Bulldogs’ bite was much more dangerous than their bark. Dan O’Leary’s team’s historic run to a first district title included a quarterfinals upset of top-seeded Neshannock, a wild semifinal victory over Laurel and a WPIAL championship game blanking of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 1-0. The magic continued for Freedom in the PIAA playoffs with a comeback win over Bishop McCort, a victory in eight innings over Redbank Valley and a shutout of Mercyhurst Prep before falling to repeat state champion Faith Christian in the PIAA 2A finals.

Class A

Mark Feldman, Eden Christian Academy

Eden Christian Academy had some key players returning but had holes to fill coming into the 2025 season after a PIAA runner-up campaign the previous spring. The Warriors finished in a three-way to for the loaded Section 3-A crown with Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin. Dreams of a first WPIAL title ended in the semifinals with a loss to Carmichaels; however, the Warriors regrouped for another run in the state playoffs. Eden Christian blanked DuBois Central Catholic in the opening round, crushed Homer-Center by 10 runs in the quarterfinals and rolled past Clarion in the semis by 11 runs. It marked the third time in five years the Warriors reached the PIAA title game, but also the third time they returned home with silver after a loss to Southern Fulton in the championship game.

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