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

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, June 19, 2025 | 7:52 PM

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This spring, pitching seemed to be a notch above offenses around WPIAL baseball.

Come postseason time, there were a lot of shutouts, plenty of low scoring games and extra inning marathons dominated by pitching.

In fact, in the championship round, there was not one, but two no-hitters thrown, one of which was a perfect game.

Trib HSSN salutes all the players for their great work and efforts on the baseball diamond in this spring. However, these players receive a special gold star on their ball cap along with a seat up front as they belong at the head of the class in 2025.

Class 6A

Player of the year: Ryan Piekutoski, Seneca Valley

Every high school coach wants to see a steady rise in a player’s performance as the season goes on. Meet the poster child of steady progress in the 2025 season as Seneca Valley senior third baseman/pitcher Ryan Piekutoski went from having a really nice campaign midway through the season to being named the Trib HSSN Class 6A player of the year. Piekutoski doubled in a WPIAL semifinal win over Canon-McMillan and drove home the game’s only run in the 6A title game victory over Norwin. In the PIAA playoffs, the South Carolina-Sumter commit was 3 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs in a first-round win over McDowell, then was 2 for 3 with a double and a home run with two more runs batted in in his final high school game for the Raiders, a quarterfinal loss to eventual state champion Cedar Cliff.

Class 5A

Player of the year: Colby Weber, Shaler

In a district blessed with great pitchers this spring, the Trib HSSN Class 5A player of the year came down to two of the best in Colby Weber of Shaler and Keegan Diehl of Pine-Richland. Weber gets the slight nod as he and his Titans teammates walked into the offseason with 5A silver (state) and gold (district). Weber dominated opposing hitters all season, especially in the playoffs. He threw a one-hitter in a WPIAL first-round win over Montour, a three-hitter in the quarterfinal victory over Connellsville, and allowed two hits over six innings with 13 strikeouts in a title game no decision against Pine-Richland. In the PIAA postseason, Weber registered a one-hit shutout of Conestoga Valley in the opening round and a three-hit blanking of Lampeter-Strasburg in the state semifinals.

Class 4A

Player of the year: Cy Herchelroath, Elizabeth Forward

The evidence is clear with district and state gold around their necks that Indiana was the best team in Class 4A with so many players contributing to a 26-1 season. However, the best player may have come from the WPIAL 4A runners-up. Elizabeth Forward senior pitcher/outfielder Cy Herchelroath helped the Warriors reach the finals with his left arm, his bat and his glove. In the district playoffs, he was a combined 5 for 6 with a double, triple and four RBIs in EF’s first two playoff victories, plus he was the winning pitcher in the quarterfinal triumph over Ringgold. In the WPIAL finals, he allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts, but had a no-decision, during an 11-inning loss to Indiana in which he also drove in a run. For the season, he batted .377, had an ERA of 1.46 and a fielding percentage of .949.

Class 3A

Player of the year: Zach Hare, Riverside

Senior Zach Hare had another dominant season for an outstanding Riverside team that swept district and state gold for the second time in three years. Hare was good at the plate, but you could say he was perfect on the mound. The Slippery Rock commit was the definition of a workhorse on the hill for the Panthers in the playoffs. That is when he became unhittable. He set a national record of 34 innings of no-hit baseball when he threw 5 1/3 innings against Shady Side Academy, five innings against Burrell, seven innings against South Park and capped off the WPIAL playoffs with seven perfect innings in a win over Quaker Valley. He pitched another no-hitter in the state semifinals against Mohawk before settling for a two-hitter in the state title-winning victory over Mount Carmel.

Class 2A

Player of the year: Colton Temple, Fort Cherry

Fort Cherry was preseason No. 5 in Class 2A and through the regular season in which it finished as co-champion in Section 1-2A, along with Burgettstown, the Rangers were the No. 5 seed in the 2A district playoffs. However, their postseason was short and not so sweet as they were upended by Laurel in the first round to end their season at 13-6. While playoff glory was not in the cards for Fort Cherry, it didn’t damper the incredible season for Rangers sophomore Colton Temple. He batted .621 (36 for 58) with a slash line of .697/1.328/2.025 with 28 runs scored and 36 runs batted in. He had 20 extra base hits with 10 homers, a triple and nine doubles. When not catching for the Rangers, he led the team with 52 innings pitched and finished with a 7-2 record and an ERA of 3.23.

Class A

Player of the year: Tyler Skaggs, Serra Catholic

Senior pitcher Tyler Skaggs capped off a great season and outstanding scholastic career in grand style for Serra Catholic. Skaggs pitched and hit with great success during the regular season as the Eagles finished in a three-way tie for the Section 3-A championship with Eden Christian Academy and two-time defending Class A champion Bishop Canevin. Skaggs led the team in runs batted in and was second in hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage, runs scored and stolen bases. On the mound, he started the WPIAL semifinal game against Greensburg Central Catholic but ended up with a no-decision as the Eagles won, 3-2. However, he picked up the win in the district title game when he threw a complete game no-hitter, allowing only two walks and striking out 10 in a 9-0 victory over Carmichaels.

Tags: Elizabeth Forward, Fort Cherry, Riverside, Seneca Valley, Serra Catholic, Shaler