Ripley’s Bryson Casto scores a run against St. Albans in the Class AAA state championship game in Huntington. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

The 2026 season proved to be another great year for the St. Albans baseball program.

The Red Dragons claimed their first state title since 2019, defeating Ripley, 11-3.

SA saw three players earn all-tournament recognition, including Gavin Comer receiving all-tournament MVP.

The accolades and recognition continues to pour in for St. Albans with the latest coming from the West Virginia Sportswriters Association all-state baseball teams.

Braxton Burke and Brogan Samms earned first team all-state honors.

Burke is the captain of the first team, making him the first SA player to earn captain since Jake Carr was co-captain in 2019.

Burke was tabbed as a pitcher on the top team in AAA. He went 8-1 on the mound in 60 innings pitched.

He had an ERA of 1.75 and struck out 53 batters in 15 games.

Samms earned recognition as an infielder.

“Those guys make everybody around them better,” SA coach Rick Whitman said. “They’re just ultra-competitive, whether Braxton was playing short or Brogan was there then vice versa. They just competed at a really high level and made everyone else better.”

Samms, who is also a standout on the basketball hardwood, batted .468 with 52 hits.

He also added 19 doubles, two home runs and 40 RBIs.

The junior Red Dragon also saw time on the mound, going 6-2 in 65 innings pitched. He totaled 100 strikeouts while allowing only 28 hits.

“He’s an elite athlete,” Whitman said. “He can hit obviously. But he’s also a tremendous basketball player. I saw every one of his basketball games, and I know how good he is at basketball. But he had a better baseball year. That’s hard to say because he is a phenomenal basketball player.”

Burke is one of three seniors on this past year’s team, with Gavin Comer and Devon Hatfield being the other two.

The senior Red Dragon also hit efficiently at the plate, batting .405, totaled 47 hits, three home runs and 31 RBIs.

“He just competes,” Whitman said. “He threw strikes, challenged hitters and changed speeds. He hit leadoff for us. When he got on base, he scored. He scored over 50 runs. He was a spark plug for us.”

St. Albans is one of four Class AAA teams to have at least two players make first team all-state — Bridgeport, Shady Spring and Robert C. Byrd are the others.

The Indians earned the No. 1 overall seed in the Class AAA state tournament.

Bridgeport finished its season with a 29-5 record and fell in the state semifinals to Ripley.

The Indians were represented on the first team by Kasen Baun (infielder) and Owen Sondericker (utility).

“Those two were my three and four hitters all year long,” Bridgeport coach Robert Shields said. “They drove in a lot of runs for us. They didn’t strike out very often. They put the ball in play, which allowed us to be consistent.”

Sondericker appeared in 36 games for the Indians this past season, batting .409.

He recorded 45 hits, with seven being doubles and three being triples.

The senior Indian knocked out two home runs and drove home 38.

He was also a stud on the mound, going 7-1 in 53 1/3 innings.

He allowed 37 hits, 10 earned runs and struck out 66 batters.

“Owen was our go-to-guy on the mound,” Shields said. “He was 7-1 with two saves. He did a phenomenal job on the mound and wherever we put him, depending on who was pitching.”

Baun batted .400 on the season in 137 plate appearances.

He knocked through 42 hits, with 11 being doubles and five being triples.

Baun also connected on two home runs and drove home 42.

“He’s been a four-year starter,” Shields said. “He’s matured every year that he’s played. He was quiet but led by example.”

Shady Spring saw Tyler Wilhite and Sam Barnett make the first team, while RCB’s Xavier Carvelli and Cooper Floyd cracked the list.

Wilhite, a sophomore infielder, had an average of .459 and he had six doubles, three triples, three home runs and he scored 50 runs. He also had 29 steals and 30 walks.

Barnett, a University of Charleston signee, hit .367 with 13 doubles, four home runs, 33 runs and 41 RBIs and was 7-1 on the mound with two saves with a 1.92 ERA and 81 strikeouts.

Floyd hit .465 with 13 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs and he scored 58 runs and swiped 22 bases.

Carvelli hit .435 with nine doubles, five triples, 37 RBIs and 17 steals. On the mound he was 5-1 with 65 strikeouts and a 2.60 ERA.

Joining Burke and Carvelli at pitcher was John Marshall senior Hayden Hughes.

Samms, Wilhite and Baun comprised the infield along with Ripley junior Bryson Casto, who made the first team for a third consecutive campaign.

Casto, a West Virginia University commit who missed time with an injury and helped the Vikings to the 2025 Class AAA crown, had a .410 average with eight doubles, two triples, a homer, seven stolen bases and eight RBIs. On the mound, Casto finished 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA and had 39 strikeouts in 35 innings.

The other first team selections were senior catchers Isaac Byrd of Lincoln County and Hunter Harr of Keyser, senior utility Sam Barnett of Shady Spring as well as a pair of outfielders in Brooke senior Andrew Murdock and PikeView junior Landon Wyatt.

Princeton senior Brody Combs was named captain of the all-state second team.

Here is the Class AAA All-State team released Thursday by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

CLASS AAA

FIRST TEAM

P – Hayden Hughes, John Marshall, Sr.

P – Xavier Carvelli, Robert C. Byrd, Sr.

P – Braxton Burke, St. Albans, Sr. (Capt.)

C – Isaac Byrd, Lincoln County, Sr.

C – Hunter Harr, Keyser, Sr.

INF – Bryson Casto, Ripley, Jr.

INF – Brogan Samms, St. Albans, Jr.

INF – Tyler Wilhite, Shady Spring, Jr.

INF – Kasen Baun, Bridgeport, Sr.

OF – Andrew Murdock, Brooke, Sr.

OF – Cooper Floyd, Robert C. Byrd, Sr.

OF – Landon Wyatt, PikeView, Jr.

Util -Owen Sondericker, Bridgeport, Sr.

Util – Riley Johnson, Herbert Hoover, Jr.

Util – Sam Barnett, Shady Spring, Sr.

SECOND TEAM

P – Gavin Comer, St. Albans, Sr.

P – Anthony Marrero, Point Pleasant, Sr.

P – Jackson Waskis, East Fairmont, Sr.

C – Trenton Tolliver, PikeView, Soph.

C- Savario Destito, Robert C. Byrd, Sr.

INF – Mason Markonich, John Marshall, Sr.

INF – Owen Music, East Fairmont, Sr.

INF – Ashton Shaffer, Robert C. Byrd, Sr.

INF – Coleton Hellems, Nicholas County, Sr.

INF – Jared Miller, Winfield, Jr.

OF – Channing Wilt, Hampshire, Jr.

OF – Cutter Boggs, Shady Spring, Soph.

OF – Luke Rohrig, Bridgeport, Jr.

Util – Lucas Milam, Nicholas County, Sr.

Util – Brody Combs, Princeton, Sr. (Capt)

HONORABLE MENTION

Brady Adkins, Lincoln County; Dawson Adkins, Lincoln County; Guy Avolio, Bridgeport; Gavin Barnett, Point Pleasant; Brody Bledsoe, East Fairmont; Landon Bolen, PikeView; Braden Brown, Nicholas County; Blake Butcher, Bridgeport; Chance Campbell, St. Albans; Jacob Cisar, John Marshall; Landon Crane, Princeton; Peyton Dingess, Chapmanville; Noah Fox, Shady Spring; Xavier Marino-Garcia, Fairmont Senior; Aaron George, Riverside; Carter Gillespie, Grafton; Joel Good, Lewis County; Cameron Gray, Grafton; Brody Ilderton, Winfield; Parker Keller, Ripley; Peyton Keller, Ripley; Case Linn, East Fairmont; Caiden Lovejoy, Spring Valley; Nelson Lynch, Greenbrier East; Landon Meadows, Ripley; River McClain, East Fairmont; Grant Murphy, Grafton; Cam Perdue, Spring Valley; Bralin Peters, Lincoln County; Parker Phillips, Spring Valley; Colyn Smith, Shady Spring; Sam Smith, Capital; Brody Spencer, Spring Valley; Landon Tysinger, Keyser; Jake VanArsdale, Spring Valley; Jacob Vance, Chapmanville; Lucas Williamson, Keyser; Blake Withrow, Winfield; Ryan Zuniga, Nitro