BCPS Athletes Heading to the Next Level and an Incredible County Championship Game Recap!

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BCPS ATHLETES SPOTLIGHT

Every year throughout the country, May 1 is National College Decision day. This year, over 100 Baltimore County high school seniors are committed to compete in collegiate athletics. Click this link or scroll down to learn more about the athletes committed to the top programs, and stay tuned over the coming weeks for more coverage on where BaltCo senior athletes are heading!

Based off data collected from Baltimore County high schools’ senior decisions pages and reports from various athletic directors throughout the county, as of May 3, 2026, 104 BCPS seniors are committed to compete on a collegiate athletic team. These schools range from high-level national powerhouses to local two-year schools, but a college athletic commitment, regardless of what level, can symbolize a lifetime of hard work and dedication to a specific sport. Over the next several weeks, we will highlight dozens of commits to various sports from throughout Baltimore County, but this week, we’ll highlight five athletes going to prominent NCAA division one programs.

Destiny Coleman: Committed to Ohio State University for Track and Field

Coleman, a four-year runner at Woodlawn, will go onto the next level, going from Maryland 4A to the Big 10 conference. Last winter season, Coleman took gold in the state championships in the 55m hurdles, finishing in 7.9 seconds, in the 55m dash, finishing in 6.98 seconds, and in the 300m race, finishing in 39.22 seconds. The nine time state champion and five time All-American holds the state record in three events and earned a medal in the 100m hurdles at the USA Track and Field U20 finals. The Buckeyes currently rank No. 44 in the country per USTFCCCA and have produced Olympic gold medalists, including Lynna Irby-Jackson, and national champions, such as Anavia Battle.

Ben Wheeler: Committed to Virginia Tech for Track and Field

Wheeler will head to Blacksburg in the fall after graduating from Hereford going from Maryland 2A to the ACC. During the indoor season, Wheeler placed fifth in the state in the 55m dash, second in the 300m, and sixth in the 500m. Along the way, his 4x200m relay team won a 2A regional championship, and individually, took gold in the 300m and 500m races. So far this spring, Wheeler has set his personal best in the 400m at the Hereford Spring Showcase in mid-April, and his PB in the 800m at a league meet on April 1. Virginia Tech’s track program ranks No. 47 and most notably graduated world champion Hanna Green fewer than 10 years ago.

Damon Ferguson: Committed to the University of Pittsburgh for Football

Ferguson will head to southwestern Pennsylvania to join the Panthers after graduating from Baltimore County’s top football program, Milford Mill Academy. The 5’11 running back played in nine games for the Millers last season, rushing for 885 yards on fewer than 90 attempts while scoring twelve times on offense. Defensively, Ferguson added four interceptions, including a pick six. The four-star running back, ranked as the fifth best overall and top public school recruit in the state, received 42 total offers, including from national champion Indiana and ACC champion Duke, but signed with the Pitt Panthers in December of 2025.

Koby Sarkodie: Committed to North Carolina State University for Football

The 6’3 inside linebacker will also head to the ACC, but into the triangle of North Carolina to play for the Wolfpack. The three-star recruit was primarily a safety at Milford Mill, recording 123 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and five sacks in his 45 career games. This past season saw three interceptions, 22 passes defended, and nine fumble recoveries. The 20th best prospect in the state per 24/7 sports received 28 total offers, including from Indiana, Tennessee, Penn State, and many more, but will be playing under defensive coordinator DJ Eliot in the fall as the Wolfpack look to qualify for their sixth consecutive bowl game, and win their second straight.

Grace Berquist: Committed to High Point University for Lacrosse

Hereford’s senior class president will be heading from the 2A class to North Carolina to play in the Big South Conference for High Point University. In eight of Hereford’s 12 games this season, Berquist allowed seven or fewer goals, helping the Bulls to a 9-3 regular season record. Berquist plays for Skywalkers 2026 White, and has since she was 10 years old per IWLCA. The High Point Panthers routinely compete for NCAA tournament appearances while capturing six conference championships since 2013 and finishing as the Big South runner up this spring.

BASEBALL ⚾

On Friday, two of Baltimore County’s best teams faced off in the county championship game, and the ending was perfectly fitting for how this rivalry typically goes. Click this link or scroll down to learn more about how the game played out. Stay tuned to County Sports Zone for baseball playoff brackets and seedings this Tuesday at this link!

The Baltimore County high school baseball championship game went down at Hereford High School last Friday when the 16-1 Bulls hosted the 12-4 Dulaney Lions in their second meeting of this season. Before spring break, the two met at Dulaney High, where after falling behind 5-0, the Lions came back to win 9-6.

The Lions entered on a three-game win streak following wins over Lansdowne, Pikesville, and Western Tech where the team averaged 13-runs per game. Meanwhile the Bulls hadn’t lost a game since the loss on March 30 to Dulaney, but leading up to Friday’s contest, the Bulls also took down the Vikings, Panthers, and Wolverines, allowing just five total runs in the three games.

Dulaney looked to be threatening in the first inning with the bases loaded, but Hereford escaped the inning without any damage. This would change in the second as the Lion offense woke up. Caleb Lamont and Micah Bloom led off with back-to-back singles, and two batters later, Lamont stole home to put the first run of the game on the scoreboard. Later in the inning, Monmouth University commit Matthew Rich smacked a fly ball over the center field fence to give Dulaney an early 4-0 lead.

The Hereford offense, entering the bottom of the second down four, was ready to respond. Brandon Zetlmeisl led off with a seven-pitch walk, and after a Jameson Greenwood base hit, Chesapeake Community College commit Merrick Gardner doubled into left to put the Bulls on the board. Gardner’s double was followed by a two-RBI base hit from SMCM commit Sam O’Reilly. By the end of the inning, the Bulls had fought back to just a one run deficit.

Over the next two innings, just two total batters reached base, but Dulaney was threatening in the top of the fifth after a single from Carter Frick and a double from James Bowman. With runners on second and third with just one out, Marywood commit Aidan Ciurca struck out the next two Lion hitters to escape the jam.

Cameron Shinavar led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, and a few batters later, scored on a Matthew Rich error behind the plate to tie the game.

In the bottom of the seventh, with the game tied at four, Noah Bonner led off with a single. Harford Community College commit Kreis Metz then stepped to the plate, and in a 2-2 count, sent a line drive down the right field line with resulted in a walk off triple, securing a county championship victory for Hereford with a final score of 5-4.

Misericordia commit Dylan Townsend threw the complete game for the Lions, but was tagged with the loss. The senior went six innings while allowing eight hits and four earned runs, picking up six strikeouts on 100 pitches. Ciurca threw five shutout innings in relief for Hereford, giving up just four hits while picking up seven strikeouts and the win. The Bulls will wrap up their regular season on Monday in a home bout against Winters Mill before the playoffs begin with the regional quarterfinals on May 7.'

GIRLS LACROSSE🥍

The BCPS Girls Lacrosse regular season wrapped up on Friday with Kenwood and Catonsville both earning one more regular season win. Dulaney has finished with the best conference record in BCPS at a perfect 7-0. Eastern Tech takes the crown for the most wins with 10 total, while Pikesville had seven wins, the same as Dulaney, and one loss, fewer than the Mavericks. Stay tuned to CSZ for playoff brackets which are set to come out later today here!

BOYS LACROSSE🥍

The only remaining game in Baltimore County will be the 3-6 Randallstown Rams traveling to face the 3-7 Carver Wildcats on Monday afternoon, but that does not impact Parkville' earning the best in-conference record with an undefeated 10-0 record! They were followed by Eastern Tech and Pikesville, both of whom were one game back at 9-1. Stay tuned to CSZ for playoff brackets which are set to come out later today here!

SOFTBALL 🥎

Seven BCPS softball games remain this season, all of which are set to be played this Monday. The Dulaney Lions will stay in conference as they face the 6-8 Carver Wildcats on the road, and the Milford Mill Millers will look to finally play their second game of the season against 6-5 Pikesville after several postponements in the last few weeks. There is still a chance for movement at the top of the leaderboard, so stay tuned to see any developments. Also stay tuned to CSZ for softball playoff brackets which are set to come out on Tuesday and can be seen here!

TRACK AND FIELD 🏃‍♀️

The Baltimore County track and field championships are set to take place on Monday, May 4 at Dunbar High School. Stay tuned to next week for a full recap of the event!

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