After thrilling GMC Tournament run, what can St. Joseph-Metuchen do for an encore? Plenty

You could look all the way back to the mid-80s, and the formation of the Greater Middlesex Conference, but it would be impossible to find a more thrilling run to the GMC Tournament title than St. Joseph-Metuchen had in 2025.

They were the five-seed, and won all four of their games in the tournament in their final at bat. Their lineup never faced a single pitch in the entire run while ahead in the game. And then won it on a walk-off grand slam by senior JP Zayle.

But there’s still more to do for the Falcons: win the GMC Red Division title, and win a sectional and state championship.

All those goals – plus the GMC Tournament – are on the table again for a St. Joe’s squad that will be playing its second year under veteran mentor Dennis McCaffery. He came in after spending nearly 30 years at Cranford, but there, he had elementary schools, middle schools and little league in town where he knew all the kids.

Last season was an exercise in getting to meet and learn about them all.

Now, he jumps in with a group he’s been around for more than a year.

Connor Walker is one of the top senior pitchers back – he only threw 12 innings last year – but there will be some younger arms McCaffery hopes will make an impact, whether they only got a handful of innings on varsity, pitched more on the jayvee squad, or are incoming freshmen.

With the weather in the Northeast during preseason camp, getting even a veteran staff ready to go outdoors often takes a while, sometimes a few weeks into the season.

Which leads us to the offense – which will lose guys like Zayle and Bobby Christensen, also middle infielders – but McCaffery likes having a half-dozen starters back, including left fielder Walter Christian (.333), centerfielder Kris Almanzar (.362), first-baseman Logan Ring (.300, 9 RBI), and third-baseman Owen Krulikowski (305).

Click below to hear St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Dennis McCaffery talk about the upcoming season for the Falcons with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: