The Southeastern High School Baseball Classic has reached its climax as North Cobb Christian and Prince Avenue Christian will face off with the SEHSBC championship on the line. Additionally, Buford will face off against McEachern in the consolation round. North Cobb Christian and Prince Avenue will face off at 1:30 p.m., while the consolation game between Buford and McEachern will take place at 10:30 a.m. Both games will be televised live on the Peachtree Sports Network, and streamed digitally on the Atlanta News First app.
Prince Avenue and North Cobb Christian are both ready to compete. The two teams have each won two-straight championships. Both are among the best teams in the state and will play in the A-3A private playoffs. North Cobb Christian has had a strong offensive start to the season, scoring at least four runs in every game. This North Cobb Christian team is very young, especially compared to previous years. The team is only returning five starters from last season, none of whom are seniors. They do have impactful senior player, INF/OF Riley Hutchinson, who is currently committed to play college baseball for Coastal Alabama. As of now, they have one other college commit, junior Gardner-Webb-commit Hudson Newell, who is the team’s starting catcher. So far in the tournament, they are 1-1, defeating Piedmont, AL. 14-0 before losing to Lewisburg, MS. 6-5. However, they were still able to reach the tournament finals.
Prince Avenue is the two-time defending Class A champion. The Wolverines have one of the top players in the state, Judson Hartwell, a Georgia Tech-commit who plays as both a pitcher and an infielder. The Wolverines are very experienced, returning four senior starters and one junior starter. In addition, they return three other seniors who were not starters, along with two more juniors. So far in the tournament, the Wolverines have been dominant. In the first game, they defeated Tallulah Falls 7-0, then dominated 6A powerhouse Buford 14-3 in the next round to advance to the finals.
The two teams are in very different situations right now, but both have championship pedigree. North Cobb Christian, when playing well, can beat anyone, as they did against Piedmont. Prince Avenue, on the other hand, is consistently dominant and will be a tough opponent. However, the two teams bring very different styles. Prince Avenue plays a more defensive game, winning most of their matchups with high-end pitching and defense. Meanwhile, the Eagles have leaned on their offense this season, being forced to outscore many of their opponents.
The consolation game will feature Buford and McEachern, both of which have been among the top teams in the state to start the season. The two teams have combined for a 24-4 record. Buford is led by elite center fielder Cannon Goldin, an Ole Miss-commit, who could be drafted in this June’s upcoming MLB Draft. The team also has a pair of high-end freshmen: pitcher/outfielder Dexter McClendon and shortstop Lio Garcia. The Wolves are 1-1 in the tournament so far, defeating The Walker School 3-2 in the first round before losing to Prince Avenue in the second round.
McEachern was a late addition to the tournament but now has a chance to win the consolation game. The Indians are led by a trio of high-end sophomores. Chubb Jones Jr. is the highest-rated of the three at this point, with the potential to be a future high-round draft pick. In addition to Jones, McEachern has the duo of Malachi Butler and Landro Sanchez, both of whom are Power Four prospects with the potential to be MLB draft picks if they continue to develop in the coming years. The Indians have had a hot start to the 2025 season, going 14-1. The team has been extremely balanced, scoring 10 or more runs in eight games this season and shutting out seven of the team’s first 15 opponents.
The game will push both teams to their limits. Buford will be challenged to score more against McEachern’s explosive offense, while the Indians’ offense will be tested against the high-end pitching of the Wolves, which should create an exciting game to start Saturday off.
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