While most Major League Baseball teams have the luxury of throwing around large salaries in order to find talented players, public high school teams don’t have that same recruiting tool.

Public high schools are given the students in their district and have to hope there are a few gems in the community that can help them put together a competitive team. The hope for contending teams is that players can make the team as underclassmen, ideally freshmen, so they can contribute for the next three or four years.

Sherwood has had the fortune of finding three of these players in this year’s junior class. Juniors Brady Adam, Cameron Aud and Matt Chanin compose two thirds of the team’s starting outfield and a third of the team’s “Big Three” in their starting rotation.

Aud joined the varsity squad as a sophomore and played catcher, backing up then starter Colin McMahon (’12). While he didn’t see much playing time, Aud had the opportunity to get coaching from the varsity staff as well as the chance to be part of a playoff run.

“Both Colin and the coaches taught me a lot,” Aud said. “It was great to have the experience before I started because I got a little preview of what would be expected of me.”

Aud has since moved to left field, but has also emerged as a force at the plate. “The transition’s gone well,” he said. “Being a former catcher, I have a pretty good outfield arm.” Aud has driven in six runs on the year.  Adam also joined the team as a sophomore, but was instantly named the team’s starting center fielder.

“He’s very well-rounded,” said coach Sean Davis. “He does everything well; good defensive player, good offensive player, he’s having a great year.” While Adam boasts great range and a strong throwing arm, his biggest asset is arguably his bat. Adam has hit .483 through the first six games of the season.

The third big piece of Sherwood’s young core is pitcher and first basemen Matt Chanin, who is a force at the plate and on the mound. Chanin, like Adam, was instantly thrown into the fire after joining the team as a sophomore. Chanin’s time and commitment to the team helped him to progress into a middle-of-the-order threat for the Warriors, as well as the team’s number-one starter.

“After I set a goal to play in college I realized what it was going to take. I did something baseball-related every day over the offseason and usually come home and work out after Sherwood practices,” said Chanin.

While Chanin started off the season with an injury, he came back as good as ever, carrying the Warriors to a win with a walk-off home run against Blair on April 11.

Many teams are forced to completely overhaul their starting lineups after seniors graduate, but the Warriors have been lucky to have three players that they can rely on. “When  you have guys that are veterans as juniors, that’s one less thing to worry about. They learned the ropes last year so they’re ready for the next two,” said Davis.