Five Baldwin sports teams will move to higher WPIAL classifications next year due to enrollment increases at the high school. 

The boys and girls basketball teams, the softball team, and girls volleyball team are all moving up to 6A. The boys soccer team will be moving up to 4A.

Athletic Director Anthony Cherico emphasized the new challenges that come with moving up to face teams from bigger high schools. 

“There are really no days off whenever you move up to that level,” Cherico said. “Every night is going to be a pretty strong competition.” 

The sports teams will face some new and some old opponents, giving them both familiarity and the opportunity to grow. 

“For basketball specifically, I think it gives us more of the regional rivalries,” Cherico said. “They will play what is considered to be the best of the best out there, so I think that it is a great challenge for them too.” 

Girls Volleyball

Girls volleyball will face Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, and Norwin in their section.  

Sophomore Chelsey Weber is excited for the new changes, yet she is taking into account the difficult opponents they will be facing. 

“It’s going to be better competition with the other schools,” Weber said. “They are much bigger and way better than what we are used to playing.”

The girls volleyball team will also have to adapt to the loss of nine of their seniors, four of whom started this year.

“Losing nine seniors is definitely going to have a big impact on our season, so it’s going to take a good chunk out of our starting lineup,” Weber said.

Weber believes the team will still be able to hold their ground in the new section, and she is confident they will succeed if they put the work in.

“We will definitely be able to compete with them and we might not win every time, but it will be a good fight every game,” Weber said. “If we keep practicing and playing hard, we have a good shot at winning the section.”

Boys Soccer

Boys soccer will face Bethel Park, Canon-Mac, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, and Upper St. Clair in their section.  

The boys soccer team will be moving to 4A, which is the highest section for WPIAL boys soccer. Sophomore Gavin Gusten believes there are going to be challenges with the new section. 

“I think it is going to be much more difficult,” Gusten said. “The teams are definitely a lot better in 4A.”  

Yet he is optimistic about next year.

“I think we’ll do better than last year if we just work harder in practice,” Gusten said. 

Despite the obstacles, Gusten is confident that the team will adjust to the changes.

“Even though it’s going to be hard, I feel like we will still do good and be able to score more,” Gusten said.  

Girls Basketball

Girls basketball will face Bethel Park, Hempfield, Canon-Mac, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, and Upper St. Clair in their section.  

Junior Lynsey Bernotas looks forward to the changes and believes the girls basketball team will benefit from moving up and facing harder opponents. 

“I think that it will be better for us because it is better competition,” Bernotas said. “In 6A, I feel like we will do a lot better things.”

Although the team is losing four seniors, Baldwin has strong returning players that will continue to step up and lead the team, she said.

“Our team is competitive and we have good players, so I think we will be more successful,” Bernotas said. 

Bernotas points out the strong bond the team has, and she said it will help them overcome the difficulties they may face.

“I feel like our chemistry is going to be strong which will help us through it,” Bernotas said. 

Boys Basketball

Boys basketball will face Canon-Mac, Connellsville, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Norwin, Peters Township, and Upper St. Clair in their section.

Sophomore Kellen Carter said the boys basketball team has to work harder next year to succeed. 

“We have to step it up next year, but I think we can do it,” Carter said. 

Carter believes that one of the biggest challenges will be taking on Upper St. Clair, the team that won the 6A WPIAL championship this past season.

Additionally, team size might also be a challenge because of the number of seniors the team is losing.

“We are pretty small as a team and there are definitely going to be teams who are bigger than us, so that is something we are going to have to overpower,” Carter said. 

Although there are areas to improve on to secure a strong team, Carter looks forward to the season. 

“We have good leaders on our team who will be able to step up and fill the places of the seniors,” Carter said. 

Softball

While the new sections for spring sports have not been announced yet, junior Melina DeFelice believes next season will be a difficult adjustment, especially with losing four seniors. 

“We are going to have to work a lot harder and we will need to figure out who will fill those positions,” DeFelice said. 

In the upcoming season, the team is going to have to come together and create new chemistry with the underclassmen who are joining, she said.

“With the younger players coming up, we will need to learn to work together and focus on the little things,” DeFelice said. 

Despite moving up, DeFelice is confident the team will go just as far as they did this year. They will just have to put the work in to make it happen.

“Next year will be completely different and we will have to learn new things, but I think that will be fun,” DeFelice said.