Two baseball players from York, Adams counties selected for Big 26 series

The annual Big 26 Baseball Classic will relaunch next month, and two York-Adams players have been selected to play for Team PA. 

Central York incoming senior Ryan Pepler and New Oxford incoming junior Brevin Neveker are included on the rosters, which were released Monday. The three-game series between high school players from Pennsylvania and Maryland will be played July 19-22 at FBN Field in Harrisburg. 

The Big 26 was created in 2012 to be a counterpart to the annual Big 33 football game. The series wasn't held last year due to a change in management with the program. The control of the Big 33 game was passed from the Big 33 Foundation to the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association, with the Big 26 eventually transferred to the Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority. 

More:My Father's Day of living and losing through baseball

More:Best season in Red Lion baseball history ends in state quarterfinals

Players on the 26-man rosters were selected after a tryout run by team coaches, with the Pennsylvania one taking place at Lebanon Valley College earlier this spring. The tryout fee was $149.

While there was originally supposed to be a separate Pennsylvania tryout for players from the western part of the state, it was canceled due to rain, according to Hershey Harrisburg Sports & Events Authority marketing and communications manager Allison Rohrbaugh. Because of that, only 46 players ultimately tried out for the PA team. 

Rohrabugh said the program hopes to see tryout numbers rise to around 200 in the future, which is where they previously were before the event was called off in 2017. 

"We hope to get it back to the point it was at, because there's value in this," Rohrbaugh said. "We lost buzz because we didn't have it in 2017. There's turnover with coaches and athletic directors and some didn't know what it was. Now it's back out there with some media buzz, and we'll be able to have a western (Pennsylvania) tryout in the future." 

Unlike the Big 33 game, which features teams comprised of recent high school graduates, the Big 26 teams are made up of rising juniors and seniors. The all-stars for both teams will stay at Penn State Harrisburg during the event. 

Pepler is coming off a junior season in which he hit .339 with a .431 on-base percentage as a middle infielder for the Panthers. Neveker hit .301 with a .429 on-base and an incredible 31 stolen based in 21 while playing outfield for the Colonials. 

Players will arrive for registration and practice on Thursday, July 19, with the first game of the series taking place the next night. Prior to that game, a workout in front of pro scouts and MLB coaches will take place. 

Team Pennsylvania roster 

Matt Arbogast, sr IF, Penn Crest
Carson Barge, sr OF, Upper Dauphin
Brady Dallas, sr P, Wilson
Nick Embleton, sr P-IF, East Pennsboro
Brady Gibble, jr OF, Wison
Carter Heller, sr P, Faith Christian
Matt Henderson, sr P, Daniel Boone
Ryan Jacobs, sr P-OF, Susquehanna Twp.
Dominick Kennedy, sr OF, Twin Valley
Jonathan LaBarbera, jr IF, Cedar Crest
Chase Lacey, sr OF, Daniel Boone
Trey Law, sr IF, Cedar Cliff
Trevor Leverington, sr P, Kutztown
Tyler Long, jr IF, Annville-Cleona
Jake Madden, jr P, East Pennsboro
Brady Mutz, sr C, Strath Haven
Brevin Neveker, jr OF, New Oxford
Trey Paige, sr IF, Exeter Twp.
Zack Pellock, sr C, Oley Valley
Ryan Pepler, sr IF, Central York
Braden Petty, sr IF, Big Spring
Jordan Siket, sr C, Owen J. Roberts
Jake Skrocki, sr P, Spring-Ford
Aaron Snyder, sr P-OF, Lampeter-Strasburg
Anthony Swenda, jr IF, Upper Merion
Gavin Troutman, sr IF, Oley Valley

Team Maryland
Blake Beal, sr P, Fort Hill
Nate Beal, jr P, Loyola-Blakefield
Khalil Brown, sr OF, DeMatha Catholic
Chase Burroughs, sr C, Chopticon
Gavin Evans, jr C, Archbishop Curley
Anthony Fiallo, sr OF, Georgetown Prep
Brendan Foster, sr P, Howard
Bryce Frederick, sr IF, Dulaney
Ryan Gleason, sr P, Georgetown Prep
KJ Jarrett, sr OF, Long Reach
Nathan Kistler, sr 3B, Patuxent
Clark Klitenic, sr UT, St. Albans School
William Manship, sr IF, North Caroline
Josh Moylan, jr 1B, Archbishop Spalding
Nicholas Newman, sr UT, St. Michael’s 
Tyler Martinez, sr OF, Gilman School
Austin Mumaw, sr P, Loyola-Blakefield
Danny Rosenfield, sr P, Gilman School
Nico Santoro, sr IF, John Carroll
Ben Smith, sr 3B, McDonough
Matthew Spind, sr UT, McDonough
Ryan Terrents, sr P, Mount Huntingtown
John Toroella, sr P, Mount St. Joseph
Clay Wargo, jrC, Huntingtown
Gavin Wingard, jr OF, John Carroll
T.J. William, jr UT, Georgetown Prep

Statistics for this story courtesy of MaxPreps.com.