Shore Conference Tournament Play is Underway in Spring Sports

Shore Conference Tournaments for five sports have been seeded and
will offer plenty of excitement over the next two weeks.
Here’s a look at all the seeds from each bracket
and an outlook of the top-seeded teams from the Two River area.

Shore Conference Baseball

1. Red Bank Catholic
2. Point Pleasant Beach
3. Brick Memorial
4. Ranney
5. Rumson-Fair Haven
6. Christian Brothers Academy
7. Howell
8. Toms River East
9. Wall
10. Manalapan
11. Manasquan
12. Toms River South
13. Shore Regional
14. Point Pleasant Borough
15. Colts Neck
16. Southern Regional
17. Freehold Township
18. Middletown North
19. St. John Vianney
20. St. Rose
21. Marlboro
22. Lacey
23. Red Bank Regional
24. Barnegat
25. Keyport

OUTLOOK: With a 14-4 record, Red Bank Catholic got the top spot in what many would consider a wide-open field that does not have a clear favorite. The Caseys were upset by Howell in the Monmouth County Tournament semifinals but beat Howell two other times and had two wins over Ranney and Brick Memorial to earn the top slot.

Ranney gets the No. 4 seed after winning the Monmouth County Tournament and we could see a potential rematch with Rumson-Fair Haven. RFH blanked Ranney 2-0 in the Monmouth County semifinals after a shutout by freshman Jake Abrams.

Christian Brothers Academy lost three straight games to Ranney, which is the main reason it received a sixth seed. The Colts will have a potential showdown with defending Shore champ and 2026 Ocean County champ Brick Memorial in the quarterfinals.

No. 13 seed Shore Regional comes into the Shore Conference Tournament on an 11-game win streak.

Shore Conference Softball

1. St. John Vianney
2. Donovan Catholic
3. Marlboro
4. Middletown South
5. Red Bank Catholic
6. Holmdel
7. Barnegat
8. Colts Neck
9. Southern Regional
10. Raritan
11. Toms River East
12. Central
13. Middletown North
14. Freehold Township
15. Shore Regional
16. Manalapan
17. Freehold Borough
18. Jackson
19. Matawan
20. Pinelands
21. Ocean
22. Howell
23. Toms River South
24. St. Rose
25. Toms River North

OUTLOOK: St. John Vianney and Donovan Catholic are ranked 1-2 in New Jersey and are on a collision course to meet in the Shore finals and the state playoffs. But there are teams that could upset the apple cart.

Third seed Marlboro lost to SJV 7-5 and No. 5 Red Bank Catholic took Donovan Catholic to extra innings before falling to the Griffins 5-4. Donovan Catholic suffered its first loss to Steinert on the eve of the Shore Conference Tournament, while the Lancers are 20-0. SJV pitcher Madison McDougall is at 933 career strikeouts and will get in the 1,000 range by the end of the month. Holmdel is also a great story. The Hornets earned the sixth seed with a 14-3 record, including a 2-1 upset of fourth-seed Middletown South. 

Shore Conference Boys Lacrosse

1. Christian Brothers Academy
2. Rumson-Fair Haven
3. Southern Regional
4. Holmdel
5. Manasquan
6. Shore Regional
7. Red Bank Regional
8. Wall
9. Manalapan
10. Middletown South
11. Toms River East
12. Point Pleasant Borough
13. Red Bank Catholic
14. Ocean Township
15. Howell
16. Barnegat

OUTLOOK: Christian Brothers Academy’s 13-12 win over Rumson-Fair Haven April 7 is the reason for the top seed but RFH is playing as well as any team in New Jersey heading into the SCT. The Bulldogs have won 10 of their last 11 games, with the lone loss coming against nationally ranked Summit. The Bulldogs have wins over Westfield (17-10) and Bridgewater-Raritan (13-3). Thanks to those two wins, RFH is ranked ninth in the latest state poll while CBA is ranked 17th.

Holmdel was 8-10 a year ago, and entered the 2026 Shore Conference Tournament as the fourth seed with a 13-3 mark. Finnegan Buchan leads the Hornets with 46 goals and football star Jack Cannon has 42 assists and 58 total points, good for second on the team. 

Shore Conference Girls Lacrosse

1. Trinity Hall
2. Red Bank Regional
3. Southern Regional
4. Manasquan
5. Rumson-Fair Haven
6. Middletown South
7. Barnegat
8. Point Pleasant Borough
9. Shore Regional
10. Toms River East
11. Central Regional
12. Manalapan
13. Holmdel
14. Wall
15. Brick Township
16. Howell

OUTLOOK: Trinity Hall is 15-1 and the clear-cut favorite. The Monarchs are led by Chiara Donohue, who is one of New Jersey’s top players with an astounding 97 goals.

Red Bank Regional earned the second seed thanks to one-goal wins against Southern Regional and Manasquan. Karlie Ruland has 40 goals and Chloe Keating added 37 to provide a dynamic one-two punch for coach Brook Connell’s Bucs.

Rumson-Fair Haven as the fifth seed is the team to watch. The Bulldogs are the defending champs and lost to Trinity Hall 8-6 in the regular season. If RFH can get by Manasquan, we could have a heck of a semifinal showdown between the Monarchs and Bulldogs.

Shore Conference Flag Football

1. Barnegat 
2. Trinity Hall
3. Middletown South
4. Holmdel
5. Central Regional
6. Pinelands 
7. Rumson-Fair Haven
8. Red Bank Catholic
9. Colts Neck
10. Keansburg 
11. New Egypt 
12. Shore Regional

OUTLOOK: Trinity Hall is the top-seeded local team coming into the playoffs with a perfect 9-0 mark. Sophomore QB Sonia DeRosa has thrown for 1,819 yards and 29 touchdowns. Her top target is Maddie Rigney, who has hauled in 55 passes for 673 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Middletown South has wins over Rumson-Fair Haven and a convincing 32-8 win against Holmdel. Cam Czwakiel has been a dynamic player for the Eagles.

RFH is the three-time defending Shore Conference champion; it has two one-score losses to Holmdel and Middletown South, along with a loss to North Jersey power Wayne Valley. 

The article originally appeared in the May 14 – 20, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.