James Wood baseball entered the 2026 season looking for redemption after bowing out in the Region 4D quarterfinals the previous spring.
The Colonels bounced back in a big way, finishing 16-8 and reaching the Class 4 state tournament for the fourth time in six seasons under head coach Adrian Pullen. The team also went 6-2 against area rivals and 14-5 against Northwestern District opponents. As a result, Pullen is The Winchester Star Baseball Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
After finishing 6-2 in its last eight regular-season games, James Wood landed the North No. 1 seed in the Region 4D Tournament. Once there, the Colonels defeated Sherando 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Millbrook 12-2 in the semifinals to qualify for the state tournament. The Colonels then lost 3-1 to Jefferson Forest in the region title game and 2-1 against Woodgrove in the state quarterfinals.
Under Pullen's guidance, junior outfielder Tyler Prusik, junior pitcher and third baseman Parker Kerns, junior outfielder Cole Ritter, junior catcher and third baseman Owen Neal and sophomore pitcher Nolan Landry each received notable recognition.
Prusik was named to the Class 4 All-State First Team, All-Region 4D First Team and the All-Northwestern District First Team, Kerns was named Second-Team All-Region and First-Team all-district, Ritter was named Second-Team All-Region and Neal and Landry were named All-Region Honorable Mention and All-Northwestern District First Team.
Pullen, who was also named the Class 4 Northwestern District Coach of the Year, said he owes his success to his players, his coaching staff and his family. He also spoke about why this year's Colonels' team found success:
Q. What qualities made this team special?
Pullen: This group is young and hungry. They went about their business every day. They came to practice to work. They know what the expectations are at James Wood over the last six years, and they do not waver in that. They show up early, they stay late. It's just about work ethic, and I think that if I had to define what made us as good as we were, that would be my answer.
The biggest thing for this team was losing in the first round last year in the region tournament to Orange [County]. That right there left a taste in their mouth that they didn't want to ever feel again, to have your season shortened because of the effort that came out of that game. They dedicated themselves to working harder, really paying attention to more of the details, the execution of the game that it takes to win in the postseason. The best teams are the ones ... that execute, that have a plan offensively and defensively, and then go out and execute the plan, no matter who you're playing against. We left the charts and everything on the dugout wall from that game against Orange in 2025, just as a reminder that you've got to put in the work and you've got to go out and execute the plan.
Q. What individuals impressed you or surprised you the most?
Pullen: I typically don't get a whole lot of surprises. We see our guys pretty much year-round, and we see the work that they put in, the effort level. We watch them progress.
As far as individual efforts, obviously Tyler Prusik had an outstanding year. He's really evolving into one of the best outfielders that I've seen at this level, and that just goes with work. He's there every day early, either hitting in the cage or taking fly balls from his teammates or off the pitcher machine. Whatever work needs to be done, he's putting it in.
Parker [Kerns] had a great year on the mound. We threw him out there against our toughest competition all year long. He lacked in run support from the offense when he was on the mound ... but that's the game of baseball.
Nolan Landry came in, young kid, off of JV. We brought him up at the end of the year last year, just to see what it was all about. Obviously, last year we fell short, so he didn't get to experience a whole lot, but he was ready. [This season] we put him against Woodgrove in the state quarterfinals, I wouldn't change a thing. We thought he gave us the best opportunity to win that game with that matchup, and he pitched his tail off.
Owen Neal, obviously just a wonderful athlete, loves to play the game of baseball and works hard as well. Owen and Tyler, being our co-captains, they lead by example. Just the effort that they put in, and every day just makes us better as a team. Owen played every position in the infield, could've played outfield, pitcher, whatever. He just comes to play every day ... whatever role we put him in that day, he's going to go out and give you 100%.
Q. What do you consider the most memorable moments of the season?
Pullen: Probably the best game that we played all year was in the region [semifinal] against Millbrook. Everything seemed to come together, seemed to click. We pitched well, we played defense well and that was our best offensive performance all [season] against a quality, quality team in Millbrook and a quality pitcher on the mound [in Dylan Apfel]. We were up for that game, and we were ready to go and further our season, we weren't ready to go home yet. So that was the most complete game that we played against good competition, I believe.
— Compiled by Joe Tuman