Glenwood claims fourth straight state title
BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Outside of Glenwood School’s baseball program, Wednesday’s state championship result might have felt expected.
Inside the program, it still felt extraordinary.
The No. 1 Gators (34-8) notched their fourth consecutive state championship victory on May 20, defeating Gordo High School 8-2 in Game 2 of the Class 3A state championship series at Jacksonville State University one year after beating the same opponent for the title.
For head coach Tim Fanning, the championship marked his 12th state title in 22 seasons at Glenwood — 10 in the AISA and the last two in the AHSAA. Yet the latest title carried its own meaning for a veteran group that waited years for its opportunity in the spotlight.
“I just think it speaks to the culture and history of the Glenwood baseball program and the buy-in from our players on a yearly basis,” Fanning said. “It’s a special feeling for a coach to know that the kids want to do everything in their power to contribute in whatever way possible. It’s not a common thing, so I don’t want it to be treated as common — it’s special.”
The celebration reflected that feeling.
When junior Trey Claridy fired a final strike past Gordo to end Game 2, Glenwood players stormed the mound for another championship dog pile — celebrating as if it were the program’s first title rather than its fourth straight.
The clinching victory came one day after Glenwood rolled to an 18-6 win in Game 1 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford.
Many expected Glenwood to take a step back after graduating a dominant senior class led by Mason McCraine, Tyler Sykes and Levi Pinder in 2025. Instead, the Gators answered with another dominant campaign, ending the season on a 17-1 run.
“It was motivation, just hearing the town say we lost all those great players,” senior second baseman Cal Lawrence said. “It made you want to step up and be bigger in moments. This is a fun team. I loved it.”
After dropping Game 2 to Wicksburg High School in the second round of the playoffs, Glenwood responded by winning 11 of its final 12 postseason games while outscoring opponents 159-40.
Against No. 3 Gordo High School (32-10), the Gators overwhelmed the Green Wave offensively, winning the first two games by a combined score of 26-8.
Claridy powered the offense in Game 1, going 3-for-3 with five RBI, while senior first baseman Kade Cox finished 4-for-5 with five runs scored. Senior Andrew Wilkinson added a two-run homer in the sixth inning to help put the game away.
Junior pitcher Cooper Favors earned the win before senior Peter Sfkanios and Claridy combined to close out the game.
Game 2 featured far less offense but more of the same result.
Sophomore starter Rhett English escaped early trouble before senior Ethan Henderson delivered two dominant scoreless innings in relief, striking out four batters and getting the win.
Offensively, Glenwood capitalized on four Greenwave errors.
Carter Judah opened the game with a leadoff triple, and Wilkinson drove in two runs during a four-run first inning. Cox added three hits, while Claridy drove in another run to cap a six-RBI series.
Senior Cayden Edwards worked through the sixth inning before Claridy closed out the championship with another scoreless frame.
“It’s funny because when you play a long season, a lot of times you tend to see some dips toward the end because of people getting tired,” Fanning said. “With this team, it was the other way around. As the season progressed, offensively, they just got better and better. It didn’t feel like a grind to them. It felt like fun.”
The dominant finish followed a turning point earlier in the spring.
After a 7-4 loss to Northside High School in Georgia, on March 30, players held what Fanning described as a “matter-of-fact” meeting that challenged the team to improve its focus and work ethic.
Judah said the senior class responded by embracing the extra work.
“I think it lit a fire in us to want to be better,” Judah said. “Just taking the extra reps, doing all the extra stuff people don’t want to do.”
From that point forward, Glenwood finished the season 20-2, with losses only to Central-Phenix City (7A) and Wicksburg High School.
The Gators thrived with an unselfish offensive approach built around bunting, moving runners, stealing bases and working deep counts. Even with several hitters batting above .400, Glenwood consistently pressured opposing pitchers throughout the lineup.
Judah led the team with 58 hits and 58 runs scored, while Lawrence drove in 46 runs and hit a team-best seven home runs. Cox posted a team-high .487 batting average, and sophomore Nate Malone stole 23 bases.
“Talking to teams we’ve played, I’ve had coaches tell me, ‘There’s no breaks in your lineup,’” Fanning said. “There’s just not a lot of places to go for outs. Our nine-hole hitter [Asher Long] hit .380, [Wilkinson] has as much pop as anybody in the lineup and [Moss] ended up hitting over .300 out of the eight hole.”
The offense drew attention throughout the postseason, but Glenwood’s pitching staff also delivered in key moments despite injuries to several top arms.
Favors finished 12-2 with a 1.30 ERA and 77 strikeouts, while English went 8-0 and allowed no home runs all season.
“They never flinched,” Fanning said of his pitchers. “They have ultimate confidence in our defense, and they trusted the process of what we’ve been doing all year — pound the zone and give our defense a chance to make a play for us.”
The Gators now turn toward a new challenge as the they prepare to move into Private Class 2A next season. Despite the reclassification and roster turnover, the program’s standard remains unchanged.
Two years after leaving the AISA, Glenwood still has not lost a playoff series and has captured back-to-back 30-win seasons and consecutive AHSAA state championships. The Gators continue to cement themselves as a high school baseball powerhouse, proving in the process that “dynasties never graduate.”
“I can tell you this: it hasn’t gotten old at all,” Fanning said. “What’s next is that we keep doing what we do.”
