Top Seeds Roll Into BCL Final Four as No. 1 St. Frances Sets Showdown with Spalding

Chance McCoy sparks the Panthers’ comeback, Mount Carmel begins its title defense and Mount Saint Joseph’s star duo erupts as Baltimore’s premier tournament reaches semifinal Monday.

Archbishop Spalding’s Colt Busse (right) defends John Carroll’s Aidan Able during Sunday’s Baltimore Catholic League Tournament quarterfinals at Loyola University. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers never trailed to advance to Monday’s semifinals against top-seeded Saint Frances Academy. / Derek Toney

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - The final four for the 56th Baltimore Catholic League basketball tournament is set as the top four seeds held serve with opening round victories Sunday at Loyola University of Maryland’s Reitz Arena.

Saint Frances Academy, the No. 1 team in the latest High School on SI Maryland Top 25, overcame a slow start to eliminate Loyola Blakefield, 74-57. Junior guard Chance McCoy posted a game-high 20 points for the Panthers (34-7), the BCL regular season champ and tourney top-seed.

Down 10 points in the first half, St. Frances outscored the Dons, 45-23, over the final 16 minutes. Anthony Smith added 15 points and six rebounds, and Jaliel Spears finished with 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds. 

Saint Frances’ Chance McCoy (center) is defended by Loyola’s Jayden Harper (1) and Caleb Hansberry during Sunday’s Baltimore Catholic League Tournament quarterfinals at Loyola University. McCoy had a game-high 20 points as the top-seeded Panthers overcame an early 10-point deficit to advance. / Derek Toney

The Panthers will play 11th-ranked Archbishop Spalding in Monday’s semifinals. The Cavaliers defeated No. 10 John Carroll School, 74-53, in the nightcap. 

Senior guard TJ Moultrie posted game-high 23 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers (20-13), and Nash Avery added 19 points. Parris Lee led John Carroll (22-10) with 21 points.

Spalding, the tourney’s No. 4 seed, led by as many as 26 points against the fifth-seeded Patriots. Colt Busse, a senior guard headed to East Tennessee State University, finished with 11 points and six rebounds. 

Defending BCL champ and third-ranked Our Lady of Mount Carmel got 14 points from Junior Mancho and Samartine Hill had 13 as they kicked off their title defense with a 53-46 victory over No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s. The No. 2 seed Cougars will play third-seed Mount Saint Joseph in Monday’s other semifinal.

The fourth-ranked Gaels defeated Calvert Hall College, 80-66. St. Joseph University recruit BJ Ranson and junior Saxton Smiley each finished with a game-best 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds. 

Chauncey Ward added 13 points for Mount Saint Joseph, which split with Mount Carmel during the regular season after playing in the 2025 BCL Tournament title game. Sophomore forward Billy Stanfield led Calvert Hall (14-21) with 20 points. 

Here are some takeaways from the opening day of the 56th BCL Tournament

Archbishop Spalding Has Another Opportunity to End Championship Drought

The No. 4/5 match in the BCL Tournament has often been the highlight of the event’s opening day. It was definitely that for Spalding Sunday evening which dominated John Carroll School. 

With high expectations tempered by several injuries during the regular season, the Cavaliers feel they’re in a good place.

“We’ve had injuries and all those things, but we’ve fought through it,” said Spalding coach Josh Pratt. “It made our bench stronger. I think coming off the summer we had, there were a lot of expectations and high standards. This was the toughest schedule I’ve had in 20 years.”

The Cavaliers played three Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) squads including nationally-ranked Saint Paul VI Catholic (Va.). Spalding participated in the Arby’s Classic in Virginia during the Christmas Holiday. 

The Severn (Md.) school went 9-1 (lost to Saint Frances) to close the regular season. The Cavaliers fell to Mount Saint Joseph in the first round of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A Conference quarterfinals. 

Spalding was focused Sunday, leading wire-to-wire. The Cavaliers’ 21-point winning effort is the second-largest in a BCL Tourney 4-versus-5 match played on a neutral court. 

In 2005 at Reitz Arena, St. Frances (No. 5) beat Spalding, 59-36. In 2018, with the higher seed hosting in the first round, No. 4 seed John Carroll defeated Calvert Hall, 93-52.

The Cavaliers next face top-seed and No. 1 Saint Frances Academy which narrowly swept them (70-67 and 66-63) during the regular season.

Spalding last won the BCL Tournament crown in 2002. 

“We’ve got to be ready to go, and our team defense has got to be really good,” said Pratt. “If we defend and rebound, we’ll be in the game,” he said.

Underdogs Loyola Blakefield and St. Mary’s Showed Grit

Despite combining for two league victories, Loyola Blakefield and Saint Mary’s provided intrigue Sunday. 

Loyola had Saint Frances, the tourney’s top-seed and the No. 1 team in the latest High School on SI Maryland Top 25, frustrated with a 10-point first quarter lead. The Panthers stormed back in the second half to advance.

“I’m so proud of our guys for buying into our game plan,” Dons coach Roger Garfield. “That’s an incredible team and there’s reason they’ve won a million championships…We just wanted to go down with no stone left unturned.”

Garfield completed his first season at Loyola Blakefield. He was previously an assistant at Gonzaga College (D.C.) where he was part of two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships and three District of Columbia state titles.

Loyola hasn’t reached a BCL Tournament final since 2009. 

The Dons finished 7-21 on the season.

“It’s tough to have moral victories,” said Garfield. “We celebrated our wins because we know how hard it is to win.”

Garfield said victories against Saint Mary’s and Boys’ Latin School were the most gratifying. The St. Mary’s win was the Dons’ lone BCL triumph.

Garfield commended the leadership of senior Colin Clevenger and Ayo Olofintila. The duo each finished with 13 points.

The Dons have eight letter winners scheduled back next season, led by Brant Hall Jr., BJ Simons and Kaleb Haysbert.

After losing by a combined 48 points in two regular-season meetings against Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Saints stayed with the defending BCL champs for most of their opening match Sunday.

The No. 3 Cougars won, 53-46.

It was the inaugural season for St. Mary’s in the Baltimore Catholic League as well as the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A Conference. The Saints’ only BCL win came against Loyola Blakefield on the road (72-45 in December).

The Saints won MIAA B titles in 2023 and 2024. Saint Mary’s was invited to participate in the 2025 BCL Tournament and lost, 61-45, in the opening round to Mount Carmel. 

“There’s no easy games,” said St. Mary’s coach Trey Quinn, whose team finished 9-26.

Six players shined brightest Sunday

Here’s the top performances from Sunday’s opening round:

Nash Avery, Archbishop Spalding

Avery, a transfer from North County, has firmly found his place. The 6-foot-7 junior wing forward had 19 points, five rebounds and two blocks in Spalding’s dominating effort. The Cavaliers shot nearly 60-percent Sunday, led by Avery’s nine-of-13 effort.

Junior Mancho, Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The hero in Mount Carmel’s MIAA A Conference title win earlier in the week, Mancho was steady again as the Cougars began their BCL title defense. The 6-8 junior center finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Mancho, a defensive stalwart, shot six-of-10 from the field.

Chance McCoy, Saint Frances Academy 

McCoy ignited the top-seeded Panthers after a slow start. The 6-foot junior guard scored a game-high 20 points including four 3-pointers. McCoy’s eight points in the second quarter helped position the Panthers for their second half run after they trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half. 

TJ Moultrie, Archbishop Spalding

Moultrie, like his Cavalier mates, was impressive in their first match in nearly two weeks. The 6-1 senior guard had 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists as Spalding never trailed Sunday. He did most of his damage in the first three quarters with 21 points.

BJ Ranson, Mount Saint Joseph

Ranson rebounded from a tough outing in  the MIAA A semifinals (eight points in loss to Saint Frances). The Saint Joseph’s University-bound guard had 22 points and seven rebounds in the Gaels’ win over Calvert Hall College. Ranson, the BCL Player of the Year, was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Saxton Smiley, Mount Saint Joseph

Smiley is another newcomer to the BCL/MIAA A who has found his stride. The 6-6 senior transfer from Gonzaga College (D.C.) had 22 points and seven rebounds in Mount Saint Joseph’s win over Calvert Hall. Smiley (13 points in the second half), along with BJ Ranson, accounted for more than half of the Gaels’ points.