The faces of the spring. Here are Charlotte-area private teams and players to watch

Spring sports underway for the area’s private schools, and we wanted to recognize some of the region’s top teams and players in our annual “Sweet 16” countdown:

Collin Adams, Charlotte Latin Golf: The Wake Forest commit is also ranked the No. 2 junior golfer in the state, according to the Tar Heel Youth Golf Association (TYGA).

Wake Forest golf coach, Jerry Haas, says “… (Collin) is not afraid to make birdies and shoot low scores. He’s probably one of the best ball strikers we’ve ever recruited and has blossomed so beautifully later in junior career. We’ve watched him for a long time and are excited about the future.”

This season, Adams look to finish his high school golf career by adding a NCISAA state title to his resume.

Spenser Bailey, Westminster Catawba Track: Westminster Catawba is starting a track program for the first-time ever, largely because COVID-19 brought a very gifted runner (in Spenser Bailey) to their school, according to athletic director Rich Engle.

Bailey, a senior who transferred from Brookline High School (MA), already showed he was among the states’ best, winning the NCISAA 2A state cross country title.

Bailey, who has interest from schools like American University, Bellarmine University and Converse College, will look to put himself in the state championship conversation in several events (800, 1600, 3200-meter runs) this spring.

Delaney Brown, Davidson Day Lacrosse: The Patriots’ junior already has 104 career goals in her Davidson Day lacrosse career that began in 7th grade.

Brown is looking to build on her freshman season (2019) when she poured 66 goals, had 18 assists, 47 groundballs and 72 draw controls, helping her Davidson Day team to their first NCISAA playoff berth.

Cannon School Boys’ Golf Team: The Cougars’ have the rare luxury of returning the last two individual state champions in Todd Moyer (2019) and Narayan Mohan (2018, University of North Carolina commit) to go with the two-time NCISAA 4A state championship team.

Cannon School has another squad with championship expectations as senior Charlie Barr (High Point University commit) is also back on a team “that looks (like it’s) is going to have one of the best teams it has even had in 2021,” according to Cougars’ golf coach Pat Whisenant.

Carmel Christian Baseball Team: The Carmel Christian baseball team played for a NCISAA 3A state title in 2019, and was ranked No. 1 in 3A when the 2020 season was shutdown (COVID-19).

This year, Coach Chris Manriquez and company take on a new challenge as they make the move to NCISAA class, 4A.

Carmel Christian will look to veterans in senior shortstop Gage Lewis, senior pitcher Daniel Jones and junior third baseman Tyler Roakes, but will also benefit from four junior transfers -- A.J. Anderson (Myers Park), Aidan Christmas (Ardrey Kell), Emmerson Monbarren (Charlotte Catholic) and Collin Poole (Providence).

Charlotte Christian Baseball Team: The Knights have 81 wins in the last three years, including the 2019 NCISAA 4A state championship.

This year, coach Greg Simmons’ roster is loaded with talent again, starting with senior left-handed pitcher Philip Abner (University of Florida commit), who has a 96-mile per hour fastball making him one of the top prospects in the country and a likely Major League Baseball draft pick in June.

Abner has plenty of help with senior shortstop J.D. Suarez (Charlotte 49ers’ commit) and a trio of juniors in pitcher/centerfielder Calvert Clark (Clemson commit), pitcher Everett Harris (N.C. State commit) and third baseman Judd Uttermark (Ole Miss commit) to fill out a roster that has championship goals from day one.

Charlotte Country Day Tennis: Coach Calvin Davis and the Charlotte Country Day boys’ tennis team has dominated the state, going 60-3, with the last three NCISAA 4A state titles in that span.

Davis, who has led the Bucs’ boys to 18 state championships in his tenure, has another veteran roster with seniors Sam Baumstein and Kaelen Van Cleef, juniors Sam Farnham and Nathan Jackson leading the way with two promising freshmen in Aaryan Chopra and Noah McDonald, also expected to make an immediate impact in the lineup.

This Charlotte Country Day team wants nothing less than for four-peat.

Hickory Grove Softball: The defending NCISAA 3A state champions return eight players from a year ago.

While they have a younger, overall roster, they have plenty of experience with junior Kalyn Taylor (.397, four doubles, 23 RBI in 2019) and sophomores Taryn Baucom (.353, 59 strikeouts), Cameron Fisher (.418, seven doubles) and Kaylin Garlick (all-state, .466, 11 doubles) to make a run a repeat.

Austyn Koppe, Metrolina Christian Track: The Warriors’ senior hurdler and sprinter is a five-time all-state and 11-time Metrolina Athletic Conference (MAC) champion. Koppe holds nine school records.

She has won MAC titles in seven different events since 7th grade, including the 100-meter hurdles, the 300-meter hurdles, the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 4 X 100, 4 X 200 and 4 X 400-meter relays.

Koppe will be a contender to win state titles in both the 100-meter hurdles (3rd-place at 2019 state meet) and 300-meter hurdles (5th-place at states in 2019) in her final high school season.

Jordan Little, Hickory Grove Baseball: The 6-foot-4 senior right-handed pitcher has a 92-mile per hour fastball.

Little, an East Carolina commit, also hit .364 with seven home runs in 2019 (last full season).

Little gives Hickory Grove a strong one-two punch on the mound with junior left-hander and UNC Wilmington commit Drew Lanzo (7-1, 0.82 earned-run average in 2019) also back in the lineup.

Megan and Paige Klingenberg, Charlotte Latin Lacrosse: The Klingenberg twin sister duo returns to lead the defending NCISAA champion Hawks (2019) in the midfield together this season.

The Charlotte Latin sisters will also continue their lacrosse careers in college at the University of Denver together.

Taylor Lafar, Charlotte Country Day Lacrosse: The U.S. Naval Academy commit returns to lead a Charlotte Country Day team that was 19-6 and an NCISAA Division I runner-up in their last full season (2019).

Lafar can score on his own, with 37 goals in 2019. He also had 27 assists and will be a key player again on a veteran Bucs’ team that has plenty of motivation after falling just one goal short of a state title in 2019 (7-6 loss to Christ School).

Christian Landis, Providence Day Cross Country: The U.S. Naval Academy commit has proven to be one of the best distance runners in the state, indoors, outdoors or on the cross country course.

Landis, who won the NCISAA 4A state cross country title this past fall (2020), will also be eager to defend is 3,200-meter outdoor state title (2019).

Providence Day is loaded once again with seniors Femi Cole (100, 200-meter dashes) and Colter Nichols (800, 1600-meters) on a Chargers’ team looking to win their sixth NCISAA 4A outdoor state championship in the last seven years.

Gabby Polsky, Cannon School Softball: The George Washington University commit returns to help her Cannon School team defend their NCISAA 4A state championship (2019).

Polsky can it done at the plate (.346 with one home run and 13 RBI in 2019) or behind the plate as the team’s catcher.

The Cougars have a solid core with Polsky, senior pitcher Jessi Dickerson and junior pitcher Sidney Rose, to try and stay on top.

Providence Day Girls’ Soccer Team: The Chargers are 55-8-4 in the last four years, winning the 2019 NCISAA 4A state title in that span.

Providence Day was 4-0 and nationally-ranked last year when the season was halted.

This year, Coach Dan Dudley says his team “is ready to defend their state title” with three all-state captains in seniors Morgan Hart (University of Georgia commit, 12 goals, 16 assists in 2019), Kennedy Jones (Elon commit, 29 goals, nine assists) and Katerina Peroulas (University of Pennsylvania commit, 20 goals, 17 assists) back.

SouthLake Christian Lacrosse: The Eagles have won the last two, NCISAA Division II state titles (2018 and 2019), going 25-8 in that span.

This year, junior midfielders, Matt Lutzel (52 goals and 25 assists as a freshman) and classmate, Tyler O’Brien, back to lead a younger team that will have a lot to prove if they can going to three-peat in 2021.