About The Baltimore Catholic League
In its 54th season in 2024-25, the Baltimore Catholic League (BCL) is comprised of eight Catholic high schools in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County — Archbishop Spalding High School, Calvert Hall College, The John Carroll School, Loyola Blakefield, Mount St. Joseph High School, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, St. Frances Academy and associate member St. Mary's High School.
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The league, founded prior to the 1971-72 school year, is one of the most prestigious boys’ high school basketball leagues in the country. Several alumni have gone on to star in college basketball at all levels and in the NBA.
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Jack Degele is in his 25th season as the Baltimore Catholic League commissioner. The 2024-25 BCL athletic directors are Jonathan Mellinger (Archbishop Spalding), Dan Mulford (Calvert Hall), Seth Goldberg (John Carroll), Blake Henry (Loyola), Kraig Loovis (Mount St. Joseph), Jesse Thomas (Mount Carmel), Nicholas Myles (St. Frances) and Tom Smith (St. Mary's).
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The 2024-25 BCL head coaches are Josh Pratt (Archbishop Spalding), David Gately (Calvert Hall), Seth Goldberg (John Carroll), Josh Czerski (Loyola), Pat Clatchey (Mount St. Joseph), Tony Martin (Mount Carmel), Nicholas Myles (St. Frances) and Trey Quinn (St. Mary's).
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The BCL plays a double round-robin schedule each season. Archbishop Spalding, Calvert Hall, John Carroll, Loyola, Mount St. Joseph, Mount Carmel and St. Frances are members of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A Conference, and BCL contests also count in the MIAA A Conference standings.
For the 2024-25 season, the BCL is a seven-team league in the regular season as associate member St. Mary's plays in the MIAA B Conference and is an invited participant to the 2025 BCL Tournament.
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At the end of the season, the eight schools participate in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament, which has been held in college gymnasiums and arenas throughout the Baltimore area in front of thousands of fans each year, since the first event in 1972. The winner of the BCL Tournament receives the Brother D. John Smith, FSC Memorial Trophy, which is kept in the possession of the winning school until the following year. A committee of former coaches and media select the All-Tournament team, the John M. Plevyak Most Valuable Player Award (named for the late Mount St. Joseph athletic director) and the Dan Popera Sportsmanship Award (named for the late Archbishop Curley head coach).
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Each season, the BCL coaches and select media vote for the Jerry Savage Player of the Year (named for the late Loyola coach and one of the BCL’s founders), the O. Ray Mullis Coach of the Year (named for the late Cardinal Gibbons head coach), the Mark Amatucci Defensive Player of the Year (named for the former Calvert Hall head coach), the Cokey Robertson Most Improved Player of the Year (named for the former St. Maria Goretti head coach), the Dave Kropfelder Never, Never Quit Awards (named for the late Mount St. Joseph star athlete, and later a referee, and given to one player at each school) as well as All-Baltimore Catholic League honorees. The selections are announced at a luncheon for all of the BCL teams and coaches after the conclusion of the regular season.
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The Baltimore Catholic League was established May 11, 1971, when the six original members — Archbishop Curley, Calvert Hall, Cardinal Gibbons, Loyola, Mount St. Joseph and Towson Catholic — broke away from the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) in basketball to form their own independent league, while remaining members of the MSA in all other sports. Calvert Hall, Loyola and Mount St. Joseph are the three remaining original members of the BCL. St. Frances became a member in 1988-89, Archbishop Spalding was added to the league for the 1997-98 season, John Carroll joined the BCL in 2010-11, Mount Carmel gained membership to the league in 2011-12 and St. Mary's became an associate member in 2024-25.
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BCL school graduates have earned 13 McDonald’s All American, 12 Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year and 22 Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year honors through the end of the 2023-24 academic year. BCL graduates have been selected 13 times in the NBA Draft, including four in the first round in the past five years. The undefeated 1981-82 Calvert Hall team finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation by Basketball Weekly and National Sports News Service. Two schools — Calvert Hall (1982) and St. Frances (1996) — won the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Frostburg, Md.
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The BCL has recognized 82 players, coaches, athletic directors and administrators as Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Famers. The league inducted BCL HOF classes in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2024.
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Follow the Baltimore Catholic League at BCLBasketball.com and on Twitter/X and Instagram at @BCLBasketball.
(updated 7/24)