Spring officially started on Thursday and the weather is very much trying to convince us that it’s really here.
But we all know that won’t happen until the 2025 RIIL spring sports season starts playing its first games.
The fall flew by and winter wasn’t the grind it usually is, sending us into a spring that seemed to arrive faster than usual. This season promises to be as good as springs of the past and with some of the talent the state has, may be better.
What stories are there? Plenty. We’ll discover many of them once athletes start hitting their respective fields. But there are also plenty of other stories and events we can’t wait to see happen as we try to be patient as fields dry out and teams get ready to go.
Below you’ll find 10 we’re looking forward to:
Maybe that title is putting a lot on West Warwick’s Lisa Raye, but her chances of someday running in the Summer Olympics is definitely within her grasp. Since her freshman year, Raye has been the perfect superstar — quiet, unassuming and willing to put on a show every time she steps on the track. She’s the fastest high school sprinter in the country and there’s no question about her winning gold medals at the state championships; it’s more about how many records she’ll shatter. Raye is a special athlete — probably ranking behind Elizabeth Beisel as the second-greatest high school athlete, boy or girl, in the state’s history. Whether it’s an ordinary dual meet or at states, watching her in person is really the only way you can appreciate her talent. Alas, this spring will be your last chance to see her on a high school track, as Raye announced she’ll be graduating West Warwick one year early to attend the University of Georgia and start her college training in the fall. Don’t blink, because you just might miss her.
It didn’t take long for Phoenyx Silva to establish herself as one of Rhode Island’s best softball players. She came in playing with the type of fire and intensity you rarely see on the field, never mind from a freshman. While she’s calmed her approach — valuing fun as much as the competition — over the last three years, what she does to close her magical career will be something to watch. Silva is the most dangerous hitter the state has ever seen. Her ability to hit any ball that comes near the plate to a different time zone is something to see, but her discipline in the box is more impressive. Better than that, Silva has developed into a leader and while this iteration of La Salle softball might be the best team in the history of the state, Silva won’t let anyone think a state title will just be surrendered.
There won’t be a team hungrier for a title than the North Kingstown boys volleyball team. The Skippers’ impressively talented senior class has been the state’s best regular-season team the last two seasons, only to suffer two heartbreaking losses. As sophomores, they were upset at home in the D-I semifinals by Chariho; last year, NK had four championship points in the fifth set before falling to La Salle. With three first-team All-Staters back from last season — outside hitters Ryan Harrington and Cody Tow, along with libero Stephen Dufour — watching the Skippers lock in and navigate the spring will be something to watch. Revenge Tour, activated.
There’s a reason the La Salle boys lacrosse team is going for a 13th straight state title and the Moses Brown girls lacrosse team is chasing its ninth in the last 10 seasons. This is the part where the vast majority of the state cries about recruiting and private schools and completely ignores the cultures that both programs spent over a decade building. These are high school teams run like college programs where players come in wanting and willing to be pushed to the limit. There are no excuses, just accountability, and the results speak for themselves. The Rams and Quakers leave you with two choices — be appreciative of their greatness or envious. They’re going to keep working toward it either way and if something doesn’t go right — and with the talent both have, state titles seem like a lock — they’ll be the first to line up and congratulate the team that beats them.
Throwers don’t usually garner the same type of attention runners receive during the track season. Even at the state championships while all eyes are on the track, the throwing events are off in the distance, a mere afterthought for the meet. Woonsocket’s Shamrock Thoun might change that this spring. Thanks to Marc Piette, the Villa Novans have become the state’s best throwing program and Thoun is their next great superstar. The junior fully committed to throwing in the last year, changing his diet and workouts. This winter, he earned his first state gold. He followed that with wins in two national meets, setting himself up for what could be a record-breaking spring. Who’s records? Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, the former Woonsocket star who’s now one of the best in the country at Ole Miss. Thoun doesn’t quite possess the same swagger as the Woonsocket alum, but he lets his talent speak for him.
I’m not sure if it’s being done purposely or has happened simply by coincidence, but the RIIL’s scheduling of its fall and winter championships has been practically perfect. For years the league stacked championship weekends — with three-plus events happening on a single day. Families are sometimes forced to choose between their children’s games, students weren’t able to support a classmate because they were busy supporting another playing at the same time and championship teams weren’t given the shine they deserved because of how many events were happening at once. Things changed this season and hopefully, with a bounty of spring sports, the RIIL can line the schedule up so we can continue to have one sport — or at most, two — having its championship on that particular day.
Patrick Clemmey hasn’t had a chance to start a varsity game, but he’ll have plenty of eyes on him in his senior season. Expectations will be high around Hendricken’s 6-foot-5, left-handed senior pitcher, but the excitement surrounding Clemmey should be less about seeing how he compares to brother Alex — now a top prospect in the Washington Nationals system — and more about getting a chance to play high school baseball. An arm injury took him off the field his sophomore season and his health was paramount as he continued to recover his junior year. Clemmey, who’s set to attend and play at Vanderbilt in the fall, can throw in the 90s, which is certainly something to watch regardless of who’s doing it. Seeing Clemmey healthy and having this opportunity makes it even better.
The battles for state championships will be more dramatic in some sports than others, but it’s hard not to consider the chase for state golf glory — both boys and girls — as the closest race in the state. There is plenty of talent on the boys side, but seeing Prout sophomore defending champ Rocco Capalbo duke it out with La Salle sophomore Drew MacLeod at Cranston Country Club again will be even more exciting than it was last year. The girls field is equally loaded with La Salle senior Olivia Williams back to defend her crown — her second in three seasons — with Barrington senior Lily Dessel and Moses Brown’s Adriana Eaton — the 2023 champ — creating a three-horse race that will likely come down to the final hole of the season.
There are few better parts of spring than seeing random star athletes competing in a spring sport for the first time. It’s usually a senior who’s wrapped up their final basketball season or was done with the grind of year-round soccer and wants to compete with their friends one final time. They pick up a lacrosse stick or racket, or give volleyball a try, or see if they can contribute on a baseball or softball field. Seeing athletes be athletes is always fun, but seeing stars take on the challenge of a sport completely out of their comfort zone also shows you how great high school sports are. Who will it be this year? We’ll start seeing names in a few weeks, but you can be certain that by late April, there will be at least one kid out there playing a big role in chasing a championship with their friends.
In many of these types of stories, Xenia Raye gets lumped in with her sister. The truth of the matter is that she deserves her own recognition and the spring is the time she gets to shine. Xenia is one of the greatest track athletes the state’s ever produced and if things go right, she’ll get a chance to have a record-setting season. While younger sister Lisa is the better of the two in shorter distances, Xenia sparkles in the 400. It’s a perfect event for her, a blend of power and speed, and her dominance in the race isn’t hard to see. Last spring she set a state meet record with a time of 54.43. If she closes her impossibly amazing career at West Warwick with a state record and another team title, it would be a fitting final chapter before she moves on to Georgia and beyond.
