A third member of the Hopewell Vikings 2026 HS baseball team will be playing college baseball.
Hopewell senior outfielder and left-handed pitcher Ben McDonald has announced his commitment to play at West Liberty University in West Virginia.
Earlier this offseason, both catcher Charlie Smetana (USC Sumter) and shortstop Drew Donovan (Westminster) announced their college decision.
While at West Liberty University, McDonald will be performing the same role that he has here at Hopewell – playing the outfield and also being on the mound to pitch.
The big, 6’2”, 195-pound left-hander is able to get his fastball to the mid/upper 80’s, while also possessing a knee buckling curveball.
Since his days in Hopewell youth baseball, McDonald is an ABOVE AVERAGE defensive outfielder because of his speed and rifle for a arm.
At the plate, McDonald has tremendous power to right and center field along with the ability to generate extra base hits into the gap because of his power and speed.
This season with Hopewell, McDonald will be at the top of the pitching rotation and will likely be in a prominent spot in the batting order.
Vikings Sports Now was able to get Hopewell head coach Morgan Singletary’s thoughts on his standout senior.
”Ben is a big, strong kid,” said Singletary. “He has a lot of power at the plate and can get a lot behind his throws. He has come a long way on the mound and his stuff looks good going into this season.”
”At the plate, if he can put it all together and show the power and contact that we have seen at times over the summer and fall, then he can become a very dangerous hitter. Ben has all the metrics of a very good high school baseball player and a solid college player. I am excited to see how he brings it all together this season.”
Vikings Sports Now wants to congratulate McDonald and his family on this exciting news and wish him the best of luck this coming season.








