Baltimore Catholic League

The Baltimore Catholic League (BCL), locally known as the Catholic League is a competitive basketball association composed of private Catholic high schools in the Baltimore, Maryland geographic area.

History

The BCL was founded in 1972, after the Baltimore high school basketball season culminated with Mt. St. Joseph High School defeated Dunbar High School in the MSA Championship game. This game is known as one of the most remarkable and controversial games in Baltimore high school basketball history. The impetus for the creation of the BCL arrived in the off-season. The goal was to make a separate division from the MSA, which is the league for all high school athletics in the Baltimore area, public or private. The BCL created a division that was strictly for Baltimore area Catholic High Schools.

It is alleged that the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) was the model for the BCL. The BCL was originally composed of most of the schools in the list below; with the most recent addition being Archbishop Spalding in 1997-98. At different times during the league's history, Archbishop Curley High School has been a member.

The Cardinal Gibbons School has the most BCL championships to date. O. Ray Mullis, head coach at Cardinal Gibbons, has the most all-time wins of any coach in Baltimore City history (621 wins) while simultaneously claiming the most BCL championships. Other notable coaches in the league included Mark Amatucci, formerly of Calvert Hall College, who won a national championship in the early 80s; Cokey Robertson, formerly of St. Maria Goretti High School, Pat Clatchey, of Mount Saint Joseph High School, William Wells, formerly of (St.Frances Academy) and Jerry Savage, formerly of Loyola Blakefield.

Notes

*The current(2007-08) BCL regular season champion is Mount Saint Joseph High School, coached by Pat Clatchey, and led by Georgetown bound senior Henry Sims.
*The current(2007-08) BCL tournament champion is St. Frances Academy, coached by William Wells, and led by Maryland bound senior Sean Mosley.
*There are two All-League teams: the 1st Team and 2nd Team as well as honorable mention.

Scheduling

The league works in cooperation with the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Seven of the 8 teams participate in the MIAA A Conference, which results in each team playing each other twice, once home and once away. St. Maria Goretti is the only member of the BCL that does not participate in the MIAA; however, three schools participate in the MIAA 'A' conference, but do not participate in the BCL: The John Carroll School, McDonogh School, and St. John's Catholic Prep.

After the conclusion of the season, the BCL sponsors a league tournament held at Loyola College's Reitz Arena. The event usually occurs after the MIAA Conference Championship with all 8 teams of the league participating. It is a single-elimination tournament with 4 quarterfinal matchups, 2 semi-final games, and a championship game. The Junior Varsity (JV) teams also play in the tournament; however, it is not played at Loyola College. Each game of the JV tournament is held at the home of the higher seed.

BCL Game of the Week

Beginning with the 2006-2007 season, RC Sports Productions will broadcast a Baltimore Catholic League Game of the Week on [http://www.v1370.com 1370 WVIE] in Baltimore.Check BCLbasketball.com for radio schedule on the 07-08 campaign.

Participating Schools

*Towson Catholic High School
*St. Frances Academy [http://www.sfacademy.org]
*Calvert Hall College High School
*Loyola Blakefield
*St. Maria Goretti High School [http://www.goretti.org]
*The Cardinal Gibbons School [http://www.cardinalgibbonsschool.com]
*Archbishop Spalding High School [http://archbishopspalding.org]
*Mount Saint Joseph High School

Notable BCL alumni

Listed below are former BCL players who later joined the NCAA or NBA.

Towson Catholic Owls:
*Donte Greene '07: NCAA Syracuse Orange
*Malcolm Delaney '07: NCAA Virginia Tech Hokies
*Carmelo Anthony '02: NBA Denver Nuggets, NCAA Syracuse Orange via Oak Hill Academy (Virginia)
*Darnell Hopkins '02: NCAA Murray State Racers
*Keith Jenifer '00: NCAA Murray State Racers, Virginia Cavaliers, via Hargrave Military Academy
*Carroll Mitchell '05: NCAA DII Philadelphia Rams
*Jamal Smith '04: NCAA Wagner Seahawks
*Lawrence Nwevo '05: NCAA Lamar Cardinals
*Josh Czerski '07: NCAA DIII Penn State-York

Calvert Hall Cardinals:
*Juan Dixon '98: NBA Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards, NCAA Maryland Terrapins
*Duane Ferrell '84: NBA Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors, NCAA Georgia Tech
*Jack McClinton '02: NCAA Miami Hurricanes, Siena Saints via South Kent Prep
*Ricky Harris '05: NCAA UMass Minutemen via Winchendon School
*Russell Frederick '06: NCAA DII Philadelphia Rams
*Braxton Dupree '07: NCAA Maryland Terrapins
*Kyle Jarczynski '07: DIII St. Mary's Seahawks
*Calvin Wise '05: NCAA DIII St. Mary's Seahawks
*Maurice Martin '04: NCAA DII Philadelphia Rams
*Gary Neal '02: NCAA Towson Tigers, LaSalle Explorers
*Doug Able '87: NCAA Boston College Eagles
*Tony Carter-Hill '07: NCAA DIII Emmanuel College Saints
*Japp Haynes '07: NCAA DIII Frostburg State

Spalding Cavaliers:
*Marquis Sullivan '05 NCAA Loyola Greyhounds
*Rudy Gay '04: NBA Memphis Grizzlies, NCAA UConn Huskies
*Will Bowers '03: NCAA Maryland Terrapins
*Derek Young '06: NCAA Navy Midshipmen
*David Douglas' 03: NCAA Widener University
*Derrick Snowden '00: NCAA Villanova Wildcats
*Justin Castleberry '05: NCAA Bucknell Bison
*Lawrence Dixon '05: NCAA Holy Cross Crusaders
*Gus Durr '03: NCAA Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
*Jason Loghry '04: NCAA Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
*Landy Thompson '02: NCAA Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
*Jesse Brooks '04: NCAA UMES Hawks via Notre Dame Prep (MA)
*Isaac Brooks '00: NCAA UMES Hawks
*Chris Ravello '01: NCAA Canisius Golden Griffins
*AJ Janosek '08: NCAA Maryland Terrapins
*Chris Rutland '03: NCAA McDaniel College Green Terror
*Danny Quinn '06: NCAA Catholic University Cardinals
*Nick DeSouza '07: NCAA DIII Goucher College Gophers
*Aleksander Pavlovic '99: NBA Cleveland Cavaliers

Gibbons Crusaders:
*Steve Wojciechowski 1994: NCAA Duke Blue Devils
*Quintin Dailey 1979: NBA Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers and Seattle SuperSonics, NCAA San Francisco Dons
*Leon Williams '04: NCAA Ohio Bobcats
*Kenny Hasbrouck '04: NCAA Siena Saints via Maine Central Prep
*Josh Davalli '97: NCAA Towson Tigers
*Donatas Visockis '05: NCAA Southern Miss. Golden Eagles
*Brett Foelber '04: NCAA DIII McDaniel Green Terror, Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets
*Dwight Dean '02: NCAA DIII Lincoln Lions, DI South Carolina State Bulldogs, Cecil CC Seahawks
*Luke McCrone '02: NCAA Harvard Crimson
*Glen Nelson '03: NCAA North Carolina A&T Aggies, Cecil CC Seahawks
*Pat Grace '05: NCAA DIII United States Merchant Marine Academy
*Brahn Jenkins '03: NCAA Fairleigh Dickinson
*Joel Smith '06: NCAA DIII Goucher College Gophers
*Alex Franz '07: DIII St. Mary's Seahawks
*Ricky Anger '07: DIII Widener University Aggies

St. Frances Panthers:
*Desmond Thomas '07: NCAA Morgan State Bears
*Mark Karcher '97: NCAA Temple Owls
*Darnell Harris '04: NCAA LaSalle Explorers
*Reggie Holmes '05: NCAA Morgan State Bears
*Shawn Hampton '98: NCAA VCU Rams via Bowie State
*Earl Badu '97: NCAA Maryland Terrapins
*Demetruis Charles '97: NCAA Duquesne Dukes
*Phil Dixon '92: NCAA DIII Shenandoah College
*Jamal Brunt '99: NCAA DIII Randolph-Macon College
*Dwayne Allen '06: NCAA Morgan State Bears
*Aric Brooks '07: NCAA Jacksonville University Dolphins
*Sean Mosley '08: NCAA Maryland Terrapins

Loyola Dons:
*Chris Clunie '02: NCAA Davidson Wildcats
*Essien Ford '03: NCAA DIII Widener Aggies
*Pat O'Connell '06: NCAA DIII Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
*Anthony Guy '78: NCAA Kansas Jayhawks
*Pete Budko '77: NCAA North Carolina Tar Heels
*Brian Cosgrove '98: NCAA DIII Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
*Sal Schittino '08: NCAA DIII Wahsington College Shoremen
*James Davenport '08: NCAA DIII St. Mary's Seahawks
*Patrick Lowe '08: NCAA DIII Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Redhawks
*Wes Unseld, Jr. '93: NCAA DIII Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

Goretti Gaels
*Rodney Monroe '87: NBA Atlanta Hawks, NCAA NC State Wolfpack
*Phil "Boo" Lane '96: Manhattan University
*Lee Green '99: North Texas University
*Rodney Gibson '01: NCAA St. Francis University
*Matt Spierenburg '02: NCAA Catholic University
*Marcus Hudson '02: NCAA Shippensburg Raiders
*Joe Breslin '03: NCAA Washington College Shoremen
*Derrick Davis '03: NCAA South Carolina State Bulldogs
*Gene Johnson '06: NCAA Morgan State Bears
*Joe Spierenburg '06: NCAA Gettysburg Bullets
*Andrew Chambers '06: NCAA Washington College Shoremen
*Logan Bolinger '07: NCAA Kenyon Lords

Mount Saint Joseph Gaels:
*Will Thomas '04: NCAA George Mason Patriots
*Louis Birdsong '06: NCAA George Mason Patriots
*Dino Gregory '07: NCAA Maryland Terrapins
*Brian Johnson '05: NCAA Delaware Blue Hens via Winchendon School
*Kevin Swecker '06: NCAA Longwood Lancers
*Chase Adams '06: NCAA Centenary College Gents
*Dejuan Goodwin '06: NCAA Marist Red Foxes
*Anthony Fair '03: NCAA Towson Tigers
*Jamell Walker '07: NCAA DII Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals
*Henry Sims '08: NCAA Georgetown Hoyas
*Justin McCoy '08: NCAA Coppin State Eagles
*Desmond Ragsdale '12
*Mary Deboy '08: NCAA DIII Wahsington College Shoremen
*Chris Olsen '08: NCAA DIII Wahsington College Shoremen

External links

* [http://www.digitalsports.com/conference/confid/1.aspx MIAA SPORTS]
* [http://www.bclgameoftheweek.com BCL Game of the Week]
* [http://www.loyolahoops.com Loyola Blakefield Basketball]
* [http://www.Bmorehoops.com BMore Hoops]
* [http://www.Midatlantichoops.com Mid-Atlantic Hoops]
* [http://eteamz.active.com/ashsbasketball/ Archbishop Spalding Basketball]