Nick Barone of Los Cadejos runs to first base on a hit against Mexico at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

It’s not uncommon for familiar names to ring out at Bowman Field for the Williamsport Crosscutters.

Even with an MLB Draft League player pool filled with diverse talents across the country and abroad, it’s typical for local prodigies to make their way back to Bowman as they continue through the next step of a hopefully illustrious career.

And for Williamsport, 2026 has been no exception.

Much has been written and discussed regarding Montoursville graduate Maddix Dalena. A current portal prospect most recently out of the University of Connecticut, Dalena has taken the league by storm with exceptional hitting numbers that tops the table of the MLB Draft League.

Dalena’s 2026 with Williamsport has been the goal of the hundreds of athletes that partake in the Draft League, including but not limited to another local prodigy looking to break into a talented Crosscutter team.

For a near decade, Loyalsock graduate and current Liberty outfielder Nick Barone stood both on opposite sides in high school and the same side of the diamond for travel ball, individually grinding out and improving their respective games for the eyes of college scouts.

Now? In addition to college looks, the two play in front of pro scouts as their collegiate careers reach the twilight and a potential professional career stands in front of them.

“We played travel ball from U10 all the way through high school,” Barone discussed. “Yeah, in high school we were rivals, but we grew up playing together so we’ve been best friends since a young age. So it’s really cool to get to play together again.”

From the high school level, it was clear Barone was a talent not to be ignored. A former all Sun-Gazette first-team member, Barone was a cornerstone for a Lancers team that clinched a state-tournament appearance his junior year. Across four years as a starter for Loyalsock, the Montoursville native would bat near just under a .500 mark.

“It’s nice,” said Barrone on being back at Bowman Field for the summer. “I played here in high school for district games. Just to be at home playing again and my family to come see me, it means alot.”

The high school plaudits earned the local prodigy a scholarship at West Virginia University. But it would be his junior-year transfer to Liberty where the outfielder properly shined. In two seasons with the Flames, Barone would feature in 118 fixtures batting .304 with 110 runs batted in, 60 extra base hits and 89 runs scored.

Barone’s talents with Liberty were critical, with the Flames going a monstrous 43-21 that saw a Conference USA title appearance and an Athens Regional Final appearance.

“It was awesome,” Barone reminisced. “It was a great way to end my college career. Not everyone gets to make it to a regional and I fortunately got to see three of them and a super regional (with West Virginia) out of my four years. To end on a high note like that, to win 40 games and make a regional and play in that atmosphere one last time, it was awesome.”

As a late entry for the Cutters due to Liberty’s run in the regionals, the Montoursville native has so far batted two for 15 for Williamsport, a statistic that’s misleading with five walks and three runs scored for a .381 on base percentage that shows that MLB Draft League is a place where Barone can thrive against stellar competition.

“Everybody here has played for so many different teams,” echoed Barone. “So you get thrown into new teams with new guys, we all have been a thousand times. So it’s nothing serious and it’s very quick to adjust.”

Barone will look for his run of form to improve Thursday, with the Crosscutters hosting the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to conclude a six-game home stretch.