Larry Sheets
Gilman
In his first year as coach, the former Baltimore Oriole led a monumental turnaround at Gilman, guiding the Greyhounds — 3-16 last season — to a 27-5 mark and their first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship since 1996.
Aided by a group of assistants that included Justin Baker, Rob Heubeck, Keith Kormanik, John Xano and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Sheets took a foundation of talented young players, including nine sophomores, and preached the importance of discipline and confidence.
The results were astounding, with the 27 wins ranking as the most for any sports team in the history of Gilman athletics. Among those triumphs was an April game against Archbishop Spalding in which the Greyhounds rallied from a 9-0 deficit in the sixth to stun the Cavaliers, 10-9, in eight innings. They then rallied from a 5-0 deficit to top five-time defending champion Calvert Hall, 10-8, in the A Conference finals.
Sheets played six seasons for the Orioles, earning team MVP honors in 1987.