Matt Rieth is one of 17 players with senior/graduate student standing on the 2025 Rochester roster. If the Yellow Jackets can get past Ithaca and the rest of the Liberty League, look for them to make a significant run in the NCAA Playoffs. Rochester athletics photo by Josh Barber

By John McGraw
for D3baseball.com

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New Faces

Matthew Rienzi will be guiding the Mount St. Vincent Dolphins in 2025

Matthew Rienzi, Mount St. Vincent - A former Skyline Conference rival is now a Dolphin. Matthew Rienzi, who spent four seasons opposing the University of Mount Saint Vincent with St. Joseph's University Brooklyn, has been tabbed as the newest leader of the baseball program. "Ever since I have gotten into the coaches ranks, I had the urge to run my own program one day, so this is a dream come true," Rienzi said. "I'd also like to thank Kevin Kelley, Eric Hirschbein-Bodnar, and Peter Blumenauer for their help in building me into the coach I am today and investing in me." Rienzi's most recent stop was at Division-III Roger Williams University, where he held numerous roles on the coaching staff from September of 2022 up until the end of their 2024 campaign. Rienzi primarily served as the program's recruiting coordinator while also assisting in both practice and game day activities.

Matt Michalski, Keuka - Keuka College announced that Matt Michalski has been hired as the next Head Baseball Coach of the Wolves. "I am truly grateful to be a part of Keuka College and am extremely excited about the future of our baseball program," said Michalski. "With a strong focus on player development, effort, and accountability, we will grow not only as athletes but as individuals. Together, we're going to compete and set new standards for the program." Michalski came to Keuka College from SUNY Cortland, where he has been an assistant coach for five years. Before that, he was a player at SUNY Cortland, twice earning SUNYAC All-Conference honors and being named to the NCAA Division III World Series All-Tournament Team in 2015 as the Red Dragons won the National Championship.

Rich Pecoraro III, St. Jospeh's (Brooklyn) - St. Joseph's University introduced Rich Pecoraro III as the Brooklyn Bears' next head baseball coach. A 2013 graduate of St. Joseph's Long Island campus, Pecoraro brings over a decade of comprehensive experience in baseball operations, coaching, and program management to the position. Prior to joining SJNY, Pecoraro served as an assistant coach at SUNY Old Westbury for four years, beginning his tenure during the pandemic-abbreviated 2021 season. During this time, the Panthers made a pair of Skyline Conference tournament appearances, including a run to the conference championship series in his first season before falling to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, the eventual winners.

Ryan Stevens, SUNY Canton - Stevens, a veteran head coach at the collegiate level, has been tabbed the next leader of the SUNY Canton program. Stevens spent the past five years as the Head Baseball Coach at Wells while also serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Recruiting and the Head Golf Coach. He led the Express baseball team to their first winning record in program history in 2024 as the team finished the season 19-18 overall, an eight-win improvement from the previous season. Three players earned All-Conference honors following the season. Over his five seasons at the helm of the Express Stevens amassed 55 victories. "I am excited to join the staff and lead the program in the transition to the SUNYAC," Stevens said. "I look forward to getting started right away and meeting the returning players, while hitting the ground running in recruiting."

Tad Skelley, Vassar - Skelley will join the Brewers following a two-year stint as the head coach at Gordon College. Skelley was hired as the Gordon Head Coach in June of 2022 and led the Scots to an appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament in his first season. During his tenure, Skelley mentored two All-CCC First Team recipients along with two All-Region honorees. He also saw three College Sport Communicators Academic All-District selections and 13 named to the CCC All-Academic team. "I am honored to be entrusted with the Vassar Baseball program", said Skelley. "Vassar is undoubtedly one of the premier academic institutions in the country, and I am beyond excited to build a championship culture both on and off the field."

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Conference Previews

Patrick McGuire had a down year in 2024 and the Cardinal faithful will be looking for him to regain his 2023 form this season. St. John athletics photo by Hanife Gundogdu

Empire 8: Not too long ago, the Empire 8 conference was down to just four baseball-playing members after Ithaca, SUNY Canton and Stevens exited the league. Heading into 2025, a conference high nine schools will comprise the league’s hardball line-up card with the inclusion of newest members SUNY Brockport and SUNY Poly (Utica, N.Y.).

Utica (19-25) reached the Empire 8 Championship last year against St. John Fisher after dispatching Houghton and Russell Sage. Skipper Joe Milazzo is looking for consistency from the Pios this spring for a veteran group that only brought in 10 new faces. The last two UU freshmen classes have yielded the last two Empire 8 Rookies of the Year (Kooper Knabe, Jacob Scalise). All-region outfielder Josh Duval (.392 BA / .552 SLG / .484 OBP) leads a large returning group of 34 players. He finished fifth in the Empire 8 in batting average last spring. Questions could come on the mound where several newcomers will challenge the veterans for innings.

SUNY Poly will play their first season in the Empire 8 after spending  four years in the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Poly athletics photo

Newcomer SUNY Poly (18-16) went 5-3 against current Empire 8 opponents last year and that included an 18-run explosion against Utica in May. Five players that earned All-NAC recognition return for 2025.

Liberty League:The Liberty League is the only conference in the region with multiple divisions. The top four finishers in each division play a crossover elimination series where the winners then move on to a four team, double-elimination tournament. Ithaca has won the conference tournament three years in a row and just once in the current format has one of the regular season divisional winners not gone on to claim the postseason title (Ithaca, 2023).

 

Ithaca (31-11) racked three straight walk-off wins in the Liberty League tournament last spring to complete a three-peat. IC is 9-0 on Liberty League championship weekend in the current format. Ithaca graduated school all-time hits leader Louis Fabbo (.313, 52 H, 32 RBI)and lost several players to Division I transfer but still returns what manager David Valesente believes is a deep team with his strongest pitching staff yet. Four starting pitchers all return led by workhorse Colin Leyner (7-3, 3.84 ERA, 72 K, 86.2 IP), Jack Picozzi (4-2, 4.80 ERA, 50.2 IP, 60 K) and Jack Colyer (4-0, 2.94 ERA, 33.2 IP). Leyner opens the year with 190 strikeouts; tied for 6th most in school history. The Blue and Gold offense should be led Collin Feeney (.319, 40 R, 20 SB), Camden Laney (.337, 3 HR, 26 RBI) and Matt Curtis (.288, 41 RBI, 46 R). Ithaca’s every day line-up will include mostly juniors and seniors that have been a part of multiple conference crowns.

 

Two walk-off losses in as many days to Ithaca in the Liberty League playoffs kept Rochester (21-19) out of the NCAA tournament last spring. Rochester must replace two-time Liberty League Pitcher of the Year Nolan Sparks (4-2, 2.25 ERA, 60.0 IP, 80 K), who was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals,  but the balance of last year’s conference runner-up returns. Rochester stole 84 bases last spring; once again they’ll look to use speed and athleticism on offense while the coaching staff looks to spread innings out amongst the deep pitching staff. Two-way threat Colby Cruser (.443, 23 RBI / 2-1, 20.1 IP, 30 K), Sammy Besztery (.336 BA, .436 OBP, 20 RBI), Jackson Reed (.310, 49 H, 15 SB) and Josh Leadem (.264, 27 SB, 30 R) are the top bats for Rochester. They’ll be aided by grad transfer Sammy Smith (.292, 7 HR, 29 RBI) from Middlebury. Smith belted 18 career home runs at Middlebury. Mark Aaronson (3-2, 2 SV, 3.48 ERA, 49 K) projects to lead the UofR pitching staff with a weekend rotation that may feature several new faces.  

 

After piloting Mt. St. Vincent to new heights in the Skyline, John Muller, in his first season in Schenectady, guided Union (29-12) to a 14-win improvement and a return to league championship weekend. For those efforts, Muller and his staff garnered Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Union welcomes back Liberty League Player of the Year Caleb Miller (.374, 7 HR, 44 RBI) and a group hungry to build on last season’s success according to Muller. Joining Miller in a return to Schenectady are all-region selections Sam Strazza (.446, 7 HR, 36 RBI) and Kyle Zaslaw (.354, 5 HR, 44 RBI). There will be holes to fill with the transfer departures of Liberty League Rookie of the Year Jack Collins to divisional foe Skidmore and monster masher Liam McIlroy (.354, 13 HR, 53 RBI)to Division I Fairfield. The Garnet Chargers’ top returning pitchers are Chris Suter (6-3, 4.40 ERA, 71.2 IP, 44 K) and Jack Klein (2-0, 2.84 ERA, 25.1 IP, 22 K).

 

The road to the top of the East will run through Troy-Schenectady Road as Capital District rivals Union and RPI (20-14)should duke it out for divisional superiority. Jason Falcon, in his second season in Troy, steered the Engineers to a division title, 20 wins and the top seed in the conference tournament. RPI’s 2025 line-up will look very similar to 2024 with seven returning starters and four all-conference choices. All-leaguers Matt Chotiner (.355, 44 H, 29 R) and Jon Primerano (.309, 15 RBI, 13 DBL) along with Julian Scarpa (.315, 6 HR, 27 RBI) give the ‘Tute a trio of returning .300 hitters. Rylan Wade (4-2, 4.18 ERA, 47.1 IP) again will shoulder the load as RPI’s top weekend starter. Union and RPI square off on the final weekend of the regular season with a single game in Troy and then a twin bill in Schenectady.

 

Skidmore has finished with a minimum of 19 wins and a winning percentage above .500 for the last four full seasons. Skidmore athletics photo

Past the top four in the Liberty League, Skidmore (19-17) was the only other squad that finished above .500 last spring. The Thoroughbreds ran third in the East and then took Rochester to the limit in the crossover series but were done in by a pair of one-run losses. Skidmore has won at least 19 games in each of the last three seasons and saw Jackson Hornung drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. Skipper Ron Plourde has seven returning starters with seniors Zachary Leiderman (.388, 15 XBH, 27 RBI) and Trey Borque (.310, 5 HR, 34 RBI) leading the pack along with Owen Roy (.357, 20 RBI, 26 BB) and Sam Kornet (.308, 6 HR, 36 RBI) . Union transfer Jack Collins (6-1, 4.45 ERA, 56.2 IP) and Chase Siegel (4-2, 5.36 ERA, 42.0 IP) project to be Skidmore’s top two arms in the starting rotation.

  

RIT (15-20) forced Union to three games in the league’s crossover series and seven Tigers were named All-Liberty League last spring. Four of those Tigers are back in 2025 in reliever Luc Rising (3-1, 3 SV, 2.00 ERA, 36.0 IP) and position players Adam Marsh (.346, 26 R, 22 RBI), Jarin Moses (.292, 28 R, 24 RBI) and Charlie Slaymaker (.246, 4 HR, 27 RBI). Fifth year John Arnold (1-2, 5.61 ERA, 59.1 IP, 55 K) projects to lead the Orange and Black in innings for a third-straight season; he’s logged at least 50.0 frames in each of the last three years. Under longtime leader Rob Grow, the Tigers usually find their way into postseason contention.

 

While Union had the largest overall turnaround in the conference, Hobart (17-18) posted an eight-win improvement from year one to year two under Brad Cook. The Statesmen will need to replace all-region catcher Ty Gallagher (.351, 36 RBI, 12 DBL) but return everyone else on offense including speedsters Nate Johnson (.319, .439 OBP, 22 SB) and Christian Petry (.298, .465 OBP, 19 SB). From the group of returning mound men, all-conference starter Teck Nash (4-5, 3.45 ERA, 60.0 IP) and all-region reliever Nicholas Franchesi (4-3, 2 SV, 1.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 29 K) stand out. With a large group back from 2024, Hobart added just five first years.

 

In the North Country, Clarkson and St. Lawrence may slug it out for the final postseason spot or to stay out of the cellar. St. Lawrence (13-19) missed the crossover series by a single game to Hobart. Timothy Connor (.364, 4 HR, 22 RBI), John Gannon (.301, 5 HR, 29 RBI) and all-league pitcher Michael Hutchins (2-2, 3.61 ERA, 42.1 IP, 44 K) are SLU’s top returning players. Connor has led the Saints in batting average each of the last two seasons. Injury issues hampered Clarkson (11-19) last spring, and the Golden Knights won just three conference contests. Joe Figliolino (.337, 33 H, 20 RBI) is one of four Clarkson juniors that return to the starting line-up; one that must replace five-year starter Kent Wilson (.364, 44 H). All four juniors started over 30 games a season ago. From the mound, head coach Jim Kane is looking for an improvement from the pitching staff which has four starters back. The Green and Gold also added 18 newcomers.

 

In the Hudson Valley, Tad Skelly takes the reins at Vassar (12-21). He replaced interim head coach Blayne Fuke who served as skipper last year following the departure of Matt Righter. The former Gordon College manager will have a veteran roster that includes 12 seniors. Weekend starters Addison Lee (2-2, 5.71 ERA, 41.0 IP, 45 K) and Pat Kerrigan (2-5, 6.41 ERA, 39.1 IP, 37 K) are back on top of the pitching rotation; a group which Skelly will lean on with the offense just returning five bats. All-conference selection Michael Lee (.375, 30 H, 20 R), Marc Milano (.330, 31 H, 23 RBI) and Ricardo Reyna (.301, 16 RBI) are three of Vassar’s five returning starters.

 

North of Poughkeepsie in Annandale-on-Hudson, Bard (6-26) will be the opposite of its’ Hudson Valley rivals with 17 freshmen and 27 combined freshmen and sophomores on the opening day roster. 2024’s batting average leader Jimmy Famularo (.355, 18 RBI, 43 H) is the top Raptor returner.

Skyline Conference:Like its’ upstate New York brethren, downstate New York’s Skyline Conference has not been immune to dominance. Farmingdale State won seven Skyline titles in a row between 2008-2014. St. Joseph’s (Long Island) has garnered the last three conference championships and five of the last nine since Farmingdale’s run ended. Eleven teams play a 20-game conference schedule seeing each league opponent twice in a twin bill. The top six finishers make the conference tournament and after a knockout round, the final four slug it out at the conference’s regular season winner in a double-elimination format.

 

St. Joseph's (L.I.) has won 30 games in the last two seasons and in the 2025 preseason Skyline poll was selected as the favorite to win the conference again. St. Joseph's (L.I.) athletics photo

As the curtain rises for 2025, St. Joseph’s (Long Island) (33-14) stands on top of the Skyline. What began under previous skipper Richard Garrett has continued under current head coach Tom Caputo. Following a school record 33 wins, which included a 19-game winning streak, the Golden Eagles return almost everyone including six all-region selections. Anselmo Joya (.415, 36 RBI, 54 H), John Lynch (.333, 6 HR, 38 RBI), Mike DiFilippo (.364, 33 RBI, 26 BB) and Jordan Ramlogan (.335, 38 RBI, 42 SB) are all back on an offense that batted a combined .325 and stole 134 bases. Peter Manager (6-4, 3.00 ERA, 6 CG, 66.0 IP) and Jack Kelly (5-4, 3.44 ERA, 65.1 IP, 60 K) project to be SJLI’s top two starting pitchers. With nearly everyone back from a 33-win team, it’s hard to bet against another first place finish. The league’s coaches agreed, giving the Golden Eagles nine first-place votes in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.

 

The biggest challenge to St. Joseph’s (Long Island) supremacy will come from Keith Osik’s Farmingdale State (24-15) Rams. Osik, entering his 20th season; skippered the Rams to an eight-win improvement and the Skyline finals after a rebuilding year in 2023. Osik’s hoping to build upon last year’s success and that his returning group continues to develop. D3baseball.com Preseason All-American Johnny Dougherty (8-1, 1.76 ERA, 61.1 IP, 63 K) is one of three FSC frontline starters returning and an early frontrunner for Skyline Pitcher of the Year. Another returner, Roman Dorosh (4-3, 4.19 ERA, 38.2 IP, 35 K) held SJLI to a single run over eight frames in a Game 1 upset in the league tournament. And like SJLI, Farmingdale has nearly all of its’ offense back with leading hitmen Ryan Wasserman (.403, 50 H, 23 RBI), Jordan Lambert (.382, 42 RBI, 50 H),dual threat Tyler DiRocco (.376, 36 RBI, 47 H / 1.46 ERA, 12.0 IP, 18 K) and Richie Heyder (.366, 41 RBI, 17 XBH). Farmingdale will travel to St. Joseph’s (Long Island) on April 18.

 

Six teams in the Skyline conference won at least 20 games last spring; all six made the league tournament. The competition at the top will be fierce. Past the top two, Merchant Marine (27-16) will be in the mix. The USMMA seniors have the chance to reach 100 career wins. Head coach Michael Notebart believes the combination of his returning players along with several immediate impact freshmen could make this a special season on Kings Point. Sure, All-American Tyler Reistetter (7-3, 1.94 ERA, 79.0 IP, 106 K / .264, 5 HR, 27 RBI) has moved on but the rest of the starting rotation and five starting position players are back. All-conference selection Jack Millen (.348, 40 H, 40 R)returns as do top hitters Tommy Chiappetti (.338, 22 RBI, 45 R), Charles Cahalan (.333, 20 RBI, 32 R) and Garrett Clapsaddle (.293, 35 RBI, 37 R). Miller could become the program’s all-time hits and runs scored leader this year. USMMA is also hoping from a boost from its’ first year class that includes a pair of first team all-state selections from Indiana and Pennsylvania.

 

While USMMA lost Tyler Reistetter, SUNY Maritime (26-13) sails ahead after losing All-American Freddy Forgione (.385, 21 HR, 62 RBI), 2023 Skyline Player of the Year Matt Milone (.289, 4 HR, 13 RBI) and ace Brandon Stanley (8-2, 2.87 ERA, 59.2 IP, 51 K) to transfer. The cupboard is far from bare for skipper Charlie Barbieri with seven starting position players and pitchers along with 21 players back. The offense though will be hard pressed to replicate last season’s 79 home runs. Alex Bardi (.400, 12 HR, 47 RBI) is the biggest impact bat back along with Harry Leipold (.299, 8 HR, 27 RBI). While the portal hurt the Privateers they were able to add several players including 2023 CUNYAC Rookie of the Year John Spallin (.301, 3 HR, 24 RBI) from John Jay. Matt Demme (8-0, 4.09 ERA, 55.0 IP, 49 K) will anchor the pitching staff. While Charlie Barbieri feels his team has offensive depth, how the pitching staff develops will determine the season.

For the third time in school history and second year in a row, Purchase (20-20) reached the 20-win plateau in 2024. D3baseball.com Preseason All-American Liam Daly (.441, 11 HR, 40 RBI) is part of a junior class already with 42 wins and two postseason appearances. Five of the Panthers’ top six hitters were underclassmen and project to return.

 

Manhattanville (20-21) hit 20 wins for the first time since 2019 last spring and made its’ second conference tournament in three years. Head coach Jeff Caulfield is nearing 400 career wins. He has all-league hurler Ryan McCann (5-4, 2.45 ERA, 66.0 IP, 42 K) and Gregory Esposito (4-2, 3.76 ERA, 38.1 IP, 44 K) to lead the starting rotation; one that helped the Valiants shock SUNY Maritime in the conference tournament last year. Offensively, the Valiants must replace their top two hitters but do get back Marco Clara (.337, 20 RBI).

 

Mt. St. Vincent (16-21) missed the Skyline tournament after making three trips in four years (2019, 2022, 2023). A new year brings a new head coach in Matt Rienzi, a Skyline alum from St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) that also coached in the league as well. He was previously at Roger Williams. He inherits 33 returning players looking to build on a strong fall season. Dual threat Will Granata (.360, 8 HR, 30 RBI / 4-2, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 32 K) and Dom Porto (.372, 34 SB, 42 R) are the top UMSV holdovers from 2024.

 

Old Westbury (14-20) and Mt. St. Mary (11-29) will look to try to steal one of the final conference tournament spots. Old Westbury has four returning starters in the batting order led by Nick Papageorge (.397, 3 HR, 22 RBI) and Mike Petrucelly (.330, 11 HR, 34 RBI). Up north in Newburgh, the Blue Knights of MSMC will have veteran experience with 15 seniors and nearly everyone returning. St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) (8-28) and Yeshiva (0-26) round out the Skyline.

 

State University of New York Athletic Conference: It has been more than 15 years since there was a change in the SUNYAC baseball alignment. SUNY Poly (then SUNYIT) left the league after the 2008 season to drop the number of conference competitors to seven and that is where it has remained. For 2025, the league will still field seven teams, but SUNY Canton has replaced league charter member SUNY Brockport who exited for the Empire 8 along with non-baseball playing member SUNY Geneseo. Canton recently competed in the North Atlantic Conference, a league primarily based in northern New England.

 

SUNY Cortland (31-14-1) has captured  at least a share of 36 SUNYAC championships; more than any other program in conference history. The Red Dragons also have reeled off 19 straight seasons (not including the 2020 COVID-shortened season) of 30 wins or more. Returning All-Americans Luis Misla (8-2, 2.34 ERA, 77.0 IP, 114 K) and Dylan Beers (1-1, 4.20 ERA, 6 APP / 2003: 9-1, 2.42 ERA, 65 K) and 2003 SUNYAC Co-Player of the Year Adam Mieczkowski (.221, 19 RBI / 2003: .360, 12 HR, 47 RBI) highlight a returning Cortland cast of 32 players. Four of Cortland’s top six hitters are back along with ERA leader Will McCarthy (2-1, 2.08 ERA, 34.2 IP, 25 K). Twelve newcomers add to the core veteran group in what manager Joe Brown believes is the strongest freshmen class ever. A loaded Cortland team opens with a loaded non-conference schedule as Cortland looks for its’ first SUNYAC tournament title since 2022. Head coach Joe Brown is also within striking distance of 900 career victories.

 

SUNY New Paltz was the most improved program, winning 17 more games in 2024 than in 2023. SUNY New Paltz athletics photo by Isabel van der Veen

Cortland claimed yet another first place regular season finish in 2024 but it was SUNY New Paltz (31-16) that earned the SUNYAC Championship. Behind All-American and SUNYAC Tournament MVP Tommy Kreider (.463, 82 H, 36 RBI), New Paltz beat Cortland twice in the SUNYAC Championship Round at Wallace Field as part of the program’s best season ever. While New Paltz graduated four members of its’ leadership group, the Hawks return four All-SUNYAC selections led by Kreider and Gold Glove outfielder Michael Asacanio (.322, 42 RBI, 56 H). SUNYAC Coach of the Year Thomas Seay was also busy in the transfer portal with six incoming transfers that include all-region catcher Ty Gallagher (.356, 36 RBI, 12 DBL), a graduate transfer from Hobart. Xavier Zykoff (5-1, 5.58 ERA, 69.1 IP, 57K) is the top returning arm and should top a pitching staff looking for a boost from its’ newcomers. The biggest key according to the coaching staff will be the leadership of the upperclassmen.

 

After graduating several impact classes that helped lead it to the head of the table in the SUNYAC, SUNY Oswego (23-17) re-loaded in 2024 with yet another 20-win campaign and appearance in the conference postseason. The Laker re-load continues in 2025 as Scott Landers must replace multiple all-conference players including All-American and Region III Player of the Year Jelani Hamer (.437, 28 XBH, 7 HR, 39 RBI). Looking to fill the void left by Hamer will be all-conference selections Tishawn Feathersone (.296, 5 HR, 31 RBI) and Trey McGowen (.349, 21 SB, 18 RBI). The Lakers will have a mix of young and old with 18 newcomers along with 10 players returning that have starting experience.

 

Like New Paltz, another surprise in 2024 was Plattsburgh State (24-16). The third year was a charm for skipper Sam Quinn-Loeb whose Cardinals tied a school record for wins that had been set in 2010 and made the conference tournament for the second time in three years. The three-headed monster of Alex Kornblau (.372, 19 XBH, 52 R), Aidan Ditz (.378, 33 RBI, 51 H) and Kyle Cremin (.333, 4 HR, 37 RBI) should power the Plattsburgh State bats; they’re three of six position players returning to the Chip. Quinn-Loeb believes this is the deepest team he has had in four years as head coach.

 

After the top four, SUNY Oneonta and Fredonia State will be looking to break through into the playoff picture. Oneonta (15-23) is hoping for a healthy bounce back in 2025 after a down year. Joey Dwyer (.374, 6 HR, 34 RBI) and Logan Hutter (.325, 5 HR, 27 RBI) are part of an experienced batting order that will need to support a new-look SUCO pitching staff that will boast six transfers. The Red Dragons won 25 games two seasons ago, they’re looking to get back to that level. Fredonia (13-23) hasn’t been to the SUNYAC tournament since 2019. Head coach Jordan Basile is looking for the Blue Devils to have their best season since he took over in 2022. All-region hitter Christian Pagano (.372, 6 HR, 31 RBI) was Fredonia State’s 2024 Male Athlete of the Year. He is one of 11 total Blue Devils as a starting pitcher or position players. He will lead a Fredonia offense that brings back eight of nine batsmen.

 

SUNY Canton (3-31) has zig-zagged from being a Division III independent to the Empire 8, then to the North Atlantic Conference and now to the SUNYAC. The move to a new league brings a new coach in former Wells College skipper Ryan Stevens. Stevens helmed the Express to a school-record 19 wins in the program’s final season and is a former three-time Pecos League Manager of the Year.