Following a disappointing finish to the 2024 season, the Stony Brook baseball team is looking to bounce back as it welcomes in a new crop of young talent.
Entering their third season in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), the Seawolves are looking to crack the conference postseason tournament, a place foreign to them since leaving the America East conference back in 2022.
Last year, Stony Brook started CAA play 10-6 and put itself in a great position with the weaker part of its schedule left to play. Unfortunately, the Seawolves went just 2-9 in their final 11 league games to fall out of a playoff spot on the season’s final day.
“We had ourselves in a terrific position to make the tournament and couldn’t get it done,” head coach Matt Senk said in an interview with The Statesman. “We have nobody to blame but ourselves that we didn’t make it.”
All told, Stony Brook finished the 2024 season with a 24-28 overall and 12-15 conference record.
The CAA Preseason coaches poll picked Stony Brook to finish seventh, the same position they finished in a tie for in 2024. Picked to finish ahead of it are the two-time defending conference champion University of North Carolina Wilmington, Charleston, Northeastern, Campbell, Delaware and Elon from first to sixth.
The biggest change is the lack of some program stalwarts who were mainstays in Senk’s recent lineups. Outfielder Matt Brown-Eiring, catcher Ryan Micheli and first baseman Brett Paulsen are all gone while utility player Evan Fox graduated and moved into an assistant position on Senk’s coaching staff.
To remedy those losses, the Seawolves brought in 26 new players, including 13 true freshmen. Senk also heavily utilized the transfer portal for the second year in a row, bringing in 11 transfers.
“You hope that the guys you recruited will step in and do as well or even better,” Senk said. “I feel good about the guys we brought in.”
While Senk has relied on lower-level schools for his transfer recruits in prior years, he pulled out all the stops in 2025, acquiring six players from Division I schools.
“Generally speaking, when we go on the portal, we are going to try to get the best players we feel are available,” Senk said. “I don’t think there is any exact science to recruiting in general and especially with the portal, there’s a lot of kids from a lot of schools. You just go in there and try to do your best.”
Leading the charge of offensive pieces that Senk imported are infielder Nico Azpilcueta, outfielder Kincaid Bergthold and catcher Luke Szepek.
Szepek — who came to Stony Brook from West Virginia University — will be inserted into the conversation to claim the starting catcher spot that Micheli’s graduation left vacant.
“He’s a big-bodied catcher who’s a good receiver and good thrower,” Senk said. “He was our top RBI guy in intrasquads. He has a knack for getting hits at the right time.”
After redshirting during his freshman season at the University of Arizona, Bergthold figures to insert his name into the mix of options for Senk in the outfield. Bergthold profiles as a multi-faceted player that provides speed, power, solid defense and a strong throwing arm in a corner outfield spot.
“He can really swing it and can play a solid outfield and has a right fielder’s arm,” Senk said. “He’s proven that against good pitching he can hit. We’re hoping that he can improve our offense.”
Both Bergthold and Azpilcueta have the ability to provide the Seawolves with some much-needed authority in the lineup. The latter was recruited to play at St. Mary’s out of high school, but then transferred to junior college after a season.
“What we’re really looking for from [Azpilcueta] is for him to give us power and some punch,” Senk said. “When he squares up the baseball and gets it on the barrel, it’s fun to watch. I’d say he’s a front runner for the [designated hitter] spot.”
Senk does have some key returners, starting with the team’s crown jewel: two-way threat Erik Paulsen. In his breakout freshman season, he hit .299 with four home runs and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .850. On the mound, he pitched to a 3.21 earned run average (ERA) and locked down six saves. His stellar year was acknowledged with the CAA Rookie of the Year award and being named one of 10 finalists for the John Olerud Award, which recognizes the best two-way player in the United States.
While Paulsen spent much of his time at designated hitter last year when not on the mound, he will be asked to man first base now with Brett Paulsen gone.
“I am going to stick as a reliever and play first base as much as I can,” Paulsen said. “Hopefully I can come in key situations where we can win the game.”
Whereas Paulsen is just a sophomore, Senk has some veterans returning — namely at important positions up the middle. Shortstop Matt Miceli is one of the lone seniors left for Stony Brook and enters his final season looking to maintain consistency for a full year.
“[Miceli] has played a lot of college baseball and really embraced being a senior on the team and being a leader,” Senk said. “We just need him to be consistent and play his game and not try to be something that he isn’t. We need him playing good defense, getting on base, stealing some bases and scoring some runs.”
Joining Miceli in the middle infield will be second baseman Johnny Pilla, who should take a major step forward in his junior year. Pilla was not the starter at the keystone spot last year on opening day but quickly took over the role, hitting .273 with three home runs and 12 doubles. His biggest drawback is his defensive play, which was inconsistent at times last season as he committed seven errors.
Pilla is a poster child for Senk’s contact and speed mindset, as he reached base at a .351 clip and stole 11 bases last season.
“Getting on base is a huge asset for us,” Pilla said. “The name of the game is getting on, getting into scoring position and scoring which is something I try to do as much as possible. We obviously got more power in the portal but you can win a lot of college baseball games with small ball and putting pressure on defenses and that’s a huge thing that our coaches are trying to preach to us.”
As he enters his second year as the starting second baseman, Senk is confident in Pilla’s ability to build on last year’s success.
“If Johnny plays to his capabilities, he will be terrific for us,” Senk said. “He is more than capable of playing at an all-conference level defensively at second base.”
Pilla was also asked about how he found his footing in the second base position, which he said started when the Seawolves played Louisiana State University early last season. “It really was just building confidence in myself and getting that opportunity,” Pilla said.
A wild card that Senk could throw into the lineup is freshman infielder James Schaffer. While Schaffer does not have a true position, he can be deployed in numerous ways by Senk, as he possesses great bat-to-ball skills and is one of Stony Brook’s faster bench options.
Completing Senk’s defense up the middle are catcher Nicholas Solorzano and outfielder Cam Santerre.
As for Solorzano, he is the incumbent catcher with Micheli now gone. The northern California native started 19 games for Stony Brook as both a backstop and designated hitter. Despite only hitting .203, Senk is confident that the switch hitter will bounce back as a senior.
“[Solorzano] swung the bat more like the guy we recruited out of junior college in California in the fall,” Senk said. “He looks good offensively and also improved tremendously on the defensive side of the ball over the summer.”
Santerre — who has a good shot to be the opening day center fielder after transferring from Rhode Island College before the 2024 season — burst onto the scene for the Seawolves last year, reaching base at a .459 clip while going 18-for-21 on stolen base tries.
After losing Brown-Eiring — the club’s every day option in left field — Senk will have to get a bit more creative with his corner outfield spots. Bergthold and fellow transfer Chanz Doughty are both options to get reps there, as are returning outfielders Chris Carson and Matthew Wright.
Carson showed signs of potential in his freshman season, launching a pair of home runs, but was unable to stay consistent across the full campaign, as he hit just .176. Wright put together a solid year hitting .269 but lost any power that he had during his freshman campaign in 2023, which saw him hit two home runs. According to Senk, he has been nursing a back injury throughout the offseason and his status for opening day is questionable.
Finally, senior third baseman Evan Goforth is the betting favorite to land the starting job at the hot corner in his second year since coming in from Indiana University. Goforth struggled on both sides of the ball while dealing with persistent injuries in 2024. Nonetheless, Senk is confident that he will bounce back.
“[Goforth] had hamstring issues last season and he never was able to get fully healthy,” Senk said. “He will be a big piece of our success if he is healthy and he plays to his strengths.”
If Goforth does not win the starting role, infielder Brett Davino is an option to give the Seawolves a left-handed hitter at the position. Davino transferred from the University of Connecticut, where he redshirted his freshman year.
When Paulsen is on the mound, Senk will need to get creative with his defense. Azpilcueta, Carson, Solorzano and freshman infielder Jordan Welch are all options to get innings at first base in Paulsen’s absence.
On the pitching side of the ball, Senk will be led by the CAA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, according to Perfect Game, in right-handed starter Eddie Smink. Smink enjoyed a superb season last year, pitching to a 3.11 ERA in 55 innings before getting shut down with a partial tear of his right subscapularis — a part of the shoulder — along with a strain in his right pectoral muscle.
“Right now, my body feels good,” Smink said. “I have been prioritizing staying healthy for a full season this year to make sure I can get my team potentially into a playoff tournament.”
Any pitching success that the Seawolves have will rely on Smink, as the rest of Senk’s rotation is unproven following the losses of Colin Rhein, J.T. Raab and Ty Saunders.
The current plan for the back end of the weekend rotation is to roll with the Rizzo brothers — Nicholas and John. Nicholas Rizzo got a lot of innings as a freshman and experienced inconsistent performance. After pitching to a 3.19 ERA in his first six games, he struggled the rest of the way, as he saw his season ERA climb to 5.63.
On the other hand, John Rizzo did not see game action after transferring from Adelphi last year as he rehabbed Tommy John surgery.
“John [Rizzo] has really shown out well after the arm injury,” Senk said. “Tentatively, going into this weekend, John could be our Sunday guy after Eddie and Nick.”
Two intriguing options that Senk can deploy in various ways are freshmen pitchers Hunter Colagrande and Evan Kay. The two battled each other for the crown of best high school pitcher on Long Island, and even received pro interest in last year’s draft.
While Paulsen will return to his role at the back end of games, another key southpaw that will help is Micah Worley. Worley fills a 6-foot-5-inch 220-pound frame from the left side and will be a major piece in Senk’s bullpen after transferring from Modesto Junior College.
“He’s looked great this offseason,” Senk said. “We’d love to have [Worley] for all the eligibility he has left, but he has interest from pro teams. If it ends up being a one-time thing with him, that means that he threw the ball great for us.”
While at Modesto, Worley pitched to an earned run average of 1.72 and allowed just 16 hits in 17 games.
With the large class of newcomers, Senk’s bullpen has no shortage of weapons at its disposal. Pitchers George Adams, Aidan Colagrande and University of Nevada transfer Matthew Canizares are three more options that Senk can bring in to get key outs. Colagrande will start the year on the shelf as he rehabs from an elbow injury, but should be available to Stony Brook soon.
Having not finished above .500 in CAA play in either season since joining the conference, Senk has certainly done his due diligence as far as filling holes left by last season’s departures. His squad will be first put to the test on Feb. 14 as the Seawolves travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats for a three-game set. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m.
George Caratzas and Alex Streinger also contributed reporting.
