Assessing Each Recruiting Class

by Vinny Messana

Div-I:

NYIT-

Brendan Dowd

Brandon Fanizza

Ryan Kuskowski

Ben McNeill

DJ Masuck

Kevin Tabares

Nick Vitale

Zach White

Analysis: This is another example of how the program is moving in the right direction. Dowd is a terrific backstop that can completely negate the running game and their opponents will find that out immediately. Vitale is a winning player out of Ward Melville–he won the Long Island Championship with them as a freshman. Players like him tend to overachieve in college because he has been playing top-tier talent for the past four years. Zach White is a big RHP from Shoreham-Wading River. He has been overshadowed on his own team by Brian Morrell, but he is every-bit the big-time pitcher. McNeill is a very smooth SS from Commack. He’s the type of player that you need patrolling a premium position up the middle. When I have seen him play, he has converted all the plays in the field and has good bat control. Fanizza is a power bat from Massapequa. He led the Chiefs to the Class AA Nassau County Finals before getting defeated by East Meadow. This is a very strong class and it could set a strong foundation for the program for a number of years.

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Stony Brook-

Brandon Bonnano

Nick Grande

Garrett Heaton

Brian Herrmann

Chris Keenan

Analyis: Grande and Heaton were the two best middle infielders from the 2016 class and they were able to land both of them. It remains to be seen which one will move off the position, but they are both athletic enough to play either second or short. Bobby Honeyman’s presence probably makes third base out of the question for them. Bonanno and Keenan are hard throwing RHPs. I haven’t seen Keenan pitch but Bonnano is a bulldog but the question, of course, will be how his stuff translates from League VII to the America East. I think he’ll be fine because of the summer league competition he has faced with the Body Armor Titans the past few years. Herrmann was a late add–he de-committed from Cortland after his velocity jumped up to 91 in the late spring. He was successful at 82-84 MPH so it will be interesting to see how dominate he can be in the 90s. He was phenomenal for Northport this season.

Hofstra-

Sean Rausch

John Ryan

Robert Weissheier

Tyler White

Kyle Young

Analysis: The first thing that you’ll notice is Kyle Young’s name. Obviously, the program was dealt a tough break with the St. Dominic ace getting drafted in the 22nd round when they were looking to have him potentially anchor the rotation along with John Rooney next year. Nevertheless, Rausch is a physical specimen that was an All-American wide receiver as well. His HS coach stated that he was the “strongest HS athlete I’ve coached or seen”. He will have to most likely find a new position with Vito Friscia firmly entrenched as the backstop. He could find a home in left field. Weissheiser, who’s two older brothers both pitched for the team could be a huge difference maker in the lineup. He’s a catcher/first baseman but will most likely be a DH with Nick Bottari most likely starting at first next year, John Ryan won the Long Island Championship game for Wheatley and has a big fastball that sits in the high 80s. White is a talented outfielder out of St. John the Baptist. He had a very good game the lone time I watched him early in April. Four terrific recruits, but obviously Young’s presence would have put it into the next level.

Div-II:

LIU Post-

Julian Arcos

Kevin Dolan

Zach Fritz

Matt Gutlebber

Greg Haynes

Mike Lazos

Noah Lorenzo

Pat McCabe

Mike Stiles

Analysis: They can make a pitching staff from this group of freshmen alone. Arcos, Lazos, Lorenzo, McCabe, Haynes and Stiles are all talented pitchers that bring something different to the table. Stiles was the League VI MVP and Lazos was stellar all year for Hauppauge, winning seven games. McCabe was a huge reason for North Babylon’s successful 2016 and he won six games. Haynes is another stud pitcher, he is a New Hyde Park grad and stands at 6’4″–ideal size for a power pitcher. Offensively, Fritz is a big-bopper from East Meadow and Dolan is a nice outfielder from St. John the Baptist. Keep in mind, they have Anthony Papa coming back from Tommy John surgery, as well, and will be a redshirt freshman. They will have quite a collection of young arms to go along with Jake DeCarli and Dan Jagiello at the top.

Molloy-

Sean Hogan

Matt Imbrogno

Patrick Kennedy

James Messina

Luciano morello

Anthony Neal

Jake Saltzman

Analysis: James Messina, New Hyde Park grad, is considered one of the top shortstop in the 2016 class. This was a big sign for them, he actually won six games on the hill in his senior year, displaying his overall level of athleticism. Morello is big time transfer that will contribute immediately   Kennedy is out of St. Anthony’s, he has a bulldog mentality and is the type of pitcher that could emerge and rise to the rotation as a freshman or get big outs from the pen. Imbrogno, a MacArthur grad, is a slick fielding shortstop. Having played in several big games over the course of his HS career, he is battle-tested an should be prepared to compete in the ECC. Sean Hogan is considered one of the top catchers in the 2016 class–he didn’t get as much publicity as guys like Sean Rausch or Kyle Strovink but he is lauded for his bat control as a left-handed hitter and receiving skills.  Jake Saltzman is a speedy outfielder out of Plainview-JFK. He profiles as a top-of-the-order hitter with surprising pop.

Adelphi-

Tyler Becker

Greg Goeller

Tom Macri

Troy Simpson

Analysis: They have other recruits coming from New Jersey and Staten Island, but we’ll keep it to the Long Island guys for purposes of brevity. Becker and Goeller are both middle infielders. I got to see Goeller play in the Class A Nassau County championship for two games. He has a strong arm in the field and could push Mike Stack for some playing time. He is a strong kid that could provide some punch offensively–he hit cleanup for Bellmore JFK much of this season. Simpson, is a RHP from Longwood HS. He has an upper 80s fastball and good command of his curveball. He probably won’t crack the rotation right away with the quality arms the Panthers have but he could be a useful piece out of the pen. Macri is an infielder out of Massapequa HS. That is a program they have dipped into several times in recent years due to quality players such as Jonathon Mulford, Eric Hassell and Kevin Hutzel.

Div-III:

Farmingdale State-

Cameron Alfano

Rob Costanzo

Louis LoPiccolo

Mike McCormack

Nic Milata

Jake Schickler

Nick Soriano

Adam  Waldhof

Analysis: This is list is subject to increase by a few names at least. Coach Osik did not respond to our email regarding the matter. It is possible that they could still be waiting on paperwork from some transfers. The one transfer on this list–Costanzo is from Dowling. He had an unbelievable 2015 season but took a bit of a step back this year. Still, he profiles as a steady second baseman with good bat control that will most likely hit at the top of their order. LoPiccolo is out of Sachem East HS. He has a very deceptive motion but can still bring good heat from a low 3/4 angle. Again, this list is most likely incomplete–however, they did only graduate two seniors so most of their impact players next season are holdovers from this year. In the words of his Head Coach Ryan McSherry, Alfano is a “good glove center fielder. Works counts very well. Hits the ball to the ride side, natural inside out swing. Best asset is his glove. Team player.”

Old Westbury-

Nick Balfe

Adam Heidenfelder

Vinny Negri

David Pauley

Jake Stein

Liam Slattery

Chris Tessitore

Analysis: Very strong class. Heidenfelder was a two-time Diamond Award winner. He struggled during his two years at Hofstra, but the Panthers’ coaching staff has a strong track record of taking similar pitchers and maximizing their potential. He was up to 95 MPH in high school–if he could regain that form, it could be a coup for them. He will be looking to fill the shoes of Jeremy Charles who led the staff in 2016. Balfe is a power-hitting third baseman from North Babylon who haqd a very strong senior season. Slattery and Stein are two outfielders with tremendous speed. This fits the bill of what Old Westbury has been the past decade under Rod Stephan. Along with Tommy Zeigen, Kevin Lao and Jesse Russo, this team will steal a ton of bases and they already did last year.

St. Joseph’s-

Vinny Biordi

Jimmy Conway

Mike Iacobellis

P.J. Martino

Anthony Raucci

Mike Reda

Tyler Sanderson

Tim Woodford

Analysis: This is a big class, which will make for some competitive position battles The biggest impact player is P.J. Martino–a transfer that dominated the ECC in 2015 but then suffered a knee injury. He has the potential to be the Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Year. Sanderson is the League MVP V out of Hauppauge HS. He will fill in for the departed Joe Calabrese at third. Also from Hauppauge is Woodford, a lanky RHP who had a very strong senior season. He recently added a forkball to his repertoire that added to his deception. Conway is a pitcher from St. Dominic HS, who could be a helpful piece out of the bullpen as a freshman. Iacobellis is a big-time bat from Island Trees HS. He drove in 25 runs as a junior so he could have an immediate impact. The Golden Eagles have a bright future ahead of them and they should be excited with the caliber of players in this class.