by Mike Guido
Key Additions: Mike Wilson (INF), Kris Killackey (RHP), Nick Montefusco (RHP), Brian Herrmann (RHP), Garrett Heaton (INF), Nick Grande (INF), Chris Hamilton (OF), Chris Keenan (RHP), Brandon Bonanno (RHP), Jake Alba (RHP), Mike Amandola (C), Steven Acosta (RHP)
Key Losses: Chad Lee, Jack Parenty, Johnny Caputo, Tyler Honahan
The Stony Brook Seawolves are no strangers to success. They have a knack for always putting a good product on the field–especially since 2012 when they made their iconic run to the College World Series. After finishing 27-27 in 2016, they are looking to do improve on that mark.
A rotation led by Bret Clarke, who boasted a 6-2 record with a 2.19 ERA overall and a 3-1 record and a 1.32 ERA in conference games, will need to rely on the youth of the recruiting class to fill the spots left by Chad Lee and Tyler Honahan. Freshman such as Brian Herrmann, Greg Marino, and Aaron Glickstein could develop with the program and become the pitchers this team will need to rely on.
Transfers Nick Montefusco and Kris Killackey are expected to make a significant impact as well. Killackey will be a name to look out for on the mound after posting a 1.03 ERA last season and winning our Cy Young Award at Suffolk County Community College. Right-hander Aaron Pinto will also be a contributor.
As far as the starting lineup is concerned, they are returning some established bats in the order. Casey Baker is a key name to watch during the season. After having a fantastic season in 2016 serving up a .314 batting average with 31 RBI, he will be looked upon to heavily produce while seeing time at first base. He has been on the radar of a number of teams–including the New York Mets. Bobby Honeyman is expected to man third base after starting all 54 games last season while collecting 52 hits. Jeremy Giles is expected to start at shortstop. Brandon Janofsky, Dan McEvoy, and highly-touted freshman Mike Wilson will all be considered for the spot. Wilson was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 15th round last year. Senior catcher Dave Real will be holding down the fort behind the dish this season after having a successful campaign in 41 starts last year. The outfield will look somewhat familiar to last season with Toby Handley starting in centerfield, Joe Baran and Andruw Gazzola (2015 Baseball on the Island Rookie of the Year) handling both corner spots. Dylan Resk is another name to look out for after appearing in 47 games last season listing 36 hits including two dingers.
According to Coach Senk, the team he has assembled in 2017 could be, “the deepest we have had in years.”
“Our biggest strength goes hand and hand with our biggest weakness,” Senk says. The club has a lot of depth behind their starters, however, that depth comes with inexperience. The Seawolves are a relatively young team and are not heavily battle tested at the college level. With that being said, Coach Senk still has confidence that his team could succeed at a very high level in 2017.
Stony Brook’s schedule is expected to be very competitive while featuring programs such as Missouri State and Rhode Island in the opening weekend of the season while also facing off against UC-Santa Barbara later in the year. On top of being in a much improved conference, Stony Brook will not be able to take any teams lightly.
According to Coach Senk, there are many sources that have Binghamton as the conference favorite while a select few have Stony Brook has the likely front runner. In 2017, Stony Brook could be looked at as a heavily-tooled underdog.
