Here at New York Tech for the first installment of our 2019 Fall Ball Series Brought to you by @EastCoastSP pic.twitter.com/trKDqWhnPL
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 28, 2019
(This is the first installment of the 2019 Fall Ball Series. In our third year of this segment, we will continue to visit the local college campuses, focusing on their upcoming baseball season. We will have exclusive quotes and videos from players and coaches. Please check out East Coast Strength & Performance by clicking here.)
When we last checked in with New York Tech, they were heading to their first College World Series in program history. From the doldrums to one of the top-8 teams in the nation was beyond the wildest expectations anyone had pegged for them.
Head Coach Frank Catalanotto, now entering his second year at the helm, has made it his point not to tolerate complacency in the clubhouse or dugout.
“Complacency is not a concern because of our coaching staff,” said the Smithtown-native and 14-year MLB veteran. “We expect all these guys to show up everyday. We are on them. If I don’t see something, I have five different coaches that will be on them. We don’t let them slack,” he added.
The team enters the 2019-2020 season visibly different than in previous years. With the success comes an influx of talent which means another chance at duplicating last year’s success.
“We are definitely more athletic,” said Catalanotto, who just took him Axcess Baseball’s Coach of the Year Award. “E.J. Exposito (St. John the Baptist 2019) amazes us every day with what he does out in the field. Some of the best hands I’ve seen.
Pitching wise–we added Tyler Schmid from Suffolk, Andrew Imperatore from Ryder and Bobby Vath from Rhode Island. I just feel like–on paper–we are a better team than we were last year. Also the addition of David Franchi from Post gives us more depth. We have a bunch of guys that can play multiple positions. I’m looking forward to it.”
We’ve made it this far into the article and haven’t even mentioned their biggest returning bats.
E.J. Cumbo, coming off an historic redshirt-freshman season in which he garnered Axcess Baseball’s Player of the Year Award (.437 AVG, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 1.175 OPS, .510 OBP, .665 SLG over 167 at bats) will be spearheading an offensive attack that compiled a team .315 AVG in 2019. Cumbo can play any outfield position and will likely hit third in their lineup. He also drew 20 walks against 19 strikeouts and stole 23 bases in 26 attempts. Simply put, he was among the most dominant players in the nation and was named Third Team All-America by ABCA.
Joining him in the middle of the lineup is Ben McNeill, who took the massive leap from defense-first shortstop to an all-around superstar. He was third on the team with 66 hits and drove in 33 runs with more walks (28) than strikeouts (21). John LaRocca, who had a huge impact on the team as a transfer last season from Monmouth will likely be hitting second. He batted .362 with a .971 OPS and 41 RBI. Additionally, he is an outstanding center fielder and robbed a HR in the ECC Playoffs that wound up on Sportscenter’s Top 10 plays in May.
Catcher Ryan Kuskowski led the team in RBI with 49 and will be back in the middle of the lineup. He smacked six HR with an .856 OPS.
The pitching staff will be led by D.J. Masuck 12-2, 3.17 ERA) and Joseph Murphy (9-4, 3.13 ERA) along with a bevy of others. Simply put, this team is loaded and they are not going anywhere anytime soon. With the loss of LIU Post in the conference, they gobbled up some real impact players and one less opponent is in their way. Taking their place will be the College of Staten Island in 2021, but they will be moving up from Division-III so you can expect them to be transitioning the first couple years.
They did lose a couple impact seniors as is the case with every team. The biggest of which is Jake Lebel. The massive slugger was incredible last season–especially down the stretch–and he hit .366 with 7 HR and 34 RBI.
“Losing Lebel hurts,” said Coach Cat. “Not just his presence in the middle of the lineup but his leadership was the biggest thing. Guys looked up to him to lead. He was that presence. Losing him is tough but we have guys here that will step up. McNeill is a great leader and he will step up.”
While I was down there, it was pretty clear this team has their goal’s set high this season. They are focused and even the speed of their practice is increased. It closely resembles what you see at the Division-I level, especially in the pace of how they conduct infield drills.
The depth of the pitching staff will be improved as well. In addition to bringing back some critical pieces from last year like Zack White, Ryan Mueller and Dean Fazah they will return Matt Bartnik and Brandon Alberto from injuries. Both are experienced upperclassmen that can come in and slam the door in critical situations which is what they will find themselves in come conference play.
They are much improved even from one year ago today. And they are nearly unrecognizable from two years ago–right down to having a different logo and a new name.
