(Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a multi-part series in which we highlight some of the local college programs during their Fall Ball season. Special thanks to Revolution Athletics for sponsoring this year’s series. Make sure to check them out here. )
You couldn’t have had a better October day for baseball on Long Island. It seemed to appear as more of an August day than October 21 with the temperature hitting 80 degrees in Stony Brook.
We were checking up on the Seawolves as they prepare for the 2025 season – which will be the 35th under Head Coach Matt Senk. They are coming off a 2024 season in which they finished with an overall record of 24-28 (12-15 in CAA play). It was their second season in the CAA conference after switching from the America East following the 2022 season.
The Seawolves will be a relatively young team next year. They did graduated a handful of impact players such as OF Matt Brown-Eiring (Stony Brook 2020), RHP JT Raab (MacArthur 2021), Evan Fox – who is the program’s all-time stolen base leader, Brett Paulsen and Ryan Micheli (Sachem East 2020).
They do return several high-end players that will hopefully be a part of their next championship club.
Anchoring the rotation is junior Eddie Smink. He was lights-out for the Seawolves last season – even defeating LSU on the road in his second start of the season. He wound up compiling a team-best 3.11 ERA over 55.0 IP with 56 strikeouts. Look for him to take a step forward this year.
Caught up with Erik Paulsen Jr at Stony Brook’s practice this afternoon pic.twitter.com/6gFvkU4il5
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 22, 2024
Sophomore Erik Paulsen Jr. made a name for himself last year by producing one of the more impressive seasons in program history. As a rookie, he was a finalist for the John Olerud Award which is given annually to the nation’s best two-way player. He was named CAA Rookie of the Year and he was named Freshman All-American by three different publications. Paulsen, who was a standout at Massapequa HS and helped them win the Nassau County Championship all three years on varsity, will return to his duties as a two-way player. He batted .299 (second on the team) with a healthy .850 OPS while batting 3rd and playing over 50 games. On the mound, he was a reliable arm at the backend of the bullpen compiling a 3.21 ERA over 42 innings with 6 saves including the win over LSU.
While speaking about Paulsen Jr., Coach Senk struggled to recall a player that had a two-way impact during his tenure since William Carmona over a decade ago. Prior to that, the only player would be the one that the field is named after.
Paulsen might have a way to be mentioned in the same breath as Joe Nathan, but he has certainly made a name for himself already. Another player in his graduating classes LHP Nick Rizzo. He proved to be durable as a freshman, pitching 62 innings and being named to the CAA All-Rookie team, with a record of 3-6 and ERA of 5.63. While the numbers might be unflattering, he did have a remarkable stretch of games from February 24 to March 22 when he pitched 30.1 innings and yielded just 5 runs. He hit a wall after that, struggling in April and May. Regardless, he is a hard-throwing lefty with great pitchability that fits the mold of many successful Seawolves pitchers of the past.
His brother, John, transferred from Adelphi. He is a right-handed pitcher with experience at the collegiate level under his belt. He was Adelphi’s ace as a freshman back in 2022 before getting Tommy John surgery and missing 2023. He should be back ready to go this year.
Stony Brook freshman RHP Hunter Colagrande is coming off an incredible HS career where he helped Kings Park get within one game of winning the New York State Class A Title. He went 10-0 with a 0.30 ERA and 104 Ks over 68.2 IP pic.twitter.com/IAggQwVt21
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 22, 2024
Another pair of brothers that are on the pitching staff is the Colagrandes. Hunter, is coming off one of the best seasons in Long Island history on the mound. He went 10-0 with a 0.30 ERA, leading Kings Park to within one game of their first New York State Championship in program history. He had a legitimate case to get drafted, so Stony Brook is thrilled to have a player of his ilk on campus and on their pitching staff. His brother, Aidan, is a transfer from Fairfield. He had Tommy John surgery and is hoping to begin his throwing program early next month.
Great power by freshman Luke Ciminiello (Smithtown East 2024) pic.twitter.com/kUsyE3Sxjb
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 22, 2024
Along those lines of Long Island players, Stony Brook has a total of 8 from the 2024 class.
Here are those players:
George Adams, Massapequa
-Luke Ciminiello, Smithtown East
-Mike Cervoni, Chaminade
-Hunter Colagrande, Kings Park
-Paul Dulanto, Massapequa
-Evan Kay, Commack
-Jordan Welch, Farmingdale
-Nick Zampieron, Comsewogue
Each one of those players had tremendous 2024 seasons and are recognizable names. It was an outstanding job by the Stony Brook coaching staff to identify those players and keep them on Long Island.
“One of the biggest classes we’ve had. Like any freshman class, it’s a huge jumps. There’s been some growing pains but they’re starting to figure it out. They are up against some bigger, physical guys and they go from big men on campus to being the youngest. With that being said, they are very coachable and they’re all working hard an we are hoping that many will help us right away.”
Coach Senk went on to add that, “this has been one of the most productive falls we’ve ever had. Only thing better than our guys’ focus has been the weather. It’s the best fall I can remember.”
Additionally, they return graduate student Cam Canterre who batted .287 and played in 50 game for the Seawolves. Sophomore CF Chris Carson who put Lindenhurst on his back during the 2023 season and nearly got them to the County Championship. He made some great defensive plays during defensive portion of practice.
Johnny Pilla and Evan Goforth are two other upperclassmen that will contribute for the Seawolves.
The Seawolves will be hoping to take a leap forward in the ultra-competitive CAA.
“The CAA has the positioned themselves has one of the top conferences in the nation. Take out the Power 4 and it’s right up there with the tops in the country. Last year it had the 10th RPI and it was 7th the year before that. The talent is awesome. I think something like 12 CAA players were drafted on Day 1 last year.”
Stony Brook will open up the season in Daytona Beach against Bethune-Cookman and return to Florida the next weekend against Florida Gulf Coast. They’ll travel to the University of North Carolina for the third weekend of the season as they did in 2023. They’ll also square off against Seton Hall and Niagara – who Coach Senk noted had great season in 2024 (38-17 record). That will bring them into their CAA Conference schedule where the Seawolves will be looking to that that next step and be a contender for the championship.
