Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
Fresh off of a season in which they won the Catholic League and New York State Championship, the Holy Trinity Titans very narrowly missed going back-to-back in 2024. After an 18-9 season, the Titans fell just short of their goal of repeating after a championship loss to St Anthony’s.
With the success that the Titans have enjoyed in recent years, it’s no surprise that a number of their players are continuing their baseball careers following their high school graduation at the college level, including a handful of 2024 graduates. They include Tyler Cook (Troy), Gabe Klarikaitis (Molloy), Andrew Heppner (Pace), Andrew Sinclair (University of Bridgeport) and Ryan Czyz (University of St. Joseph).
“We graduated some really special players that had great baseball careers as Titans.” Holy Trinity head coach Dan Luisi said. “Winning a NYS Championship in 2023 and being the league runner-ups in 2024.”
While there are a number of key players departing, there is still plenty of talent that is returning from last year’s team. Among the returners for the Titans are seniors John Perino, who is committed to St. Joseph’s University. Joey LaScala will be playing at Bridgeport next year. Matthew Czyz is committed to play at Misericordia University, Aidan Glynn who is set to play at the University of Mount St. Vincent’s and Christian Balkcom, who will be playing at Virginia State University.
The key players don’t end with seniors, however, as there are a number of juniors and underclassmen who will likely contribute to the team in 2025. They include Jalen Josey, who is committed to play at Stony Brook following the 2026 season, Victor Acosta, Christian Poveda and 2024 All-League player Jaden Alvarez.
Josey batted ,316 with 2 doubles, two triples, 10 RBIs and 9 runs scored after getting called up halfway through the season. Alvarez batted .280 with 3 doubles, two triples, 16 stolen bases and committed only 4 errors on 96 chances.
Tied again! Jalen Josey comes through with a 2-out, 2-strike RBI single and it’s 3-3 as we head to the 9th pic.twitter.com/cSDmQT8C5G
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 27, 2024
In terms of underclassmen, sophomores Dom Longardino and Joey Maxwell, as well as freshman SJ Garneau are all expected to play big roles for Holy Trinity in 2025. Unfortunately for Holy Trinity, they will be without Vassar College-commit Aidan Annello, who is expected to miss the entirety of his senior season due to injury.
When it comes to the strength of his team this season, Luisi, who is entering his eighth season as head coach of the team, believes that their athleticism, as well experience will help guide the team in 2025.
Congratulations to Dominic Longardino (East Meadow 2027) on capturing the 2024 Axcess Home Run Derby (HS Division). He defeated Anthony Carlo in the finals pic.twitter.com/E9tHTFKOBR
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 13, 2024
“We are really athletic.” Luisi said. “I think we are going to be able to score runs in different ways. We will be able to be more versatile and creative with our lineup. We return some really good defensive players and I think that can be a strength for us. We have a senior-led pitching staff with Perino, Lascala and Czyz followed up by Acosta, who is one of the best arms on Long Island. We look forward to another season competing against some of the best players and teams on Long Island.” Overall, the Titans return 75 innings from last season.
The Holy Trinity Titans will begin their season on March 25 against Chaminade.
