Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by George Caratzas
The 2025 season will look a bit different for the East Meadow Jets. Former-head coach Vinny Mascia retired following the season and Bill O’Connor has taken the reins for the Jets as they look to build upon a 10-9 season a year ago.
In the playoffs, East Meadow was bounced in the first round by Farmingdale, ending its season.
“They were a pretty competitive team last year,” O’Connor said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “That was a pretty young team, so we have a lot of guys returning. Two of our top-three pitchers are back so we should be pretty good.”
The two pitchers that O’Connor references are Alec Coehlo and Spencer Kemler. Coehlo will serve as the Jets’ top option, as the SUNY Maritime-commit had a 2.85 ERA in 39 ⅓ innings as a junior. This year, O’Connor expects him to have a big season atop East Meadow’s rotation.
“He’s going to be our ace,” O’Connor said. “He has really good command of multiple pitches and has a really good breaking ball that he can throw at any time for a strike. Overall, really good command of his secondary pitches.”
— Spencer Kemler (@Spencer28492201) January 22, 2025
Kemler is a solid second option in his own right, as he trailed only Coehlo in terms of innings pitched a season ago. In his respective junior campaign, the Georgian Court University commit threw 34 innings and struck out 33 batters.
At the plate, the Jets will lead off senior center fielder Eric Garcia. Last season, Garcia hit just .256, but walked eight times which led to a .377 on-base percentage. O’Connor believes that Garcia will be a spark plug at the top of the batting order.
“Eric is a catalyst for us offensively,” O’Connor said. “He’s a speedster out there. Hopefully he can set the table for us at the plate because he can cover a lot of ground out in center field.”
East Meadow has no shortage of guys to bring Garcia in once he’s aboard, headlined by the Smith brothers. Senior first baseman Owen Smith was arguably the Jets best hitter a year ago, as he starts his third year on the varsity roster. He slashed .381/.487/.444 with an OPS of .931, the highest mark on the team. Additionally, Smith drove in a team-high 15 runs and doubled four times.
“Owen has a big bat,” O’Connor said. “Good lefty stick with power to both gaps. He is going to be a major power bat in the middle of the lineup.”
Trevor Smith with a 2 run ground-rule double helping South Shore Elite get out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st pic.twitter.com/345zwyVPlD
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 21, 2024
As for shortstop Trevor Smith, he was selected as an All-Country player as a sophomore last year. Entering his junior year, Smith is coming off a year that saw him hit .339 while reaching base at a .506 clip. He scored 25 times, by far the most of any Jet. Smith is also a high-leverage option out of O’Connor’s bullpen as he threw 6 ⅓ scoreless innings last year.
“He is an all around star for us,” O’Connor said. “He’s the shortstop, he’s the closer and he’s a great contact hitter with a good line drive swing. Trevor is also a very smart player and is always heads up.”
Catcher Joe Lanza (East Meadow 2025) commits to Farmingdale State College pic.twitter.com/dbUjDbdda0
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 9, 2024
The final college commit that O’Connor will run out there is catcher Joe Lanza. Lanza is committed to play just down the road at Farmingdale State. Last year, Lanza’s overall offensive numbers were down, but he displayed maybe the best power of any East Meadow player. He slugged a home run and four doubles while driving in 12 runs.
“We’re really confident having him back there,” O’Connor said. “He knows all these pitchers and is very reliable and dependent. He is a true defensive stopgap behind the plate that can stop the running game for the other team and then be a smart player as well. He is an extension of the coaching staff.”
Finally, senior Tommy Stein is back in right field for the Jets. Stein is another power threat in O’Connor’s starting nine that hit .286 last year with an .881 OPS. Of his 16 hits, four of them were doubles and two went for three bases.
“Tommy has been riddled with injuries the last few years but we’re expecting some big things from him,” O’Connor said. “He will hit in the middle of the order. He’s a good hitter and a really good athlete with an excellent arm in right field.”
With the season quickly approaching, O’Connor is pleased with the team’s progress over the winter.
“Offseason work has gone really well,” O’Connor said. “They’re a hungry team that can’t wait to get started. These guys are really looking to do some damage and hoping to build on last year in both the regular season and the playoffs.”
The Jets will open their season at home, as they host Mepham on March 31.
