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Coming Off An Impressive First Year in Nassau Conference A, Wheatley Excited for 2026

Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series

by Joe Bello

David Burke is entering his fourth season as the head coach at The Wheatley School in Old Westbury. After an excellent 2025 season, Burke and the Wildcats are looking to build on last year’s success in 2026.

Wheatley finished with a record of 18-5-1 during the 2025 season. They were the #3-seed in the Nassau-A Conference playoffs. After sweeping Mineola in the first round, Wheatley was eliminated by top-seeded Wantagh, which ended their season.

“For the first time in program history, Wheatley played in the A conference, we always have been a B school as a small school.” Burke said, “Our goal was to make the playoffs despite a conference loaded with strong baseball programs. I was incredibly proud of the way the guys competed in every game and an 18-5-1 record exceeded my expectations, but I had a good feeling that we were going to be very competitive. After taking the first playoff series, a strong, Wantagh team ended our season. It was a tremendous season indeed.”

Wheatley graduated several key players from its 2025 roster. This includes Andrew Asaro, who was All-Conference last season, and hit .303 with 20 hits. Asaro is now playing at SUNY New Paltz. Noah Fiorillo also graduated, he is now playing at FDU-Florham. He was All-League last season and threw out 12 runners as their catcher. Lastly is Ryan Silva, who is now playing at Albright College.

Burke does have a lot of talent returning to the Wildcats this season though. Leading that bunch is Casey Quinn, who was All-County and also named to the All-State, 6th team last season. Quinn had a monster year last season both at the plate and on the mound.

Quinn batted to a .359 AVG with 28 hits and 10 stolen bases at the plate. While on the mound, he posted a 1.06 ERA in 59 innings, boasting a 7-2 record with 65 strikeouts as well.

Fellow All-County winner, Alex Golub, also returns for his senior year in 2026. Golub hit .364 with 20 hits and 19 stolen bases last season.

“Both these guys had a big year for us last year,” Burke said, “So to have them return as seniors is huge. They bring leadership, accountability, and hard work to our program. No wonder they were voted as captains of the team this year.”

Other impact players returning for the Wildcats include pitcher Krish Patel. In 2025, he posted a 5-1 record, a 2.23 ERA, and 40 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched, which helped him to All-Conference honors.

“I’m excited for PJ O’Connor, one of my swiss army knives.” Burke said, “I can put him anywhere on the field.”

O’Connor hit .356 in his junior year, and Burke looks at him as one of their impact bats in the lineup this spring. 

“On the mound, I’m excited for TJ Samuel.” Burke added, “TJ is another reliable arm that will log a lot of innings as a starter and a reliever.”

Samuel will be used by Burke as another one of his weapons on the mound, behind Quinn and Patel.

Wheatley began their winter workouts in January, and has had at least 20 guys at each session, according to Burke. 

They also have the opportunity to go down to Florida for spring training. The team will travel to Orlando on March 14th for spring training, where they will play several scrimmages before returning to Long Island.

“I’m really excited for this season.” Burke said, “It’s a very experienced varsity team with most guys with multiple years of varsity baseball under their belt. We also have a talented JV group so the younger guys may be impactful for us down the stretch. We have loaded up this schedule this year to play some of Nassau’s best programs like Garden City, Farmingdale, Syosset, Chaminade, and Kellenberg, to name a few, to better prepare ourselves for a competitive season and deep playoff run.”

Wheatley opens up their season on March 24th where they go up against Plainedge.