The 2026 State University of New York New Paltz baseball team looks to make its final season in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) a memorable one. Coming off another very successful 2025 campaign, the Hawks, though listed fourth in the SUNYAC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll, returns more than enough talent to be a big factor in the race to the 2026 SUNYAC crown.
 
"We look really good so far this preseason," said SUNY New Paltz senior pitcher and co-captain Xavier Zykoff. "Pitching is definitely going to be a major part of our play style this year. We brought in a lot of good pitchers and a lot of good returning pitchers from last year, so that combined with our offense is definitely going to be a powerhouse going into the year."
 
While the loss of nine experienced players, including two-time All-American Tommy Kreider, might seem like a high mountain to climb, eighth year coach Thomas Seay still has a solid core of returnees and a slew of young players just waiting to have an impact this season.
 
SUNY New Paltz finished 2025 with a 27-15 overall record, while posting its best ever SUNYAC record at 14-4 and earning a second straight trip (10th overall) to the SUNYAC tournament. Last season the team led SUNYAC in five offensive categories: .333 batting average; .923 OPS; 369 runs scored; 489 hits, including 106 doubles; .494 slugging percentage and a .429 on base percentage. SUNY New Paltz also was listed second in RBI, walks, triples and home runs.
 
Defensively, the Hawks held opponents to a .278 batting average, .731 OPS, 233 runs, 380 hits, .382 slugging percentage and a .379 on base percentage over 42 games.
 
The loss of the top of their lineup including All-Region selections Michael Ascanio, Anthony Pericolosi and Kreider — the best player to ever suit up for the Hawks — can't go unsaid. However, SUNY New Paltz has a young group ready to step in to make up for the production lost.
 
"It's going to be hard. We lost our top four hitters especially like Tommy Kreider, Michael Ascanio, Anthony Pericolosi and Dillon Ristano — those four guys are gone and we're going to have a new type of offense," said Hawks senior infielder and co-captain Fabian Apicella. "We're going to be younger, so we are going to have to find ways to manufacture runs differently. We're not going to wow everyone where we're going to put up 15 or 20 runs a game, but I know that in our close games that our offense is going to be able to come through."
 
 
SUNY New Paltz returns four All-SUNYAC selections from a season ago, including field players Wallace Kirkpatrick and Matt Sarni and pitchers Kiran Painganker and Michael Weed. The other returnees either have significant playing experience or have been biding their time to truly show their skills. Joining them will be three outstanding transfer students and 11 talented first-year players.
 
Sarni, who pitched in 10 games starting five, totaled 26 strikeouts in 34.2 innings and three saves en route to earning All-SUNYAC honors, alongside Weed (All-SUNYAC Second Team) and Kiran Paingankar (SUNYAC Co-Rookie of the Year). They are joined by a 2024 All-Region pitcher in Zykoff, along with a promising young group, alongside second and third-year arms that have developed nicely over the course of the year.
 
"Our pitching is going to be our strong suit," Apicella said. "We are returning Kiran and Mike Weed. They were our one and two last year and we're returning guys like Xavier, Sarni, Connor Catania and Matt Sarni are going be the bulk of our staff and we've looked really really good, so really excited to get back out there with these guys."
 
Wallace Kirkpatrick (Jr. Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central HS) was a First-Team All-SUNYAC pick at catcher last season and will again handle SUNY New Paltz's pitching corps. A year ago, Kirkpatrick started 32 of 33 games, batted .339 in 119 at bats, while totaling 40 hits, 25 runs and 30 RBI. Defensively, he had 81 catches, 74 putouts with five assists. Rounding out the depth for the Hawks at the position is sophomore Harry Baliber (Huntington, NY/Huntington HS, freshman Luca Sieger (Maplewood, NJ/P27 Baseball Academy (SC) who was a member of the U18 German National team, James Trepiccione (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai HS), one of Suffolk County's top defensive catchers, and Alex Long (Victor, NY/Victor Senior HS) who was a starter on the Blue Devils Section V, Class AA champions.
 
In the infield, SUNY New Paltz is led by senior captains Sarni and Apicella (Howard Beach, NY/Scholar's Academy). Apicella earned one SUNYAC Player of the Week honor a year ago, playing in 39 games with 38 starts. He batted .346 in 136 at bats, with 47 hits, 33 runs and 21 RBI, along with going 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. In the field, Apicella had 94 catches with 20 putouts and 64 assists. Sarni (Levittown, NY/Gen. Douglas Macarthur HS) earned All-SUNYAC First Team honors last season, playing in 40 games, starting 39 with a .320 batting average in 125 at bats, with 40 hits, 28 runs and 25 RBI. He had 143 catches with 45 putouts and a team leading 84 assists.

Garrett Grathwohl (Cutchogue, NY/Mattituck Jr.-Sr. HS) started 19 of 22 games and batted.308 in 65 at bats with 20 hits, 14 runs scored and 16 RBI. He posted 158 catches, 150 putouts and five assists.
 
Also back are senior Nico Batkay (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay-East Fishkill HS) and sophomores Christian Apicella (Howard Beach, NY/Scholar's Academy), Jagger Duque (Bellmore, NY/St. Anthony's HS) and Johnny McHugh (Port Chester, NY/Greenwich HS). McHugh also saw action on the mound in 17 games with four starts and an overall record of 4-1 (1-0 SUNYAC) with one save and 2.28 era with 12 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. McHugh is primed to make a huge jump in year two and will vie for a starting spot in the lineup at first base.
 
"We've just got to stay disciplined throughout the whole year," Apicella said. "Last year we were really good, we just cooled off at the wrong time. I think this year with a younger group, we have to grow together and overcome a lot of adversity that we are going to face early on with a young team and if we can get hot at the right time again like we did my sophomore year, we're going to be really good and going to have a chance again."
 

Two transfers look to impact both infield play and overall team success. Senior Tommy Poggi (Hawthorne, NY/Briarcliff HS/Westchester CC/SUNY Cortland) was a two-time All-Region and All Conference selection at Westchester CC, also earning Region 15 Gold Glove honors. He batted .414 with 106 RBI, 165 hits and 48 stolen bases for the Vikings before spending his junior year at SUNY Cortland where he saw limited action with seven hits and three RBI. Joining him is junior Scott Northrop (Ronkonkoma, NY/Connetquot HS/St. Joseph's University-LI). In two seasons with the Golden Eagles, he posted a .314 batting average with 27 hits, 25 runs, 17 RBI with 33 putouts for a 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
The future is bright with two incoming first-year infielders. Andrew Asaro (East Williston, NY/The Wheatley School) was a 2025 Newsday Top 100 pick, while Nathan Pimentel (Bronx, NY/Mt. St. Michael Academy) was a 2025 Perfect Game/Rawlings Northeast Senior Honorable Mention.
 
Returning outfielders include senior Robert Gregory, and juniors Joe Richetti and Ryan Muskopf. Richetti (Holbrook, NY/Sachem HS East) started 32 of 34 games played with a .331 batting average over 118 at bats with 39 hits, 24 runs and 18 RBI. He also stole 15 of 18 bases and defensively had 55 catches, with 52 putouts and two assists. Muskopf (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills HS West) saw action in 25 games, batting .237 with 14 hits, 20 runs in 59 at bats. He had 72 catches, 70 putouts and one assist. Gregory (Queens, NY/Bayside HS) saw action in 12 games with three hits, six runs and six RBI. He'll see time both in the field and on the mound this season.
 
Looking for serious playing time is redshirt sophomore transfer Louis Kaleb (Yaphank, NY/Longwood HS/U Albany). The former Newsday Top 100 baseball pick saw action in 23 games in his one playing season with the Great Danes, having red-shirted his freshman year. In 17 at-bats, he had four hits, seven runs and one RBI. Three talented freshmen look to make an impact: Tommy Benfer (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro HS) was a 2025 All NYS pick for the Huskies, Joe Scarabino (Ronkonkoma, NY/Connetqout HS) was All-League, leading the T-Birds to the 2025 Suffolk County Class AAA and Yanthony Diaz (Bronx, NY/Mt. St. Michael Academy) finished his scholastic career as one of the sluggers in the CHSAA Class AA-Central Division.

"I think as a group a lot of the new guys that joined the squad this year have been very impressive," Zykoff said. "We have a lot of hard-working diligent guys that are getting after it every day out here in the cold and it's certainly going to make an impact on the field this year."
 
The Hawks will carry a 16-man pitching roster with four seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and three first year players. Leading the pitching entourage is Weed (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush HS) who earned All-SUNYAC and All-Region Second Team honors a year ago after finishing with a record of 6-2 overall and a 4-2 conference mark. He garnered a 2.93 ERA and a WHIP of 1.35, striking out 55 batters in 64.2 innings pitched, while holding opponents to a .265 batting average.