Men - UConn Baseball 2026 | Page 8 | The Boneyard

Men UConn Baseball 2026

.-.
.-.
Besides Oliver Pudvar, wondering who everyone thinks will fill out the weekend rotation. I believe we have the potential to be a very strong offensive team. Hopefully get solid starting pitching to go along with the offense.
 
ucjoet said:
Besides Oliver Pudvar, wondering who everyone thinks will fill out the weekend rotation. I believe we have the potential to be a very strong offensive team. Hopefully get solid starting pitching to go along with the offense.
Expand ...
Suchy, West, Pudvar and Meyers if I had to guess and depending on health
 
.-.


Projected Regional Teams​

uconn.png

1.​

Head Coach: Jim Penders
2025 Record: 38-21 (17-4)
Fall Report: Read here

Strengths​

Coaches always say you can never have too much lefthanded pitching, particularly lefthanded starters. Connecticut will put that to the test with a weekend rotation that will likely feature three lefties. Oliver Pudvar (6-1, 3.60 with 73 K in 70 IP) returns after pitching on Fridays last year. The bespectacled former Manhattan transfer may be able to shift back to a later slot in the weekend, but the Huskies are still going to rely on him to pitch big innings. He held hitters to a .236 average last year with an elite line-drive rate of just 9.6 percent. He then went out and threw 15 scoreless innings over five appearances in the NECBL. Pudvar may flip rotation spots with Charlie West (6-0, 2.58), who produced the best numbers on the team after moving into the weekend rotation in early April. He went 6-0, 1.85 in 43.2 innings over eight starts with opponents batting just .106 against his fastball. West has refined his slider to give him a third weapon after dominating while being almost exclusively fastball/changeup last year. Perhaps the most talented of UConn’s three lefty starters is sophomore Cayden Suchy (3-4, 5.93). He had moved into the starting rotation a month into last season, but suffered an elbow injury and was shut down after striking out 35 in 30.1 innings. His injury opened the door for West to move into the rotation. Suchy has the best stuff of the trio, sitting 90-94 with a four-pitch mix, including a big curveball that he hadn’t fully harnessed but did not give up a hit on last season. Behind the lefties, Brown transfer Paxton Meyers (4-4, 4.43 in 2024) has been strong during the preseason and could also factor in the starting rotation after missing last season with injury.

Question Marks​

While most of the impact pitching roles will feature familiar faces that have performed in high-leverage situations for the Huskies, the same can’t be said for the lineup. Connecticut only returns three starting position players from last season. It lost Big East Player of the Year Ryan Daniels to the draft along with four players to graduation, and a couple of notable bats transferred to West Coast schools. So Jim Penders and staff went out and snagged multiple transfers that have proven track records at smaller schools, but the Huskies have a roster that has more newcomers than returners for the first time in Penders’ 23 seasons leading the program. That’s led to some definite concern about how much they are going to have to rely on the unproven-at-this-level bats.

Star Power​

The good thing for the newcomers is they won’t necessarily have to carry the load offensively. UConn returns our preseason pick for Big East Player of the Year, Tyler Minick, who hit .355, 22, 74 with 15 stolen bases last year despite getting off to a slow start due to an orbital fracture forcing him to miss the beginning of the season. After splitting time at first and third base last year, Minick is moving to the outfield where his speed will be able to play more. He’s got a chance to become the third Husky to earn Player of the Year honors in the last four years, especially if he continues to crush breaking balls like he did last year. Minick hit .404/.492/.846 with 10 extra-base hits in 52 at-bats that ended against curveballs or sliders.

Glue Guys​

Minick put up monster numbers last year, but only received second-team All-Big East honors. UConn’s lone returning first-teamer is Rob Rispoli. The third-year sophomore hit .324, 4, 30 with 19 stolen bases while commandeering the shortstop position from multi-year starter Bryan Padilla. He really works at-bats, drawing 62 free bases (46 walks, 16 hit by pitches), and if he can cut down on his 18.9 percent strikeout rate, his numbers could even tick up more. Rispoli will combine with Evan Menzel at second base to give UConn a stellar double-play tandem that should bat back-to-back at the top of the lineup. Menzel transferred in from Maine, where he hit .342/.447/.530 with just as many walks as strikeouts. In a late-season series against Connecticut, Menzel reached base five times, hitting a homer and a double, which undoubtedly stood out for the Husky coaching staff when he went into the transfer portal. The middle infield duo seems to complement each other well with Rispoli hitting from the right side and Menzel following from the left side to set the table for righthander Tyler Minick and lefty Maddix Dalena.

Rob-Rispoli-Connecticut-4.jpg
Rob Rispoli (Shotgun Spratling)

Picks to Click​

Dalena was the preseason conference player of the year last season, after hitting 13 homers with 43 RBIs in 2024, but his season lasted just 11 games before a wrist injury ended his campaign. He returned to form in the summer while playing in the NECBL, hitting .315, 2, 16 in 19 games. If he can carry that forward to this season, the UConn lineup could get deep and scary with a quickness. Another player returning from ailment is catcher Connor Lane (.272, 6, 34). He had a productive freshman campaign behind the dish until one morning during the conference tournament when he woke up with his arm dramatically swollen. Lane got surgery for a blood clot and after working extremely hard through his rehab process is in the best physical condition of his career. He returned in the fall and had made a big jump, which he’s looking to carry over to the spring.

Top Newcomers​

Ultimately, the fate of this year’s UConn squad could come down to how well and how quickly the newcomers can transition to the Division I level. The coaching staff is confident Division II Southern New Hampshire transfer teammates Nater Wachter and Jackson Marshall are capable of making the jump and thriving. Wachter (.300, 15, 61) hit in front of Marshall at SNHU last year and earned first-team all-conference honors in the NE10 a year after being the league Rookie Hitter of the Year.

Marshall made it two Rookie Hitter of the Years in a row last year when he hit .337, 15, 56. He is a monster, standing 6-foot-8, 260 pounds. The former Mr. New Hampshire, who averaged 37.7 points and 14 rebounds in basketball, has proverbial light-tower power with the ability to drive the ball to all fields with his Richie Sexson-esque swings. Marshall gained more experience during the summer in the Futures League, hitting .306/.434/.541 with nine homers and 44 RBIs in 54 games.

2026 Outlook​

Connecticut should again be in Big East title contention and have a shot at an at-large bid, if it doesn’t win the conference tournament after seeing its streak of six consecutive regional appearances snapped last year when the Huskies were snubbed by the NCAA selection committee. They were left out in favor of schools from bigger conferences with worse RPIs despite sharing the Big East regular-season conference title, making it to the Big East conference tournament title game and having 38 wins. UConn was one of three mid-majors included in the First Four Out while the Last Four In were all power conference teams, including three Big 12 bubble teams.

To put themselves in NCAA tournament position, the Huskies will again embark on one of the most challenging schedules. They’ll have a pair of 10+ day trips going to Arizona and then on a West Coast swing to Portland and Northern California. They’ll also play non-conference series in North Carolina and Virginia before finally playing a home series when Big East play starts the final weekend of March. But last year, they defeated the ACC and SEC champions while also winning a series at Miami, so they are battle tested. They just have to go take care of business as they look for their third super regional in five years and then their first trip to the College World Series since 1979.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
167,345
Messages
4,519,515
Members
10,399
Latest member
southcampus


Top Bottom