Here at Adelphi University for the first stop in the Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball. The Panthers are coming off a 20-26 season. They are led by first year Head Coach Mike Gaffney who led LIU Post to ECC Championships in 2017 and 2019 pic.twitter.com/dZf86cSPXD
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 23, 2025
The Adelphi Panthers usher in a new era in 2026 as they are now led by Head Coach Mike Gaffney. He replaces Bill Ianniciello, who announced he was retiring following the 2025 season. Gaffney was previously the head coach for LIU Post from 2014-2019, before they abruptly announced they will be combining the athletic programs with the Division-I Brooklyn campus. Gaffney enjoyed a great deal of success with the Pioneers, leading them to ECC Championships in both 2017 and 2019. In the latter year, they set a program record with 38 wins, and were one win away from facing New York Tech in what would’ve been an exciting All-Northern Boulevard Super Regional.
Gaffney spoke to Axcess Baseball following their team workout on Tuesday afternoon at William J. Bonomo Field.
“I kind of had a criteria of finding the right spot professionally but also finding the right spot personally,” he said in regards to why he was drawn to the Adelphi coaching position. “And Adelphi was always a job that I thought if it ever opened up, that would be one I’d be interested in. Having a connection here through my father, it’s kind of what drew me here and knowing the athletic program that’s here and the passion that’s behind it.”
Gaffney’s father, Bill, is an Adelphi Hall of Famer. He was a three-time All-League selection at SS and led Adelphi to the Knickerbocker Conference Championship in 1977. He batted .429 – which was fourth best in the nation. He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 19th round of the 1979 MLB Draft. Following a two-year professional career, he returned to Garden City to be an assistant coach under the legendary Ron Davies.
“When I was at Post, we had a similar situation, and when we were playing against Adelphi, you felt there is more than just a baseball program. It’s the baseball family and me being an extended member of that through my father, I was aware of that baseball family. It really drew me here.”
Mike Gaffney had a terrific baseball career as well. The Kellenberg grad was drafted by the Kansas City Royals out of NYIT in the 13th round of the 2003 MLB Draft. He played five seasons in the minor leagues, playing in 311 games and reaching Double-A.
Gaffney has transitioned his playing career into a successful coaching career. The Panthers will be hoping that his winning pedigree will lead them back to the top of the NE-10 for the first time since 2011.
The Panthers will not have captains this season. Coach Gaffney noted that he prefers to not bestow that upon anyone that might not be ready yet – preferring to go by the mantra “leaders lead” and “encouraging players to engage with us”.
They do have plenty of returning players that have stepped up, and two of those upperclassmen spoke to Axcess Baseball about their early impressions of what Coach Gaffney has meant to the culture of the team.
“He came in from day one and it was all about the little things – attention to detail with every rep. That’s changed a lot. The guys seem super bought in and focused on the process as opposed to the results. It shifted away our focus from the results in the spring to the right now. The team bonding has really been strong. All the guys have been conditioning a lot and it’s really bought the guys closer,” said fifth-year senior RHP John Carver.
Senior infielder Albert Ramos also spoke to Axcess Baseball following their practice.
“It’s a whole different feel at practice. Everyone is more engaged and into every drill. Coach Gaffney and Coach Cafiero are doing the drills and showing us how to do it. It’s been a learning experience and it’s been great. We play in a tough conference – anyone can beat anyone. Lot of good arms. But I think we have a chance,” said Ramos.
Congratulations to Dawson Montesa on breaking Adelphi’s single season strikeout record (105). The record was previously held by Robert Nixon in 2011 pic.twitter.com/ij6yvqVvc6
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 2, 2025
The Panthers will return plenty of players from the 2025 team that went 20-26 (10-14 in NE-10 play), but they will have the challenge of replacing some tremendous players. All-American RHP Dawson Montesa authored one of the best pitching seasons in Adelphi’s illustrious history. He compiled an 8-1 record with a sparkling 1.99 ERA and a program-record 105 strikeouts. He broke the previous record set by Robert Nixon in 2011. Nixon was later selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 46th round of the MLB Draft. Montesa, who was just a sophomore, blossomed into one of the best Division-II pitchers in the country. Unfortunately, that made him a valuable commodity and he transferred to West Virginia following the season.
They also received terrific production from freshman Jack Tate. The Wantagh-native was named NE-10 Southwest Rookie Hitter of the Year and NE10 First Team All-Conference. He led the team in batting (.352), second in OPS (1.026), third in runs (28), third in hits (44), second in doubles (9), second in homers (7). He transferred to St. John’s University following the season.
Their most productive offensive performer was senior Joe Pellegrino. The Commack-native was a force since stepping into the lineup in 2023. He was named NE10 Southwest Player of the Year and was First Team All-Conference He led the team in homers (10), OPS (1.096), RBIs (42), doubles (15), BBs (28) and virtually every other significant category. He compiled a 15-game hit streak. Pellegrino finishes his career 7th in program history in HRs with 25.
They also graduated 4-year starting SS Jack Wishner (198 career hits), Greyson Pizzonia (.289 AVG, .846 OPS), Alex Rende (.303 career AVG), among others.
Offensively, they will certainly rely on their bat-to-ball skills. Gaffney noted that they do not return many home runs from last season and they will emphasize playing their brand of baseball which features putting pressure on the defense.
They do have plenty of upperclassmen with a track record.
The infield features returning players such as Albert Ramos who batted .299 last season following a tremendous .335 season the year before. He plays a stout defense and will be one of their key cogs in the lineup. The infield also features Giancarlo Rengifo. Our audience may be familiar with him for his outstanding 2024 season in which he helped lead Clarke to the Nassau County Class A Championship. He batted .290 as a freshman, and certainly looks the part of an impact player. They return 1B Justin Wilkinson as well.
They also return senior outfielder Johnny Catuosco, who deserves a ton of praise for returning from a devastating leg injury during summer ball in 2023, to play a full season in 2025 and bat .301. He will likely man LF. They return CF James Eden, who batted .276 over 36 games.
Behind the dish, they appear to be in good hands with sophomore Matt Ryan and juniors Bryan McCleary and Evan Carway. Ryan possesses tremendous size and put on a clinic during his round of BP. He batted .289 over 26 games last season.
Fifth year senior John Carver will be one of their impact pitchers. He pitched 45.2 innings last year with 41 Ks. FB sits in the low 90s pic.twitter.com/mtatdvZLCn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 23, 2025
The pitching staff will certainly be young. With the transfer of Montesa and the graduation of Jack Carr, that is 107.2 innings of quality innings that will need to be replaced. They will count of 5th year RHP John Carver to take that next step. His bullpen was impressive, he combines a low-to-mid 90s fastball with a sharp slider and change up with plenty of depth. His veteran presence is much needed for the young staff. Much like Carver for the starting pitchers, Zach Rovner’s role will be crucial in the bullpen. The Pat-Med grad is entering his fifth year for the Panthers, and pitched in 14 games out of the ‘pen, notching 4 saves. His side winding delivery is difficult on opposing batters. His brother, Josh, also pitched 5 seasons for the Panthers beginning in 2018.
Adelphi has had a rich tradition of developing pitchers. They’ve sent several players to pro ball just over the last 15 years including:
- Bobby Lanigan
- Keith Couch
- Ron Nixon
- Mike Scudero
- Jonathan Gonzalez
- Dillon McNamara
- Jonathon Mulford
- T.J. Santiago
- Ed Baram
- Nic Luc
Much of the optimism surrounding their pitching staff is in the underclassmen. They brought in large recruiting classes the last two seasons with many of them pitchers such as Billy Kind, C.J. Forman, Tyler Bonsignore, Dylan Beirne, Jake Sekinski, and more.
Gaffney was not ready to place any roles on players, as it’s simply too early to make any of those decisions. They will be facing Molloy on October 11 in their first competition of the fall.
If the past is any indication, Gaffney will eventually lead the Panthers to prominence, but he will not put pressure on players to rush the process.
“I think whenever you’re building a program, you do have a mindset of ‘it’s a marathon journey and you want to built it to get better year-by-year’ but I’ve been telling the guys, ‘look I see what we have and I think we have some guys that can play, and there’s no reason for us not to be competing this year. With that said, they do have to put in the work, and trust what we’re giving them and take that work to another level and embrace that work in every rep you do.”
