(Editor’s Note: This is the sixth stop on the Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball in which we visit the local colleges and take a look at their upcoming season. Previously, we featured Adelphi, Old Westbury, Farmingdale, St. Joseph’s and Molloy. Special thanks to Max Effort Baseball for sponsoring this year’s series.)
There’s no sugar coating that 2025 was a down season for the Hofstra Pride. Frank Catalanotto’s squad challenged themselves with a tough non-conference schedule with trips to Tennessee and Kentucky, two nationally-ranked teams, but they were unable translate that into Ws when they came back up north.
When reflecting on the season, the 14-year big league veteran, said it’s pretty simple to sum up what happened:
“It’s pretty easy to answer what went wrong. Four of our better pitchers had Tommy John surgery (Carlos Martinez, Joe Curreri, Russell Hunter, Michael D’Ambrosio) in the fall. Three other guys were out for the year. We had 19 freshmen that came in. When you have that many new guys and combine it with that many pitchers hurt, it makes for a long season. There came a point where we realized ‘we have to play these freshman.’ We had five or six freshman in the lineup every night. It proved to be a good choice. They hit the ground running; they are much more mature on-and-off the field. They’ve looked really good so far. When you have a season like that it’s not just tough on the student-athletes but for the coaches.”
From last year’s team, the big loss is certainly Dylan Palmer. The sweet-swinging speedster had a remarkable career for Hofstra. He was selected in the 11th round of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite only playing three years in college, he set the program record for triples (11), third in hits (247) and fourth in AVG (.386). He was first team All-CAA selection, he started all 53 games and batted .400. Simply put, it will be close to impossible to replace exactly what he brought to the table. And even more impressively, he did it all as a walk-on.
Pittsburgh Pirates select Hofstra infielder Dylan Palmer in the 11th round of the 2025 MLB Draft pic.twitter.com/H0GvfAuDgn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 14, 2025
“We recruited Dylan. Every time you recruit a kid you want him to be able to perform well and get to pro ball. We want to develop him and get the best. For him – especially as a walk-on, he started hitting from the moment he was in the lineup and never stopped. He has a hit tool that you can’t teach. I’n very happy for him, he had a great career here at Hofstra.”
They also graduated Luke Masiuk, an outfielder who had transferred in from Northeastern following the 2023 season. He batted .276 with 10 HRs and 46 RBIs over 53 games.
“Not only what he did on the field was impactful but he was a really good leader. We will miss his leadership. He had some power and he played the game hard,” said Catalanotto.
Conversely, the team will get a massive boost from the return of ace RHP Carlos Martinez who was one of the four pitchers who underwent Tommy John. The Flushing native had a tremendous sophomore season in 2024 in which he went 6-4 with a 4.02 ERA over 78.1 innings with 95 Ks. He was named first team All-CAA. The coaches have been shocked by just how quickly he has regained his pre-injury form. He’s a pitcher that they weren’t able to replace in 2025 and they will need him at full strength in 2026.
Coach Catalanotto noted that he’s been sitting in the mid 90s with a wipeout slider. Additionally, he didn’t throw a fastball below 92 MPH. He’s drawn plenty of interest from big league teams, and he had the opportunity to get drafted this past year but opted to return to school.
Hofstra ace RHP Carlos Martinez missed all of 2025 after undergoing Tommy John but is back to full strength and focused on helping the Pride win pic.twitter.com/GnoNqI40ij
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 30, 2025
Their other big boost was the addition of transfer Danny Corona Jr. The Brooklyn-native was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the Baylor School in Tennessee. He turned it down and decided to attend college where he helped lead Wake Forest to the College World Series in 2023 where he notched a .970 OPS. He transferred to the University of Missouri for his junior season and he opted to come home for his senior season. He is the type of middle-of-the-order bat that is a difference maker.
Wake Forest’s Danny Corona Jr.’s parents were teens when he was born, prompting them to drop out of high school and move into an NYC housing project.
Now @DC7Jr capitalizes on father’s sacrifices while helping No. 1 @WakeBaseball reach the #CWSOmaha https://t.co/i9bORdGDQ6— Our Esquina (@OurEsquina) June 18, 2023
This season the Pride only brought in 3 freshmen, but also five transfers. They felt the large freshmen class from the previous season meant there was less of a need to.
Of that group, Catalanotto specifically mentioned three players that have stood out.
Infielder Tyler Castrataro (Mahopac, NY) received plenty of playing time as a freshman. He crushed 8 HRs and drove in 33 runs over 175 ABs. Coach said that he “had a good year as a freshman but he’s going to really blossom.”
Catcher/DH CJ Griggs (Kennedy Catholic) is a left-handed hitter than can really swing it. He batted .309 over 36 games played with 16 RBIs. He had a .433 OBP, displaying a very strong plate discipline. He will be a big part of their lineup.
Uncommitted catcher CJ Griggs (Kennedy Catholic 2023) up to 90 exit velo. Batted .440 during the summer pic.twitter.com/ggUAYcjpaX
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 6, 2022
Catcher Nick Biddle (St. Pete Beach, FLA) is another sophomore he had a strong showing as a freshman. He batted .300 over 90 ABs with a .390 OBP. He walked as many times as he struck out (12). Behind the dish, he is lauded for his strong arm.
Two other players that were mentioned were freshman Danny Escalante (Kingston, PA) and junior Gabriel Melara (San Francisco, CA) who transferred from a JuCo in California. Both are infielders that have opened eyes throughout the fall.
They brought in a pair of transfers with local ties – Sam Leonard (Sachem East) and JJ Devito (Wantagh).
In terms of the pitching staff, Martinez will be their Friday night guy. Joining him will be a pair of RHPs Sean Hamilton (Rocky Point 2022) Christian Rasmussen (Fairfield, CT). Catalanotto stated that Rasmussen has been 90-92 with good movement.
The Pride will follow the blueprint of last year in which they open up against a national powerhouse. This year it will be Mississippi State before coming home to face Iona and then another road trip to Liberty.
Coach spoke highly of his assistant HC Chris Rojas who had been his pitching coach during their magic run to the Division-II College World Series with New York Tech in 2019 and their cinderella run winning the CAA in 2022.
“Chris does everything,” said Catalanotto. “He does the practice plan. He is so involved in not only what goes on the field but also off the field as far as academics is concerned. He can handle every single thing that’s asked of him. He does it so well and he does it because he loves it.”
To prepare for the season, Catalanotto had his team play a “World Series” during the end of the fall schedule.
“The World Series gets intense. It’s the only time I encourage them to have fun and get on each other. It gets heated. Now we are starting to wind down but early on in the fall and during the middle it’s pretty intense. We expect a lot out of these kids. We had a great fall and we are pretty happy with it.”
