Wantagh Looks to Defend Nassau Class A Crown

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

by Anthony DiCocco

Wantagh takes home the title! They defeat Seaford, 6-1, in Game 3 of the Nassau A Finals to capture the County Championship🏆

They will face Sayville in the Class A Long Island Championship next Thursday at Middle Country Athletic Complex at 4:30 pm. pic.twitter.com/lZXM4KZnm4

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2025

Head Coach Keith Sachs and the Wantagh Warriors will look to defend their crown in a highly-competitive conference.

In his 32nd season at the helm of the Warriors, Sachs has a tall task in front of him. After going 23-5 last year en route to winning a Nassau County title, Sachs will attempt to replace a number of key contributors from a team that fell just short in the Long Island Championship.

“We played good baseball and had a really good year,” Sachs said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “We lost our top four pitchers, our shortstop and all three outfielders. It’s a lot, but we don’t look at it that way. It’s an opportunity. It’s someone else’s turn … so we have to step up in a lot of places.” 

Gavin Diegnan (Wantagh 2025) named Joe Corea Diamond Award for best two-way player in Nassau pic.twitter.com/cuSwgu1Wrz

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2025

On the mound, a pair of southpaws in Christian Danzilo and Gavin Diegnan will represent the two biggest departures for Sachs. Across a team-high 70 innings pitched last spring, Danzilo (SUNY Oneonta) was dominant, going 8-2 with 75 strikeouts while sporting a 1.00 earned run average (ERA).

Diegnan (Post University) was even better, riding a 0.82 ERA and 89 punchouts to a 7-1 record. Along with his prowess on the rubber, Diegnan slashed a team-best .474 with 11 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 22 runs batted in (RBI), 15 steals and a 1.277 on-base plus slugging (OPS). For his efforts, Diegnan won the Joe Corea Diamond Award, which goes to Nassau’s best two-way player.

“We graduated a couple of lefties that really haven’t lost,” Sachs said.

RHP Dom Cusumano (Mount Saint Mary) leaves another hole as the team’s No. 3 starter after pitching to a 1.59 ERA over 44 innings last year. Like Diegnan and Danzilo, losing was a foreign concept to Cusumano, as he went 6-1 last spring.

Though losing that three-headed monster hurts, Sachs is happy with the way junior Sal Ansaldi is progressing. In addition to helping out on the infield, Ansaldi is a right-handed pitcher that Sachs hopes will become a “top-of-the-rotation guy.”

Senior Ryan Martone, who twirled a 1.17 ERA in six innings last year, is also a name to watch. Martone does a bit of everything for the Warriors, as he displayed his versatility last year by playing catcher and seeing time in the infield on top of pitching.

Ryan Tullo (Wantagh 2026) is a rising senior for the reigning Nassau County Class A champs. A projectable player with a power arm at third base, good glove, and great bat, Ryan has garnered lots of attention from D1 scouts. pic.twitter.com/EvoPFmIrnL

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 3, 2025

A key name coming back is All-Conference 3B Ryan Tullo, who may also see some innings on the mound this year before heading off to Lynn University. Last spring, Tullo batted .352 and produced a .979 OPS while driving in 20 runs. 

“[Tullo]’s got to be the guy; it’s his team now,” Sachs said. “When he was in 10th grade, he was a young guy contributing to a team making a championship run, and as a junior, he was a key member of a team winning a championship. As a senior, he needs to be the reason we’ll win now.” 

Senior Charlie Cascino will join Tullo in the infield and man second base after earning the starting job there last year. As a junior a season ago, Cascino batted .270 with 16 runs scored and a .434 on-base percentage (OBP).

“[Cascino] was a tremendous surprise and a very important member of the team last year,” Sachs said. “This year, he’s going to have to move up in the lineup and be counted on to be good.”

Rounding out Wantagh’s middle infield duo is sophomore Nick Lattanzio, who will fill in for All-County SS/RHP Ryan Conigliaro (SUNY Maritime). Last year, Conigliaro led the Warriors with four homers and also knocked in 24 runs while batting .273. However, Sachs expects Lattanzio to be “really good” after being “way ahead of the scale” during his freshman campaign.

Like the pitching staff, there will be an open competition for first base. Ansaldi is expected to see time there when he’s not pitching, while junior Joe Riso, who joined the team in the playoffs last year, will also vie for playing time.

Infielder Nick Benisvy will try to break into the lineup as well after showing potential as a sophomore last year.

Behind the plate, junior Luke Tierney and senior Matt Rackley, who Sachs called a “really hard-working kid,” will both see playing time. Tierney caught the bulk of games last season as a sophomore, while Rackley is committed to play at Montclair State after a strong close to last year. 

Catcher Matt Rackley (Wantagh 2026) commits to Montclair State University pic.twitter.com/ISJy1KdA6I

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 22, 2025

Whoever is not catching can potentially see time in the outfield, which will need a complete makeover after Wantagh graduated Tommy Wunderlich, Cole Spinelli and Michael Avitabile. Spinelli, who was deployed in center field, led the team with 30 RBIs and added 10 steals while slashing .329 with an .878 OPS.

As the Warriors’ left fielder, Wunderlich also raked at the plate, posting a .967 OPS and .356 average to go along with 24 RBIs. Avitabile hit .303 and patrolled right field.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the outfield,” Sachs said. “We have some athletes and they’re going to go out and battle for the opportunity. Those spots are there to be won, whether they’re by outfielders or infielders who want to convert.”

Although Wantagh is a younger group in a tough conference that features other impressive programs like Plainedge and Seaford, Sachs has full faith in his team’s ability to compete with anyone as it starts its bid to repeat as Nassau County champions.

“Defensively, we’ll be just as good, if not better than we were last year,” Sachs said. “It’s not going to be as easy, but we’ll win our share of games because we play baseball the right way. As long as we get better as the year goes on and those players start to emerge, then we’ll make a run.”

Sachs’ new crop of Warriors will take the field for the first time this season against Floral Park at home on March 24.