Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
Coming off their first championship in 24 years, the St. Anthony’s Friars had a successful regular season in which they secured the No. 2 seed and the bye. Unfortunately, they were unable to translate that into the playoffs as they suffered defeats to Kellenberg and St. John the Baptist.
“The mindset is a little different this year,” said captain and Stony Brook-commit Jacob Vaccariello. “Last year we had 15 guys that wanted to win, this year it’s 25.”
Head Coach Paul Parsolano echoed that sentiment when speaking about his squad.
“The energy has been good,” he said. “They are confident. They are very aware that last year was a disappointment coming off a championship. It’s been hanging on us for 6 months. You can see the energy levels and the way the guys are moving around.”
The Friars did graduate several impact players from last year including Catcher of the Year Phil Mazzola, All-League OFs Anthony Carlo (SUNY Cortland) and Alex Bono (Harford CC) as well as All-League INF Adrian Tavarez (St. John’s) and All-League RHP Lucas Miller (Union).
While that was certainly an impactful class, their current crop of seniors possess an even higher ceiling.
Luke Coats starts the game with 2 strikeouts. Fastball sitting 90 MPH pic.twitter.com/mLvf7ccWfK
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 15, 2025
The Friars will likely go as far as their best players take them. At the top of that list are their two West Virginia-commits; Luke Coats and CJ Alfano. Both were regulars on the championship winning team in 2024, both are captains and are two of the most talented players on Long Island.
Coats was the workhorse last season. He won 3 games, fired 43 innings with 50 strikeouts, compiled a 2.28 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and held opposing batters to a .187 average. With Victor Acosta transferring to Georgia Premier Academy, he has a very strong case as the best pitcher in the league. When he’s on the mound, the Friars will expect to win. His fastball has been up to 94 MPH and he combines that with a hellacious slider.
Alfano, who is switching from 1B to CF to prepare himself for college, is coming off a strong season in which he batted .295 with a ridiculous .506 OBP. He notched 4 doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs with 7 stolen bases.
There he goes again
CJ Alfano (St. Anthony’s 2026) crushes his second home run of the weekend pic.twitter.com/3mI2S8sRMl
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 29, 2024
Joining Coats atop the rotation and Alfano in the lineup is Jacob Vaccariello. He’s an exceptionally talented two-way player that will play SS in Games 1 and 2 of series and pitch the third games in order to protect his arm.
He pitched 20.1 innings last season with 2 saves. He struck out 30 and compiled a 1.72 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. Opposing batters hit just .141 off him. Parsolano noted that it was a consideration to use him as the closer again but ultimately he impacts the standings more as a lockdown starting pitcher. He’s been up to 93.1 MPH this winter.
RHP Mario Lazzinnaro (St. Anthony’s 2026) FB 84-86 pic.twitter.com/mnpv1hsCCb
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 11, 2025
The pitching staff will also include Iona-commit Mario Lazzinaro and Kean-commit Michael Clare. Clare pitched 36 innings with 4 wins, 1 save, 41 Ks and a 2.12 ERA while Lazzinaro pitched 7 innings, allowing 1 run with 8 Ks and 1.42 WHIP. Russell Sage-commit T.J. Walsh threw 6 innings last season with one win. He struck out 4 and allowed two runs. They also return St. Joseph’s-commit Dominic Fazio.
That group, in addition to some other arms gives Parsolano plenty of confidence in their run prevention.
“We have an ocean of guys on the mound,” said Parsolano. “We have two 10th graders that throw 85-86 MPH, with command of off-speed pitches that won’t really have a chance to pitch.” In terms of how the pecking order will go, Parsolano said, “that’s on them – it’ll shake itself out.”
Joining Alfano in the OF will be Luke Chekmayan. He batted .333 last season with a .538 OBP and 13 stolen bases. He profiles as a typical leadoff batter or 9-hole hitter with great speed. He will be attending Fordham University in the fall.
Senior captain Michael Carr will man the hot corner; solidifying what should be a strong left side of the infield. He compiled a .383 OBP, hit 2 homers and drove in 10 runs last season.
Due to their high volume of seniors last year, there are many spots for grabs including RF, 1B, 2B, C. But with their pipeline of talent, they have players ready to contribute at all grades.
That’s 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ to start for Decaro.
Pair of ꓘs in the first. pic.twitter.com/LKOd9RR7Vn
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) February 20, 2026
St. Anthony’s has 25 active college players from their classes of 2022-2025. They also have three active minor leaguers; Brian Fitzpatrick (’18, Brewers), Anthony D’Onofrio (’18, Mariners) and Cam Leary (’19, Athletics). They also have a potential first round draft pick in ’23 Jason DeCaro, who is the ace of North Carolina’s rotation and is 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA.
“What we’ve done over the last 7 years, that kind of validates it,” said Parsolano. “We have had so many college guys. That’s our job to get them ready to continue their career.”
“Jason is gonna be a first or second rounder. We’ve been very fortunate that we have a school that does things right academically and athletically. It got him ready to pitch at the next level and it helps bring in other guys as well,” said assistant coach Greg Naccari.
They will kick off the 2026 season on Saturday, March 28 against LuHi at Moriches Athletic Complex.
