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Fall Ball Series Powered by Dreams Training Facility: Molloy University

(Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of the popular ‘Fall Ball Series’ in which we highlight local colleges and preview their upcoming season. Special thanks to Dreams Training Facility for sponsoring this year’s series.)

By Anthony DiCocco

The Molloy Lions are no strangers to winning. After all, the three-time reigning ECC champions have captured five of the conference’s last six titles and won the NCAA East Regional last year before their run ended in the East Super Regional.

Even with Molloy’s impressive resume, head coach Joe Fucarino, the 2026 ECC Coach of the Year, stays laser-focused on the present.

“It’s a new book every year,” Fucarino said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “Last year and all the years in front of it don’t mean anything for this year. I don’t even look at it as defending [titles].”

Luckily for the Lions, this year’s squad will feature a sizable amount of continuity. Molloy is returning five members of last year’s starting lineup, as well as a majority of its pitching staff.

In the infield, senior Brian Sanchez, who slashed .351 with an .841 OPS during an All-ECC First Team campaign a season ago, is set to reprise his role as the team’s everyday third baseman. Fellow seniors Mike Sweeney and Jack Vallario will also continue to be a formidable duo up the middle. 

Like Sanchez, Sweeney also posted an .841 OPS while totaling a team-leading 25 steals as the Lions’ starting shortstop. Vallario reached base at a .425 clip in 2026 and accumulated a .822 OPS.

With three of last year’s four starting infielders returning, Fucarino emphasized his desire to build his team through recruiting high schoolers and keeping them at Molloy for the long haul.

“In this new world of transfering, I believe in development,” Fucarino said. “When you have a number of guys returning, your chemistry and culture really develop well. Returning guys nurture the underclassmen through the fall and then we get after it.”

Two key pieces of the Lions’ lineup that will not be back are first baseman Sean Welsh and right fielder Steve Mulqueen. Welsh — the 2026 ECC Player of the Year — graduated while Molloy fell victim to the transfer portal in Mulqueen’s case, as the All-ECC First Team member moved on to the Division I level at Fairleigh Dickinson University. 

With Welsh’s departure, a number of players are still in the mix for the starting job at first base. 

“When you have a player like Sean Welsh, you’re never going to replace him,” Fucarino said. “But you have to have another guy who can step in and do what he can do himself. Maybe even two guys take over and it’s a platoon, but they have to be the best versions of themselves.”

One potential suitor to fill the void left by Welsh is Michael D’Ambrosio, who is a two-way transfer from Hofstra. Despite receiving limited playing time over his two years with the Pride, D’Ambrosio earned the 2024 Joe Correa Diamond Award while at Plainview-Old Bethpage High School.

“[D’Ambrosio] was the best two-way player in Nassau County out of high school,” Fucarino said. “He fits our culture.”

Though Mulqueen leaves an enormous hole in his own right, the Lions’ outfield picture is a bit clearer, with seniors Joe Burriesci and Charlie Imhof back in the fold. Burriesci has patrolled center field over the past three seasons while Imhof — a 2026 All-ECC Second Team honoree — raked as a designated hitter last year, with his 11 homers and .954 OPS topping all returners.

Two names Fucarino mentioned as potential options to round out the outfield are Connor Hayes and Matthew Faraone. Hayes — a freshman — finished his career at Valhalla High School as the program’s all-time hits leader while Faraone is a two-way transfer from SUNY Farmingdale. During Friday’s intrasquad scrimmage, Hayes noticeably flashed the leather at second base.

Though they did not have a starting role a season ago, Fucarino envisions John Franco, Isiah Marino, Matt Nowlan and Ryan Langner making an impact in 2027. In an eight at-bat sample size last season, Marino racked up three hits, including a homer, while producing a 1.420 OPS. Nowlan — a junior — racked up an .808 OPS last year in an audition for the team’s first base job and Langner reached base in five of his 14 plate appearances. 

Franco saw the most action of the bunch a season ago, totaling 13 RBIs and a .664 OPS while appearing in 29 games with 16 starts. During Friday’s scrimmage, Franco pulled a long home run to right field and drove in a pair of runs with a single to follow up an impressive batting practice session.

“[Franco, Marino, Nowlan and Langner] have all been developing really nicely and they already played a lot last season,” Fucarino said. “All four of them are in a good spot to make an impact if they keep working, but nothing is going to be handed to them.”

All-ECC First Team catcher Jeremy Taggert also graduated, leaving an opening behind the dish. Anthony Marsillo likely has an edge to start after posting an .817 OPS through 29 games last season, but Ryan Zegers, Ian Hull and Angelo Forthofer are also in the mix.

On the mound, nearly all of Molloy’s impact arms are returning. The team graduated All-ECC First Team pitcher JC Kiss, but fellow First Teamers James Sill and Mike Knapp will lead the rotation once again. Knapp’s 96 punchouts and 3.15 ERA led the team amongst qualified pitchers and his 80 innings pitched trailed only Sill’s 81 ⅔, who tallied 91 strikeouts and pitched to a 3.31 ERA en route to being named the ECC Pitcher of the Year.

All-ECC reliever Jayden Patel, who topped out at 87 miles per hour on the radar gun on Friday, is also back after tallying eight saves and pitching to a 2.45 ERA last year, as is southpaw Artie Green, who sported a sparkling 1.45 ERA last year. 

Sophomore Jason Torres was another key bullpen arm for the Lions a season ago and he will continue to be a fixture on the bump in 2027 after producing a 3.12 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

The team’s final weekend starter is still up in the air, but Thomas Charlwood made five starts as a junior a year ago and it is possible that he can expand on that as a senior. Through 38 ⅓ frames, he notched a 3.76 ERA.

Still, the final rotation spot is up for grabs for anyone that steps up to take it.

“Of course we have ideas, but some change,” Fucarino said. “We’re going to build them up and develop them in the fall and then we’ll see how things go. It’s an open lineup and rotation; the year they’re in doesn’t matter.”

Molloy is set to open up its 2027 campaign in Myrtle Beach, S.C., against Bridgeport in the Northeast Challenge, an event that Fucarino runs. For now, the Lions will continue to focus on what is right in front of them before jumping ahead to their quest for a fourth consecutive ECC title.

“We’re just excited to continue what we’re doing in the fall as we get ready for the winter and spring,” Fucarino said. “We’re figuring out what we have to do to compete and we’re getting our goals set like every year.”