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Fall Ball Series Powered By Dreams Training Facility: St. Joseph’s University

by Trevor Dugan

From 2022 to 2024, St. Joseph’s won three straight Skyline Conference Championships. In the past two years however, they’ve watched rival Farmingdale State win back-to-back titles. In 2027, the objective for the Golden Eagles and Head Coach Tom Caputo is clear; get back on top. 

St. Joseph’s finished with a 16-4 Skyline Conference record in 2026, tied with Farmingdale State and Maritime for best in the conference. They ultimately fell short in the double elimination Skyline Conference tournament, eliminated by the eventual repeat champion FSC Rams. 

“All around our team was very good last year, we just didn’t show up when it got big, myself included,” Sophomore OF Andrew Amarando said. “This year though, we brought in transfers and we’ve got a lot more depth. There’s two or three guys at every position that could start.”

They certainly did have a good team. In 2026, the Golden Eagles’ team batting average was .329. Their team OPS was .884, and their run differential was +40. If there’s one thing Coach Caputo’s teams always do, it’s hit. There are plenty of reasons for St. Joseph’s to be optimistic heading into 2027. The Golden Eagles will be returning most of the talent from last season’s squad, including three All-Conference players, while also giving their roster a shot in the arm with the transfers Amarando mentioned, along with several promising freshmen. 

Paul McNally was named First Team All-Conference as both a DH and starting pitcher last season, the only Skyline Conference player to make the All-Conference team at two separate positions, establishing himself as a true two-way threat. The Walt Whitman graduate batted .439 with 47 RBI and seven home runs, leading the Golden Eagles in all three categories, while making nine starts on the mound and earning five wins. McNally will lead the way once again for St. Joseph’s this season. 

OF Andrew Amarando secured a First Team All-Conference nod as a freshman in 2026 after slashing a ridiculous .386/.451/.490 in 37 starts. Amarando was a standout two-sport athlete at Connetquot High School, excelling in both football and baseball. He brings a winning mentality and elite athleticism to a strong St. Joseph’s offense, and will look to build off of his stellar first season with the school in 2027. 

RHP Ryan Reynolds earned Second Team All-Skyline Conference honors as a reliever in 2026 after transferring to St. Joseph’s from Drew University following his freshman year. Reynolds recorded two saves in 15 appearances while pitching to a 4.01 ERA in his first season at St. Joseph’s. Now a junior, Reynolds will be a vital part of a St. Joseph’s pitching staff that has welcomed several exciting newcomers for 2027. 

“A goal for us coming into this year was to bring some arms in, we needed to throw more strikes,” Coach Caputo said. “We want to have depth in the starting rotation and some more depth in the bullpen.”

One of their new arms, Eric Mohr, is a transfer from Suffolk County Community College that posted a stellar 3.62 ERA in 54.2 IP for SCCC in 2026. Coach Caputo had nothing but good things to say about his new weapon. 

“Eric Mohr was one of Suffolk’s top guys last year and had a very good year,” Caputo said. “I talk to him about pitching and I feel like I’m talking to a big leaguer. He’s just so immersed in his craft. He’ll be big for us.” 

Another transfer who will contribute for St. Joseph’s immediately is sophomore Jaden Schmidt, who joins the Golden Eagles after playing his freshman season at the Division I University at Albany. Schmidt was a four year varsity player at East Islip High School, and was ranked as a top 15 RHP in New York State in 2025 by Perfect Game. His powerful arm will be a welcome addition to the St. Joseph’s pitching staff. 

One of the more intriguing pickups for the Golden Eagles is two-way freshman Chris Ragona from Sachem East High School. Ragona’s fastball reached above 90 MPH this summer, which caught the attention of Coach Caputo. The freshman has a chance to earn consistent work out of the bullpen and potentially make some starts in his first year at St. Joseph’s. 

“I’ve got to be careful with Chris’ arm, because he looks very good at short,” Caputo said. “But if he’s going to throw the ball like he has been all summer, how could he not be an option?” 

To Coach Caputo however, more important than fastball velocity or flashy numbers is the mental side of the game, particularly for the pitching staff. 

“Stuff is important and velocity is important, spin is important,” Caputo explained. “But the wherewithal and the toughness of the man, that’s actually most important.” 

That’s where the upperclassmen come in, and St. Joseph’s has several of them on both sides of the ball who have been productive for years. Graduate student Ryan Callaghan will likely be the opening day starter. The 6-foot-5 Kings Park native went 6-1 on the mound in 2026 and turned in his best performance of the year in the Skyline Conference Tournament, pitching 7.1 innings of three run ball while striking out 11 batters en route to a 9-6 playoff victory over Maritime. 

Senior infielders Dom Crema and Joe Thatcher enter 2027 with multiple seasons of starting experience under their belt. Starting first baseman Thatcher was second on the team with 46 RBI in 2026, and was an All-Conference player in 2025. Crema has made 67 starts across the past two seasons for St. Joseph’s, and will slot right back in this year as the everyday second baseman. 

Coach Caputo also expects John Margolies to be a contributor this season. The Hauppauge graduate transferred to St. Joseph’s from St. Thomas Aquinas prior to last season, but missed much of the season due to injury. Now fully healthy, look for Margolies to see plenty of playing time at third base in his junior season. 

Every college team sees new faces joining their ranks season after season, but at St. Joseph’s they don’t seem to miss a beat. To hear the players tell it, the Golden Eagles’ chemistry couldn’t be better. 

“We consider ourselves a family here, we brought back most of the guys from last year, and everyone we brought in has clicked with us right away,” the junior McNally said. “They all know what we want to do, win the conference, so I think we’re going to build off that chemistry and see some real success.” 

Coach Caputo knows what it takes to be successful at this level. He’s been doing it at every stop he’s made in his college coaching career. As an assistant at Farmingdale State University, he won three conference titles in three seasons. He then moved on to become head coach at Dowling College, where he truly made a name for himself. Between 2012 and 2016 Caputo led Dowling to two East Coast Conference championships, and was named ECC coach of the year twice. 

Caputo has been with St. Joseph’s since 2019, and was named head coach in 2022 in the wake of Coach Richard Garrett’s retirement. He won two Skyline Conference Championships in his first two seasons as head coach of the Golden Eagles, capping off a historic three-peat. 

After watching Farmingdale State win the conference the last two seasons, you may assume St. Joseph’s will be gunning for them harder than anybody. That’s certainly what the players told us. Caputo wants his players to avoid that kind of thinking, and take things one day at a time. 

“Of course they said that, my job is to make them not think about that and focus on what’s right in front of you,” Caputo explained. “If you’re thinking about beating Farmingdale at the end, what if you’re not there because you didn’t pay attention to anyone else you were playing? I think your day to day is more important than anything. Good days have a cumulative effect, into the middle of the year, the end of the year, into the conference tournament. That’s going to allow you to beat anyone who’s in front of you.” 

Despite Caputo’s one day at a time mindset, there is little doubt that St. Joseph’s is one of the most talented teams in the Skyline Conference. They have one collective goal in mind, winning their fourth conference title of the decade. Expect them to be right back near the top of the standings in 2027. 

St. Joseph’s will play their first scrimmages of the Fall season Saturday, October 10, a double header against Suffolk County Community College and the University of Mount Saint Vincent at Gregg Alfano field.