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Fall Ball Series Powered by Dreams Training Facility: Stony Brook

by Trevor Dugan

The Stony Brook Seawolves are entering year two under Head Coach Jim Martin with a retooled pitching staff, plenty of offensive depth, and a newly arrived conference player of the year. After finishing seventh in the CAA last season, their goal for 2027 is simple: reach the CAA playoffs for the first time in school history. 

The Seawolves have missed the CAA playoffs every year since joining the conference in 2022, but they are confident this year’s squad can break that uncharacteristic streak. 

“It’s definitely been a step up in competition,” Coach Martin said. “We haven’t won, and that’s been frustrating because this is a winning program that has won for a long time.”

They’ll have to do it without Micah Worley, the Seawolves ace who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks after an outstanding 2026 season. A player of Worley’s caliber is hard to replace, and the rotation behind him struggled at times to go deep into games throughout 2026,  but Stony Brook has added several talented pitchers to their staff this offseason in an effort to fix that. 

“Will we have another Micah Worley? Maybe,” Martin said. “But I do know our staff has a lot of depth, so we expect our pitching staff to be a strength for this program, top to bottom.”

The highest profile addition for Stony Brook’s staff entering 2027 is UConn transfer JT Caruso. The LHP helped lead Mount Sinai to a Long Island championship back in 2021, and has his fastball sitting in the low 90s this Fall. Caruso will likely be the opening day starter for the Seawolves this season.

“I knew a lot of these players already since we all grew up playing baseball on Long Island,” Caruso said on his decision to transfer. “And I heard a lot of good things about the pitching coach Mike Petrowski. He’s a pitching genius. Every time I throw, I go over it with him, and every time there’s one little correction we make, so I just get better and better out there. I’m really loving that right now.”

Coach Petrowski is entering his second year with the Seawolves after being hired by Coach Martin at the beginning of his tenure last season. 

Expect SP Hunter Colagrande to have a bounceback season after struggling in 2026. The former Kings Park standout won the Carl Yastrzemski Award and Axcess Man of the Year in 2024 and has elite stuff. His teammates have nothing but good things to say about him. 

“Hunter Colagrande had a down year last year, but man he can really pitch the ball,” Caruso said. “He throws five pitches for strikes, and I expect him to be a dog this year.”

Another top arm that Stony Brook is welcoming to campus is freshman Jacob Vaccariello, who was a two-way captain at St. Anthony’s last season, blasting eight home runs and serving as a frontline starting pitcher. Vaccariello also played in the Liederman Cup this past summer. Coach Martin expects him to see important innings right away and potentially work his way into the team’s rotation this season. 

Junior RHP RJ James has transferred from Evansville to give the Seawolves another experienced option on their pitching staff. As a high schooler, the 6 ‘0 Ontario native won two national championships with the Whitby Minor Baseball Association, and was invited to the Toronto Blue Jays Canadian Futures Showcase in 2022. James has seen regular work both as a spot starter and out of the bullpen since his freshman year at Evansville.

While the pitching staff struggled behind Worley last season, newcomers like these will certainly help the Seawolves staff take steps in the right direction. On the offensive side, familiar faces will lead the way once again. Stony Brook set a program record with 122 stolen bases last season led by outfielder Nick Zampieron, who paced the team with 28 steals as a sophomore. Zampieron also led the Seawolves in hits with 65, and in batting average, posting an impressive .363 mark. He will be back in the leadoff spot this season. 

Another underclassmen who excelled in 2026 is outfielder Nick Dromboski, who will be right back at the top of the lineup behind Zampieron. As a freshman, Dromboski hit .340 and led the team with a .440 OBP, earning CAA all-rookie honors. His 28 game on base streak was the longest by any Seawolf in 2026. Hitting third behind him will almost certainly be team captain Chris Carson. The senior first baseman posted career highs in hits, doubles, triples, and RBI last season, and will look to carry that momentum into 2027. 

The biggest name Stony Brook brought in for 2027 is undoubtedly Senior Richie Heyder. While at Farmingdale State, the outfielder Heyder set school records for career on base percentage, slugging percentage, and doubles. He was second in Farmingdale State history in batting average, RBI, total bases, and home runs. Heyder was named Skyline Conference Player of the Year in 2026 after putting up video game numbers. His 1.505 OPS ranked second in all of Division III, and his .470 batting average ranked seventh. His unbelievably high .608 on-base percentage led all three NCAA divisions. Heyder will patrol the outfield alongside Zampieron and Dromboski this spring. 

“They’re trying to win here, and that’s what I love,” Heyder explained. “We’ve got a group of guys that want to win, that love baseball, and just want to consistently succeed. I want to help us do that as best I can, and go out on a good note with a winning season.” 

Stony Brook is also welcoming an impressive crop of freshmen to campus this season. Chief among them is catcher Shane Meehan, a three year starter at Sayville High School who won the Carl Yastrzemski award in 2026 after batting .486 with a .557 on-base percentage. Meehan plays exceptional defense behind the plate as well. Don’t be surprised if he sees some time in the starting lineup in 2027. 

Jalen Josey was team captain at Holy Trinity in 2026, and now adds his name to Stony Brook’s talented crop of outfielders. Plainedge star first baseman Bobby Wescott is another big addition. Wescott was a key player for the Long Island Champions in their run to the state finals, and holds Plainedge’s career records for RBI, doubles, and home runs. 

The Seawolves are hopeful that these new additions, along with their already solid offensive core, will net them their first ever trip to the CAA postseason. Coach Martin says that as talented as his team may be, it begins with their mindset. 

“My belief is anything worthwhile that we do, you have to have energy and enthusiasm to do it,” Martin said. “When everything’s going well, it’s easy to do. But when we face adversity, we need to make sure we continue to have those beliefs of a winning program.”

Their philosophy on both sides of the field remains the same: stay aggressive. You can expect the Seawolves to pound the zone on the mound, and to take the extra base wherever they can. Last season’s steals leader Zampieron even laid out a personal goal of his, breaking the school’s single season steals record which, funnily enough, is currently held by Assistant Coach Evan Fox. Coach Martin spelled out the team’s mindset.

“The offensive philosophy is finding a way to get to second base. Will we hit our way there with extra base hits, or if you’re a singles guy can you steal your way there? If you can do both you have the best of both worlds, and I think we can,” Martin explained. “We still have team speed, but we’ve added some power. That was a huge point of emphasis in the offseason.”

Under Coach Martin, the Seawolves are all encouraged to get involved in community service. Martin believes work like this is important for building character and maturity as a team, and as a way to give back to the local community. The Long Island State Veterans Home, Sunshine Prevention Center, and several other local organizations have seen the Seawolves stopping by and volunteering to help those who need it most. They also help to fundraise for the school’s other athletic programs. 

“Community service is very important to me, and I feel like it’s important to support our other teams on campus too,” Martin explained. “We’ve emphasised that since I’ve been the coach and I think that not only brings our guys together, but the other programs see that and appreciate that. These things are important to the culture of the program.”

Stony Brook will not have it easy to begin their 2027 schedule. They open the season on the road at Mississippi State, before shuttling over to Florida for a series with Miami and wrapping up their road trip at Duke University. Three straight meetings with three of the nation’s most prestigious baseball programs is a tall task, but Martin and the Seawolves are ready for it. 

“They’re just kids on the other side, 21 year old kids like me. They’re regular people,” Caruso explained. “That’s what you have to think about. You can’t think, ‘oh this guy’s a top-5 pick’. They’re really good, don’t get me wrong, but they can still make mistakes.”

“We want to play the best competition to see where we’re at as a program and get better, and if we win some games against that competition it will boost our RPI, which is beneficial for us,” Coach Martin said. “Third, if our goal is to play into regionals, into June, then that’s the type of baseball we’ll be playing when we get there. That’s why we want to play those types of teams.”

Things are looking up at Stony Brook, as this season’s roster is one of their deepest in years. The Seawolves seem to have all the pieces necessary to reach their goal of appearing in the CAA playoffs for the first time in school history.