BC Baseball Building on Deep Lineup, New Arms
February 13, 2023 | Baseball
A position-by-position breakdown of the Eagles’ 2023 roster.
Boston College baseball returns to the diamond for the 2023 season beginning Friday, Feb. 17 at Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif. The Eagles return six starters to a lineup that slugged 68 home runs a year ago, including four of the top five batters in the BC order. Boston College also added 15 newcomers to its roster, including 11 freshmen and four transfers; three of which are graduates.
Juniors Travis Honeyman (Massapequa, N.Y.), Cameron Leary (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Joe Vetrano (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) highlight the list of returners. Honeyman is a preseason All-American and ranked as the No. 15 outfielder in the country by D1Baseball. Leary hit a team-high 16 home runs a year ago, the fifth most in a season by an Eagle. Vetrano clubbed another 13 home runs and ranks as the No. 23 first baseman in the nation by D1Baseball.
Graduate catcher Peter Burns (Reading, Mass.) is one of three captains for the Eagles and is the first three-time captain in program history. Senior shortstop Vince Cimini (Scranton, Pa.) will serve as a captain for the second consecutive season. The veteran duo is joined by graduate right-hander Henry Leake (Burbank, Calif.), who transferred to BC from Babson for the 2022 season.
Head coach Mike Gambino enters his 13th season at the helm of the program. BC pitching coach Kevin Vance and hitting coach Tyler Holt are in their second season with the Eagles, while assistant coach Greg Sullivan is in year 13.
POSITION-BY-POSITION BREAKDOWN
PITCHERS
BC’s roster of 43 players features 23 pitchers; led by Leake, who moved into the starting rotation in mid-April last season. Leake went 2-3 with a 6.27 earned run average and 54 strikeouts in 51 innings, including six starts and 12 relief appearances. Another Division III graduate transfer figures into the rotation as righty Chris Flynn (Naugatuck, Conn.) works toward his Division I debut. Flynn is coming off a 7-2 season at Roger Williams with a 2.21 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 61 innings.
Returners competing for a spot in the rotation are junior right-hander John West (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore right-hander Sean Hard (Mahwah, N.J.). West, who was selected to wear the No. 8 in honor of Sonny Nictakis this season, made his lone start of 2022 on opening weekend a year ago. The 6-foot-8 West spent a month on the Cape last summer with four appearances for Brewster with a 2.00 ERA in nine innings. Hard started nine games as a freshman, including a seven-strikeout performance in his debut.
Additional options to start early on are graduate transfer Ian Murphy (Swedesboro, N.J.), sophomore right-handers Luke Delongchamp (Holden, Mass.) and Eric Schroeder (Ridgewood, N.J.) and freshman RHP Bobby Chicoine (Armonk, N.Y). Murphy, who has a chance to fit into the bullpen as a high-leverage reliever, arrived at the Heights from St. John’s, where he started 24 of 30 career games. He started all five games pitched in 2022 with a 4.88 ERA. Delongchamp primarily filled the role of midweek starter as a rookie. He went 2-2 with a 6.83 ERA in nine games, including six starts. Schroeder pitched 34.2 innings as a freshman and made three starts.
The Eagles have bolstered their bullpen with another Division III graduate transfer in Andrew Roman (Monson, Mass.). He is joined in the pen by fellow right-handers senior Evan Moore (Rocky Hill, Conn.), junior Joey Ryan (Norwood, Mass.) and sophomore Julian Tonghini (New Canaan, Conn.). Roman pitched in 52 games over five seasons at Salve Regina. He totaled 12 saves and a 4-2 record with a 3.25 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 74.2 innings. Moore returned from defeating cancer in 2021 to make 13 relief appearances with 22 strikeouts in 2022. The 6-foot-5 Ryan, who was a Cape League All-Star with Falmouth last summer, made 21 relief appearances last year and went 2-3 with two saves. Tonghini was 1-0 with a save in 20 outings.
From the left side, BC returns junior Charlie Coon (Duxbury, Mass.) and sophomore Matthew Nunan (Egg Harbor, N.J.). The Eagles add in a pair of freshmen lefties in Ryan DiMaggio (Hamilton, N.J.), who is coming off Tommy John surgery, and A.J. Colarusso (Leominster, Mass.). Coon has been called out of the bullpen 43 times in two seasons with 58 strikeouts in 53 innings. Nunan came on strong late in his rookie season to post a 5.79 ERA in 16 games.
| 8 | John West | Jr. | RHP | 6'8 | 250 | R/R |
| 10 | Brad Lombardi | Jr. | RHP | 6'3 | 225 | R.R |
| 15 | Aidan Crowley | Jr. | RHP | 6'3 | 220 | R/R |
| 17 | Matthew Nunan | So. | LHP | 6'2 | 195 | R/L |
| 19 | Brian McMonagle | Sr. | RHP | 6'1 | 215 | R/R |
| 22 | Charlie Coon | Jr. | LHP | 6'0 | 190 | L/L |
| 24 | Giovanni Arzuaga | Fr. | RHP | 6'1 | 190 | R/R |
| 25 | Eric Schroeder | So. | RHP | 6'0 | 190 | R/R |
| 26 | Luke Delongchamp | So. | RHP | 6'1 | 190 | R/R |
| 27 | Jason Hernandez | Fr. | RHP | 6'1 | 190 | R/R |
| 29 | Jon Campbell Jr. | Sr. | RHP | 6'2 | 215 | R/R |
| 31 | Chris Flynn | Gr. | RHP | 6'4 | 210 | R/R |
| 32 | Sean Hard | So. | RHP | 6'5 | 210 | R/R |
| 33 | Henry Leake | Gr. | RHP | 6'0 | 205 | R/R |
| 36 | Evan Moore | Sr. | RHP | 6'2 | 205 | R/R |
| 40 | Andrew Roman | Gr. | RHP | 6'0 | 195 | R/R |
| 43 | Bobby Chicoine | Fr. | RHP | 6'2 | 220 | R/R |
| 45 | Travis Lane | Gr. | RHP | 6'2 | 235 | L/R |
| 46 | Ryan DiMaggio | Fr. | LHP | 6'3 | 212 | L/L |
| 48 | A.J. Colarusso | Fr. | LHP | 6'0 | 205 | L/L |
| 49 | Julian Tonghini | So. | RHP | 6'4 | 210 | R/R |
| 50 | Joey Ryan | Jr. | RHP | 6'5 | 220 | L/R |
| 52 | Ian Murphy | Gr. | RHP | 6'4 | 235 | R/R |
CATCHERS
Burns, a left-handed bat, hit a career-best .247 last season, but his season ended in early-April due to an emergency appendectomy. One of the best defensive catcher in the league, he has started 101 games behind the plate in his career.
Senior catcher Parker Landwehr (Baltimore, Md.) hit fifth as the DH in the BC lineup before taking over the starting catcher duties during Burns’ absence. He hit .287 and slugged .511 with 10 doubles and nine home runs. Freshman Adonys Guzman (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) is also in the mix to get time behind the plate. The No. 5 catcher in the class and No. 48 overall prospect by Perfect Game, was considered one of the best catch-and-throw backstops in the 2022 draft, but opted to pursue college baseball.
Graduate Lucas Stalman (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) returns for his fifth season. An ultimate utility option, Stalman has started games at second base, third base and left field in his career and added catcher to that resume late in 2022. He is now a full-time catcher, providing depth and experience behind the plate.
| 4 | Lucas Stalman | Gr. | C | 5'9 | 175 | R/R |
| 18 | Peter Burns | Gr. | C | 5'10 | 190 | L/R |
| 23 | Parker Landwehr | Sr. | C | 6'2 | 210 | R/R |
| 55 | Adonys Guzman | Fr. | C | 5'10 | 215 | R/R |
INFIELDERS
Vetrano anchors the infield from first base and the batting order from the cleanup spot. He hit .308 with a .572 slugging percentage a year ago. Vetrano smashed 13 home runs and collected 50 RBI.
The Eagles enter opening weekend with four players vying for the other three spots on the infield, including Cimini, who was sidelined with an elbow injury after just four games as the starting shortstop in 2022. Cimini is in competition at third base with junior Patrick Roche (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Nick Wang (Newton, Mass.). Sophomore Sam McNulty (Cambridge, Mass.) filled in as the everyday shortstop a year ago and is a front runner to start at shortstop or second, where Cimini and Roche are also in the mix to start.
Despite being a two-time captain, the Eagles have only seen Cimini in the lineup for 42 games. His freshman season was cut short due to Covid and his junior year by injury. As a sophomore, he was BC’s fifth infielder and earned 37 starts due to injuries in the lineup and posted a .375 on-base percentage. Roche split time at third base last year and hit .259, while McNulty hit .196 with 19 runs and 19 RBI in 49 starts. Wang transferred from Holy Cross after hitting .369 with 18 doubles and claiming Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors.
Adding depth on the infield are sophomore Aidan Harrington (Millis, Mass.) and freshmen Owen DeShazo (Glen Allen, Va.) and Kyle Wolff (Andover, Mass.). Harrington, a plus-defender, hit .250 in limited action last year, including six starts at third base. DeShazo, who stands 6-foot-6, profiles as a future impact player on the infield, while Wolff, a first baseman, figures as a quality bat off the bench.
| 6 | Chris Markovich | So. | IF | 5'10 | 180 | R/R |
| 7 | Patrick Roche | Jr. | IF | 6'0 | 185 | R/R |
| 9 | Aidan Harrington | So. | IF | 6'0 | 195 | R/R |
| 12 | Owen DeShazo | Fr. | IF | 6'6 | 205 | R/R |
| 14 | Vince Cimini | Sr. | IF | 6'2 | 190 | R/R |
| 16 | Connor Dreyer | Fr. | IF | 5'7 | 165 | R/R |
| 28 | Sam McNulty | So. | IF | 6'2 | 190 | R/R |
| 30 | Joe Vetrano | Jr. | 1B | 6'3 | 220 | L/L |
| 35 | Kyle Wolff | Fr. | 1B | 6'1 | 210 | R/L |
| 37 | James Hackett | Fr. | IF | 6'5 | 195 | L/R |
| 44 | Nick Wang | So. | IF | 6'1 | 215 | R/R |
OUTFIELDERS
The Eagles return all three starting outfielders, but feature a group with three candidates competing for starts. Honeyman, who hit leadoff and played left a year ago, enters the year as a top-prospect in the 2023 MLB Draft. He hit .329 with a .908 OPS last season and is a preseason All-American by Baseball America.
Senior Barry Walsh (Sterling, Mass.) is a plus-defender in center field and Leary returns to cover right. Walsh hit .225 with five home runs and eight stolen bases last season, while Leary slugged .525 and added 51 runs and 45 walks.
Senior Daniel Baruch (Cranston, R.I.) will push for playing time as a corner outfielder. He started 12 games last season. Joining the group this season is freshman Cohl Mercado (Ocean View, N.J.). The left-handed hitting speedster is a true center fielder with leadoff potential.
| 1 | Cohl Mercado | Fr. | OF | 5'9 | 165 | L/L |
| 2 | Travis Honeyman | Jr. | OF | 6'2 | 190 | R/R |
| 11 | Cameron Leary | Jr. | OF | 6'0 | 180 | L/L |
| 20 | Barry Walsh | Sr. | OF | 6'0 | 200 | R/R |
| 21 | Daniel Baruch | Sr. | OF | 6'1 | 205 | R/L |
Boston College’s 2023 slate is highlighted by a spring break trip through Kennesaw State (March 3-5), followed by games at Tennessee (March 7) and UNC Asheville (March 8) before the ACC-opening series at Virginia Tech (March 10-12). The Eagles’ home opener is schedule for Wednesday, March 22 against Sacred Heart followed by the first ACC series of the season at the Harrington Athletics Village (March 24-26).
BC hosts a Beanpot semifinal on Tuesday, April 4 against Massachusetts with the title game played a week later. The season wraps against Notre Dame (May 18-20) at home with game two of the series played at Fenway Park at 7 p.m. for the program’s annual ALS Awareness Game.
