LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team will commence its 2026 season with an 18-road game stretch. The River Hawks are slated to open the campaign with a three-game series against Morehead State beginning on Friday, February 13.

The River Hawks concluded the 2025 season with a 18-35 overall record, and an 8-16 conference record in the America East.

The offseason has been an important time for the team to not only grow its chemistry, but also to polish and strengthen skills all around the field. Countless hours and days spent training and working in the summer, fall and winter has allowed the River Hawks to make strides in their game.

“The fall is always a great time for us, and it’s typically the best weather in this part of the region,” voiced Barese. “We are super fortunate to have the facility that we do, in terms of LeLacheur Park. We got a lot of work in, especially for those new guys that came in. You want to make sure that you get as much opportunity on the field as possible to get those guys acclimated. We’re obviously battling the snow and the cold temperatures now, but we’re really lucky to have a facility that allows us to get all the work we need to get in defensively, offensively, and pitching staff wise.”

The 2026 River Hawks will be led by senior captains Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) and Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.). They have both shown relentless effort each day, helping the team establish a goal-oriented mindset and thrive on and off the field.

In the 2025 season, DeLanzo posted a batting average of .253 with 22 hits, six doubles, 20 RBI and eight runs in 25 games played. In the field, he collected 39 putouts and 51 assists with 14 doubles plays to earn a .978 fielding percentage. Foley appeared on the mound 18 times with one start last season, as the right-handed pitcher logged 25.1 innings. He registered 22 strikeouts and walked 19 batters, while earning a save and owning a 3-0 record during the 2025 season.

The River Hawks have a few key pitchers returning to the mound in junior Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.), and sophomores Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) and Nolan Geisler (Bayonne, N.J.). Mucciarone led the team in innings pitched (73.0) last year, while also throwing the second most strikeouts with 62. He started in 14 games and posted a 6.78 earned run average (ERA). LeFrancois owned a 1-1 record in 15 appearances, while also recording 21 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched as a freshman. Geisler appeared in 17 contests with four starts, also adding 26 strikeouts in 36.0 innings pitched.

Other important contributors include redshirt-sophomore Sean O’Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) and senior Zachary Scott (Lunenburg, Mass.). In just 10 games, O’Leary boasted a .382 batting average and an OPS of 1.168 on 13 hits, including two doubles and three home runs. The infielder, who added 11 RBI and nine runs scored, was also awarded America East Player of the Week honors once last season. Scott started in 24 games, collecting 25 hits with four doubles and a triple to post a .260 batting average, along with 15 RBI, 18 runs and nine stolen bases.

Junior Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.), last year’s starting catcher, is back after hitting .268 in 49 starts in 2025. The junior tallied 52 hits, including 12 doubles and five home runs, 15 RBI and 23 runs. Behind the plate, he registered 229 putouts and 21 assists for a .988 fielding percentage, with 12 caught stealing. The team’s leading hitter from the 2025 season, senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico), returns for his final year after knocking 61 hits with 12 doubles, a triple and six home runs for a .299 batting average in 51 appearances. The outfielder owned an .806 OPS, while also recording 27 RBI and 30 runs. Before the start of the 2026 season, Martinez earned a spot on the America East Preseason All-Conference Team for the second consecutive year.

“We have a really well-rounded group in terms of pitching and position players, so we’re in a good spot depth wise,” said Barese.

NEWCOMER RELEASE

Ahead of the 2026 season, UMass Lowell secured 12 freshmen in its Class of 2029, as five pitchers, four infielders, two outfielders and one catcher look to make their mark with the River Hawks.

In addition to the team’s freshman class, the River Hawks added seven impactful transfers, who bring a diverse skillset that complements the program’s overall scheme. The group includes four pitchers in graduate students Will Melby Jr. (Munster, Ind.) and Frankie DeMaro (Newburgh, N.Y.), senior Liam Rose (Voorhees, N.J.) and junior Evan Cornelius (Milford, Mass.). The other key position additions include graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Cal.) at catcher, graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) in the infield, and senior Joshua Lopez (Nanuet, N.Y.) in the outfield.

Barese has relied on his staff to help the team excel this offseason. Newly appointed Associate Head Coach Dan Cellucci oversees the hitters and infielders, while the newest addition to the staff Assistant Coach Zachary Gitschier has been an effective piece in terms of making sure the pitchers are prepped.

“Dan Cellucci has done a great job working with the hitters and the infielders,” voiced Barese. “We worked together previously at my old school, and to be able to have him now for three years and have that continuity with our position players has been really important. We brought in Zach Gitschier this year, who has also done a fantastic job. He’s a local guy from Lowell, and he’s worked really hard and done a good job of hitting the ground running and making sure that our pitchers are ready to go, built up, prepared and developing the way they should.”

Barese feels confident in his mixture of talent and culture this season and is ready for his team to hit the field.