WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following return trips to the PSAC and NCAA Tournament last spring, the West Chester University baseball team enters 2026 with a new look but the same expectations as the Golden Rams continue their quest to return to the Division II National Finals in Cary, North Carolina for the first time since 2022. West Chester will begin its yearly quest for Cary on Friday afternoon against a squad that represented the Atlantic Region in Cary in 2024 in Indiana (Pa.) at Harford County Community College in Bel Air, Maryland, in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
"I am definitely happy with how we have looked so far," opened head coach
Mike LaRosa. "We haven't been able to see everything yet because we haven't been outside, but we have been having some great practices with what we've been able to do inside. The level of competition I have seen out of this group so far has been awesome, and they've done a great job of staying locked in even though we've been stuck inside up to this point."
Looking Back
West Chester heads into 2026 after going 35-17 overall a year ago and 17-11 in league action, which led the 2024 PSAC Champion Golden Rams back to the PSAC and NCAA Tournaments in 2025. West Chester took three of four to end the regular season against Mansfield before falling to California in the PSAC Tournament by a 7-4 final ahead of a pair of NCAA Tournament losses to Fairmont State (11-4) and East Stroudsburg (6-1).
Preseason Prognostication
West Chester enters the 2026 campaign third in the PSAC East Preseason coaches poll, trailing only East Stroudsburg and Millersville, while Seton Hill occupied the top spot in the PSAC West preseason poll. West Chester also received votes in the first National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Poll of the season and was ranked 30
th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Preseason poll released in late January prior to the first weekend of the 2026 season.
Flock Talk
Expectations remain high as always for West Chester entering the 2026 season, as the Golden Rams continue to search for their third Division II Baseball National Championship since 2012 in 2026. The yearly quest will include 18 new faces on the Golden Rams' 35-man roster, including a host of transfers, 12 to be exact, along with several talented newcomers. Offensively, West Chester will have a different look in 2026 as the Golden Rams return just three players, who had 100 bats or more a season ago, not including the return of
Drew Simpson (Hockessin, Del./Delaware Military Academy), who missed the 2025 season due to an early-season injury. In stark contrast, West Chester returns a bevy of experienced arms from last season, along with many new arms, some of whom may see time in the weekend rotation for West Chester throughout the 2026 campaign.
"I think this is probably as deep a group as we've had in my tenure," acknowledged LaRosa. "We are deep in every position and have a great mix of young guys, transfers with experience, and some talented returners. That has made practice a lot of fun because a lot of roles are still up for grabs on a day-to-day basis, so it is really making the players compete every day."
On the Mound
Pitching is the area with the most familiar faces for West Chester in 2026 as the Golden Rams return the entirety of their weekend rotation from last season, including
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview), Kyle Lazer (Havertown, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie), Nick Noga (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove), Ryan DeHaven (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and
Kyle Kearns (West Chester, Pa./Rustin). Costa and Lazer are expected to be the two members of this five-player group to remain as weekend starters this year after posting identical 8-3 records with ERAs of 4.60 and 3.17 a season ago. Lazer pitched 71 innings, including four complete games, for West Chester last season and fanned 75 opposing batters, holding opponents to a .242 batting average. Costa was one of just two players to toss a complete game last year, twirling the second no-hitter in team history and the first since 1947 in Cary last Spring as part of his 60.2 innings of action. Costa struck out 61 and held opponents to a .257 batting average against.
"We are hoping for a real breakout season from Costa," noted LaRosa. "He looks as good as he has in his entire career with great stuff, and he is in great shape. He had to work hard this summer, knowing he was coming back as a four-year weekend starter, so everyone was going to have a good scout on him unless he could make some adjustments. He did a great job making those adjustments, and I think he can provide a different look from what people are used to from him this spring."
Noga was the lone other Golden Ram to record a complete game last Spring, doing so in mid-March against Queens, allowing just two hits against six strikeouts for one of his five (5-4) wins on the year. Noga finished the season with a 6.89 ERA and a .333 batting average against with 48 strikeouts in 49.2 innings of work. DeHaven and Kearns shared time as a fourth starter for West Chester last spring, finishing the year with records of 3-2 and 2-2 with ERAs of 5.15 and 4.81, respectively. DeHaven struck out 34 last year, which was fourth best on the team, holding opponents to a .282 batting average against, while Kearns struck out 31 and posted a .263 batting average against.
"Having so many returning guys from last year is big. I think at times we had to overuse people last year because we got thin with the injury bug, but our depth on the mound looks great," said an excited LaRosa. "Having Lazer (
Kyle Lazer) and Costa (
Julian Costa) back is great, and then returning guys like
Kyle Kearns,
Nick Noga, and
Ryan DeHaven, who were weekend starters for us, is a bonus. We probably won't need them to be consistent weekend guys for us with some of our other additions, but they are great midweek arms and give us great depth in the bullpen."
In addition to the returning starters, West Chester also returns
Evan Wineburg (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), Patrick Taney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), Ben Jones (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), and Simpson, who missed last season after a preseason injury. Wineburg was one of the top arms out of the bullpen last year, appearing in 15 games and pitching to a record of 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA in 21.0 innings with 23 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .224 batting average. Taney finished the year with the lowest batting average against on the team as the veteran lefty held opponents to a .169 batting average with 27 strikeouts in 17 appearances last year, going 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Despite an inflated ERA of 7.52, Jones was a steady arm for West Chester in a team-high 21 appearances out of the 'pen last Spring, pitching to a record of 4-1 with 26 strikeouts and a .252 batting average against in 26.1 innings of work. Jones pitched 13 scoreless appearances, including two of his three appearances in the four-game set against Shepherd last April.
Simpson, who was an All-League selection as a freshman after playing third and pitching throughout much of his rookie season, will look to return to form quickly in 2026. In 2024, Simpson posted a .280 batting average with 21 hits in 75 at-bats at the plate, while also going 7-1 on the mound with 18 appearances and six starts, striking out 61 in 48.0 innings of work. Simpson also picked up a pair of saves as a freshman and finished the year with a 4.50 ERA and a .283 batting average against, allowing just nine extra base hits in his rookie season.
Along with a deep stable of returning arms, West Chester welcomes a number of talented newcomers, including
Luke Raho (Johnstown, Pa./Richland), James Bottger (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Wilkes Barre), Nick Parrotto (Mars, Pa./Seneca Valley/Westminster), Nick Cugino (West Chester, Pa./Henderson/Rowan), Trey Stricker (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic), Kyle Rogers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton/STAC), and Jack Bisang (Dunkirk, Md./Northern).
LaRosa was also excited by the additions of
Kyle Rogers and
James Bottger in particular, saying, "We expect them to round out our weekend rotation, and they both have great stuff. We were impressed by Rogers when he pitched for St. Thomas Aquinas last spring, and then Bottger is a freshman with great stuff and tremendous maturity. With the combination of Lazer, Rogers, Costa, and Bottger as a weekend rotation, we are set up really nicely because we will have two left-handed pitchers and two right-handed pitchers we can rely on for the weekends, hopefully not have to use in midweek games with the amount of pitching depth that we have."
Behind the Plate
PSAC East Rookie of the Year
Caleb Strawhecker (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) returns as the starting catcher behind the plate for West Chester in 2026 after an outstanding rookie season, posting a .325 (37-for-114) batting average with nine doubles, one triple, and five home runs. Strawheceker drove in 31 runs and scored 30 more, posting a .553 slugging percentage and a .413 on-base percentage along with a .988 fielding percentage. Strawhecker also halted 10 would-be base stealers last season.
In addition to Strawhecker, West Chester gains catching depth from the group of
Patrick Munley (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock), Brian Martello (Toms River, N.J./Cherry Hill West), Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central), and freshman
Chase Jones (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn).
"We are excited to see Straw (
Caleb Strawhecker) continue his progression after a great rookie last season, last Spring, and I think
Chase Jones is going to be just as good. Chase looks to be a 1B option for us behind the plate this year because he reminds us a lot of Straw last year in that he is a very mature, physical catcher who really handles the pitching staff well."
The luxury of a young stable of catchers led by Strawhecker and Jones was not lost on LaRosa as he acknowledged, "Having young catchers is always nice. The younger catchers haven't gotten beat up for as long behind the plate, so they are definitely a little bit more durable over the course of a long college baseball season."
Around the Horn
Austin Stalker (Wycombe, Pa./CR North) and
Patrick Gozdan (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) make up the right side of the infield for West Chester are the two returners from last season in the projected starting infield. Stalker is the top returning bat after posting a .327 (52-for-159) average last year with nine doubles, two triples, and seven home runs with 35 runs scored and 44 RBI. Stalker posted a .541 slugging percentage and a .449 on-base percentage with 29 walks last year, which was also tied for first on the team. The infielder, who transferred to West Chester from Radford last season, also swiped seven bases on 10 attempts.
Gozdan became a more regular member of the Golden Ram infield down the stretch of the 2025 season, appearing in 27 games with 20 starts and posting a .328 batting average (19-for-58) with one home run. Gozdan scored 12 runs and drove in 13 more, while also working eight walks and going a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen bases. The freshman finished his season with a .788 OPS, including a .409 on-base percentage.
The other half of the Golden Ram infield is expected to be newer faces for West Chester in 2026 as
AJ DiAddezio (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) and
Landen Rozich (Oxford, Pa./Oxford/George Mason) are expected to battle for and share time at short, while Simpson will be penciled in the as the opening day third baseman alongside Wilson transfer
Harry Middlebrooks (Bel Air, Md./Archbishop Curley/Wilson).
In the Outfield
The outfield will be an entirely new group for West Chester in 2026, as transfers are expected to start throughout. The most familiar name among the group, the Golden Rams expect to start early in the season is centerfielder
Carter Rust (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West/Charleston,
W.V.), who joins West Chester for his final year of eligibility after starring at Charleston (W.V.) to begin his career.
"Carter (Rust) is going to be our starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for much of the season," said LaRosa. "He was a great player at Charleston throughout his career and really has all the tools you want, both on the field and with his maturity."
Marywood and Salisbury transfers in
Christian Michak (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West/Marywood) and
Andrew Kell (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills/Salisbury) are expected to flank Rust in left and right.
"Kell will be our right fielder on opening day and comes to us from Salisbury, where he was the Division III Player of the Year two years ago. He is really mature and has great skills. He has also shown the ability to handle big games from the number of big games that he played in when he was at Salisbury. Michak is another grad transfer for us coming down from Marywood. He had a great summer in the Coastal Plains League, and that gave us a chance to see what he did against some premier competition. He would be a starting center fielder for us, but with Rust, he'll play left. He is really good on the bases and has some nice power to go along with it."
Raho,
Hunter Smith (Martinsburg, Pa./Central), and Tanner Donati (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) provide excellent depth in the outfield.
"Our outfield is new to us, but is really a veteran group across the board," explained LaRosa. "They all played a lot at their previous schools and bring a level of professionalism and winning with them, which will be great for us. This is probably the most outfield depth we have had in a long time, too, because I feel just as comfortable turning to guys like
Luke Raho,
Hunter Smith, or
Tanner Donati as I need to throughout the season."
"I think adding so many talented newcomers this year is going to be a great advantage for us," started LaRosa. "Technology and scouting have some so far in the last couple years that with returning guys, everyone knows their tendencies and what they do best, so with a big group of talented newcomers, we will be able to mix-and-match a lot and make scouting us that much more challenging."
The Slate
West Chester will open its season in Maryland on Friday before heading for what it hopes will be its first of two trips to Cary, North Carolina, next weekend for weekend matchups against Pace, Wilmington, and Dominican. When the Golden Rams return home, they will host Chestnut Hill on March 3 before heading back to Maryland for the first weekend in March to take on Clarion, Frostburg State, and Georgian Court on March 6, 7, and 8. West Chester will face a Division I foe on March 11 when the team visits Hawk Hill to take on Saint Joseph's before a four-game weekend series at home against Gannon on March 13-14, before a visit to Wilmington on March 18.
West Chester will open league play at Mansfield on March 20 at 1 p.m. before renewing its rivalry with East Stroudsburg on March 27-28 to conclude March. West Chester will open April with Kutztown before facing Shippensburg, Shepherd, Bloomsburg, and Millersville to end the year. West Chester also has a midweek battle against Goldey Beacom sandwiched in between the Shippensburg and Shepherd series on April 15.
"Our league is so tough every single year," acknowledged LaRosa. "From top to bottom, everyone is good, and there is truly no easy weekend, one bad day, and you can find yourself swept or with a split. Even two seasons ago, when we rattled off the 21-game winning streak, it was hard to gain ground in the Division because Millersville and East Stroudsburg were doing the same thing."
After the gauntlet that is the PSAC East regular season, West Chester will hope to return to the PSAC Tournament at Slippery Rock in mid-May. New in 2026 is a different format for the PSAC Tournament: the field expands to 10 teams, and the Tournament will now be single elimination throughout, instead of the double elimination that began after day one in previous seasons.
Up Next
After opening its season in Maryland on Friday, West Chester will make what it hopes will be its first of two trips to Cary, North Carolina, this spring for a weekend of action against Pace (2/27-11 a.m.), Wilmington (2/28-11:30/2 p.m.), and Dominican (3/1-9 a.m.). West Chester is set for its home opener on March 3 against Chestnut Hill at 3 p.m. before opening its league slate at home against Mansfield on March 20.
