Philadelphia, PA – For the first time in 1,728 days, La Salle University will play a baseball game, as the Explorers will host Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon at 2:00 for Opening Day of the 2026 season, which is being
presented by Stampone Law.
It will be the first La Salle Baseball game since May 22, 2021, representing the completion of a nearly two-year long project to bring the sport back to the university after it was dropped following the 2021 season. La Salle's journey to bringing baseball back was
featured Thursday in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
La Salle continues the series Saturday at 10:00 am and Sunday at noon. Each game will be at Hank DeVincent Field and will be
streamed on YouTube.
Shortly after his hire in 2023, La Salle Vice President for Athletics and Recreation/Director of Athletics
Ashwin Puri announced in Spring 2024 that baseball would be returning in 2026. Puri quickly re-hired
David Miller as Head Coach, the position he held at La Salle from 2018 until the program's closure. Miller spent the 2024-25 season recruiting while the university collectively rebuilt the foundation for the program, Friday afternoon representing the fruits of the labor of the effort.
La Salle opens the season with a strong roster of players from all over the country, at all stages of their collegiate careers. The incoming class of freshman was ranked No. 17 in the nation by Perfect Game, in addition to a strong bolstering of reinforcements from the transfer portal.
Three of those portal additions will make up the Explorers' opening weekend rotation under the direction of pitching coach Joey Lancellotti. Righty
Kross Howarth, a sophomore transfer from Tulane, gets the ball on Friday. Southpaw
Owen MacDonnell, a graduate student by way of a decorated career at Sacred Heart, toes the rubber on Saturday. And
Ryan Brown, a sophomore transfer from Mount Saint Mary's, gets the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
La Salle features a strong lineup of veteran bats with considerable collegiate experience. Embodying that is
Chase Swain, a senior transfer from West Virginia who played for Miller previously at Manhattan College and Penn State-Abington after initially being committed to La Salle. At shortstop, graduate transfer
Justin Szestowicki brings four years of Division I experience by way of University of North Carolina most recently, Elon.
Carter Groen (UConn),
Alec Welshans (Elon), Daniel (Memphis) and
Ryan Perez (Costal Carolina) will all be mainstays at the plate with strong Division I experience, as well.
La Salle will also feature a strong blend of JUCO talent, spearheaded from the recruiting efforts of hitting coach/recruiting coordinator Mike Zolk. After a strong resume coaching the hitters at Harford Community College, an NJCAA Division I member, Zolk brought over some of his bats, such as
Rueben Livingston,
AJ Guiliana,
Ryan Albin, and
Alec Welshans, each of whom put up eye-popping numbers at Harford and look to do the same at the Division I level on 20
th and Olney.
Kosei Suzuki, a junior from Japan, also comes into the lineup with an extensive JUCO career, having played two seasons at Frank Phillips College in Texas.
Right-handed pitcher
Titus Shay also comes over from Harford, bringing experience to a pitching staff that features depth in experience. Shay will be a major part of the late innings out of the bullpen that will also feature arms such as
Marco Levari (Old Dominion) and
Emilio Rodriguez (Wilson).
Hudson Narke (Elon),
Dylan Duke (Saint Joseph's),
Dante Edwardi (Fairleigh Dickinson),
Luke Matta (Dayton) all bring Division I experience to the staff, as well.
At the other end of the battery,
Jayden Novak brings experience from College of Charleston. A trio of freshmen,
Griffin Booth,
Tyler Morgan, and
David McClain will share the tools of ignorance.
After what promises to be an emotional weekend returning to the diamond, La Salle will hit the road next weekend to play Delaware State before a mid-week home game against Delaware on February 25. An early-season highlight features the Explorers traveling to play a four-game set at Clemson – alma matter of coach Miller – March 6-8.
La Salle opens the Atlantic 10 schedule on March 13-15 at Virginia Commonwealth, before hosting Davidson March 20-22 in the team's second home series of the season. La Salle also hosts Atlantic 10 series with Richmond (April 2-4), Fordham (April 17-19), Saint Joseph's (April 24-26), and Saint Bonaventure (May 8-10).
In addition to the Saint Joseph's series, La Salle will face Philadelphia Big 5 foes Villanova (March 10) and Penn (March 24), both on the road.
The Atlantic 10 Championship will be held from May 20-May 23 in Tysons, Virginia, with the top seven-finishing teams in the conference qualifying.
