Season Preview: Baseball

About The 2026 Cardinals 

Season in Review: In 2026, the St. John Fisher baseball team will look to reclaim its spot at the top of Empire 8 competition. Before taking a step back last season finishing with a 21-19-1 record overall and a 15-8-1 mark in conference play, the Cardinals had appeared in the previous eight consecutive E8 title games, winning four conference championships in a row from 2021-24. 

The Cardinals earned a number of conference awards, including the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year award for outfielder Jordan Perry. The team also earned seven selections to Empire-8 All Conference teams. In addition, first baseman Jack Griffin was named All-Region III third team from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings. Outfielder Mario Cubello was named to the All-Region III second team.

Head Coach: Brandon Potter (17th Season)

Assistant Coaches: Bobby Papalouizos, Dave Roth, Andrew Roman, Mike Cerame

2025 Graduated Players: Tanner Frank, Jimmy McCardle, Dominic Guccia, Patrick McGuire, Christian O’Brien, Joshua Ferris, Andrew Roman, Anthony Lang, Nathaniel Kilburn, Bryce Collis, Ethan Perry

2025 Statistical Leaders (Position Players): Batting Average (Jack Griffin, .383), On-Base Plus Slugging (Mario Cubello, 1.193), Hits (Jordan Perry, 50), Doubles (Brendan Bucello, 11), Home Runs (Mario Cubello, 8), Runs Batted In (49), Stolen Bases (Mario Cubello, 22)

2025 Statistical Leaders (Pitchers): Earned Run Average (Ethan Fulton, 3.41), Walks + Hits Per Inning (Ethan Fulton, 1.34), Wins (Ethan Fulton, 6), Shutouts (Ethan Fulton, 1), Strikeouts (Ethan Fulton, 61)

Returning Players: Ryan Fitzpatrick (So., P), Jordan Perry (So., OF), Austin Droge (So., INF/P), Benjamin Huckans (Sr., INF/P), Jack Griffin (Jr., INF), Matthew Arnold (Jr., UTIL), Ethan Fulton (Sr., OF/P), Mario Cubello (Gr., INF), Jake Crantz (Sr., INF), Robert Leach (Jr., P), Daniel Dorman (Jr., P), Jackson Frey (Jr., OF), Scott Sleurs (So., C), Ryan Vanderlip (So., INF/P), Brendan Bucello (Jr., INF), Luke Horton (Jr., P), Nathan Benjamin (So., P), Aidan Morris (Sr., P), Cam Kingsley (Sr., P), Noah Pohrte (Sr., OF), Michael Bowler (Sr., P), Sean Cleary (So., P), Ty Kwitchoff (So., P), Cal Machalek (Sr., P), Nathan Weber (Jr., P), Conner Walker (Sr., P), Dylan Becker (Sr., P), Noah Moran (So., P), Matt Culjak (So., 1B/P)

Freshmen/Transfers: Jacob Penafeather (Fr., INF), Hunter Fales (Fr., C/OF), Brody Becker (Fr., INF), Justin Christensen (Fr., P), Caleb Clark (Fr., P), Colin Barry (Fr., P), Nate Nilsen (Fr., P), Brandon Benkovics (Fr., P), Nikolas Nelson (Fr., OF), Quinton Beckwith (Fr., C), Collin Clark (Sr., C), Michael DeRosa (Jr., UTIL), Anthony Shortino (Jr., INF)

Numbers And Notes To Know 

• Fisher will open their 2026 season against Baldwin Wallace University at the Baltimore Invitational on Saturday, February 21 at 11 a.m. This will be the first matchup between the two teams since 2019. The Yellow Jackets received 47 votes in d3baseball.com’s preseason poll. The Cardinals will then square off with #11 Johns Hopkins University on Sunday, February 22.
• The Cardinals will travel to Florida to play a week’s worth of games in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational starting on Friday, February 27 against Vermont State-Castleton. 
• Fisher will host their first game of the season at Dugan Yard on Friday, March 13 at 2 p.m. against crosstown rival RIT. This will be the first of the Cardinals’ three crosstown matchups that weekend, as they will travel to RIT on March 14 and visit the University of Rochester on March 15.
• The Cardinals open Empire 8 conference play with a home doubleheader against Elmira on Saturday, March 21 at noon. Fisher is 30-0 all time against Elmira in Empire 8 conference play, having won the last 11 consecutive matchups between the two teams.

Batters To Watch

The Cardinals will return their top seven players in hits from a season ago, six of which batted above .300. In addition, 89% (326/367) of Fisher’s runs scored in the 2025 season were tallied by players that remain on the team in 2026. They will hope to take steps offensively after a season where they already scored nearly nine runs per game. 

This effort will be spearheaded by award winners from a season ago in graduate outfielder Mario Cubello, who batted .382 with 8 home runs a season ago, and sophomore outfielder Jordan Perry, who batted .321 with 50 hits and 48 RBI. Senior infielder Jack Griffin, junior outfielder Jackson Frey, and sophomore infielder Ryan Vanderlip will round out the core of the Cardinal lineup. 

Fielders To Watch 

The Cardinal defense will be led by familiar faces. Last season, Perry patrolled the outfield flawlessly, making 71 putouts without committing an error. Vanderlip led the team with 85 assists and 17 double plays. Cubello and junior utility man Matthew Arnold each chipped in five double plays, and sophomore backstop Scott Sleurs caught four runners attempting to steal. 

Pitchers To Watch

There will be more production to make up on the pitching side of things, particularly in relief. The Cardinals lost two of their top five pitchers from 2025 in terms of innings pitched in Patrick McGuire and Tanner Frank. The two combined for six starts and 25 relief appearances totaling  57.2 IP and 57 strikeouts a season ago.

Fisher’s ace will be returning to the Dugan Yard mound this season, as Ethan Fulton is entering his senior season after leading the Cardinals in starts, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts, and strikeouts a season ago. Fulton sported a strong 2.39 ERA in conference play, to go along with a 5-2 record and 39 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched in his eight starts against Empire 8 opponents.

Pitching coach Bobby Papalouizos will look to junior Robert Leach and sophomore Sean Cleary to take steps behind Fulton in the Cardinal rotation. Seniors Dylan Becker, Conner Walker, and Benjamin Huckans will look to fill more innings as well. Becker and Walker notched ERAs of 3.48 and 2.69, respectively, last season.