Just a year removed from one of the best seasons in program history, the Case Western Reserve University baseball team will return a lineup loaded with veteran, impact hitters and a pitching staff loaded with talent, as the Spartans will eye their third-consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 2025.
A look back at 2024
The Spartans finished the 2024 season with a 32-9 overall record and the team's .780 winning percentage ranked as the eighth-highest among Division III teams during the season. CWRU won the 2024Â University Athletic Association Championship with a 13-3 conference mark, matching the UAA record for league wins in a season and securing the fifth conference title in program history. CWRU went on to host the NCAA Division III regionals for the first time in program history and won a pair of games before falling to Lynchburg College to end its tournament run, ending the year ranked 16th in the final D3baseball.com Top-25.
The Spartans' 2024 success was a result of an offense that set program records with 40 home runs and a .490 slugging percentage, while the pitching staff set a program record with 413 strikeouts and was third among Division III teams with 10.51 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 2025 Team
With most of the starting lineup set to return from last year's team, the Spartans are aiming to take another step forward as the team enters the 2025 campaign. A total of 21 players are returning from last year's squad, including eight of the team's nine starting position players and the designated hitter from last year's NCAA tournament games, and eight pitchers who appeared in at least eight games. Supplementing the core of the team will be a talented group of 18 first-year players and one transfer student.
While expectations are high internally for the Spartans in 2025, the team's potential has been recognized nationally as well. The Spartans were ranked 14 in the D3baseball.com Preseason Top-25, the team's highest preseason ranking in program history. In addition, graduate student Jack Anderson was named the catcher on the D3baseball.com Preseason All-America Second Team while graduate student Dane Camphausen was selected as the first baseman on the Third Team.
Catchers
Anderson, the first two-time All-American in program history and UAA Position Player of the Year, will be back for his sixth season in a Spartan uniform and will once again be handling the bulk of the catching duties for CWRU. The backstop hit a team-best .419 last season with 18 doubles, three home runs, 60 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases on 11 attempts, while notching a 1.137 OPS. He will enter his final collegiate season as the program's all-time leader in career batting average (.413) and triples (13) and just 32 hits away from matching Chad Mullins' (2008-11) program record of 263.
Behind Anderson will be junior Sean Donahue, who has seen action in 18 games over his career, including four starts, and sophomore Carson Walker, who batted .231 with five RBIs over 15 games in 2024. First-year Mark Takasaki will also be in the mix at catcher for the Spartans.
Infielders
Camphausen, now in his second season with the Spartans after arriving as a graduate transfer from Wooster last year, is coming off one of the best offensive seasons in team history in 2024 and will be slated to start at first base again for the team in 2025. He finished the 2024 campaign batting .408 with a team-high 1.248 OPS while setting a program record with 13 home runs and leading the squad with 57 RBIs. Adding depth behind Camphausen will be junior Thomas Downs and first-year Ross Brotherston.
In the middle infield, junior Jasiah Harris is the likely starter at second base. Harris made a splash as a first-year player in 2023, batting .329 with one home run, 33 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases, before an up-and-down campaign in 2024 that saw him hit .269. At shortstop, sophomore Nate Arterburn will look to build on a solid first collegiate campaign where he emerged as a starter in 32 games at the position with his stellar defensive presence while batting .215 with 12 RBIs. First-years Calvin Gelle and Charlie Dickie will provide additional depth in the middle infield for CWRU.
A familiar face is likely to be manning third base for CWRU this year, as graduate student Zack Carinci is set to return to his natural position after seeing time at second base and as the designated hitter while recovering from an injury last year. Besides providing solid defense at the hot corner, Carinci is a career .350 hitter with six home runs and 108 RBIs over 148 games played, including a .321 average with two home runs, 22 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases last year.
Two other returners should see significant time as super-utility players for the Spartans in 2025. Graduate student Franco Alonso hit .324 in his first year with CWRU as a graduate transfer from Cornell, collecting seven doubles, five home runs, 28 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. Sophomore Tyler Stillson also had an immediate impact with the Spartans last year, batting .316 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. Both could see time at any of the infield positions, in left field, or as the team's designated hitter in 2025.
Outfielders
Senior Nick Harms, the program's all-time leader in career home runs, is likely to remain as the everyday starter in right field for the Spartans entering the 2025 campaign. The three-time All-UAA honoree and two-time All-Region selection is primed for a big senior season and will enter the campaign as a career .303 hitter with 31 home runs and 114 RBIs in 115 games, including a .271 average with 11 home runs, 49 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases last year.
Another outfield spot will be occupied by senior Logan Andreyko, who was an All-UAA Second Team honoree last year after batting .352 with 15 extra-base hits (including two home runs), 20 RBIs, and 52 runs scored. Andreyko will likely see time at both centerfield and left field.
On days when Andreyko starts in center, a combination of Alonso, Stillson, and senior Jay Smith (.248, one home run, 21 RBIs in 50 career games) will see time in leftfield. When Andreyko is playing left, junior Matt Trout (.281, 10 extra-base hits, 41 RBIs in 57 career games) will be an option for center field. Additional outfield options for the Spartans this year include sophomore Tommy Moonan and first-years Tedros Hemberger, Evan Garbincus, and Mason Nemec.
Starting rotation
Despite the departure of four-year starter Reece Marley, the Spartans will have a similar-looking rotation to last year. Sophomore southpaw Quinn Saunders will aim to take another step forward for CWRU after a dynamic first year in 2024 when he earned ABCA All-Region Third Team honors. Saunders made nine starts for the Spartans, finishing the year with a 5-1 record and a team-best 3.52 ERA while ranking second among all NCAA Division III pitchers with 15.46 strikeouts per nine innings, a program record. He struck out 10 or more batters on four occasions, including a 14-strikeout game in six innings against Trinity on March 12.
Senior righty Kyle Gearding will carry a 9-4 career record with a 4.23 ERA into the 2025 campaign and will be looking to return to form after going 6-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a sophomore before battling injuries throughout his junior year, ultimately finishing the season with a 1-1 record and a 5.93 ERA. Junior right-handed pitcher Archer Stankowski started 10 games for the Spartans last year, notching a 5-3 record with a 5.40 ERA and striking out 49 batters in 50 innings. First-year left-handed pitcher Charlie Griffith is a strong candidate to fill the final spot in the rotation.
Senior Jackson Brewer, who was used mostly as a reliever last year but did make two starts, went 3-0 last year with a 3.60 ERA and three saves, and is another potential option to start this year, as is first-year Eric Colgrove.Â
Relief pitchers
With a large, talented class of incoming pitchers set to supplement an already strong corps, CWRU is expecting to have the flexibility to mix and match its bullpen options over short stints throughout the year.
A pair of two-way players should pitch impact innings for the Spartans' pitching staff this year. In addition to his catching duties, Anderson also served as the Spartans' closer last year, appearing in eight games and going 1-1 with six saves and a 1.08 ERA. Stillson started six games and appeared in eight on the mound for CWRU last year, going 6-0 with a 4.36 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 33 innings.
In addition to Brewer, other familiar faces in this year's bullpen include junior righty Austin McGowan (1-0, 4.87 ERA in 23 career appearances) and sophomore righty Zach Barnes (2-2, 4.76 ERA in 11 relief appearances last year). Junior right-handed pitcher Karthik Gondy, a transfer from Division I Santa Clara, is also expected to have a quick impact on the team. First-year lefties Jeff Radinsky and Anton Sabo, and righties Fitz Smith, Oliver Miller, Ayush Shetty, Cody Hughes, and Jacob Montemore, along with sophomore Armand Ortiz, should all factor into the Spartans' deep relief corps in 2025.
Coaching Staff
Matt Englander will be entering his 19th season at the team's helm and has led the team to a 419-282-2 record with five UAA Championships and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Steve Gruenberg, now in his fifth season as the primary Assistant Coach, will once again be supervising the pitching staff along with assistant coach and former Spartan Evan Faxon. New to the staff this season is assistant Matt Johnson, who comes to CWRU after spending the previous six years on the staff at the College Wooster.
Schedule outlook
Between its non-conference and UAA schedule, the Spartans should once again have one of the more difficult schedules in Division III, including 11 games against opponents that are either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the CWRU will open its season this weekend with three games at Championship Park in Kokomo, Indiana against DePauw, Mount Union, and Lawrence, before heading to Louisville the following weekend for games against Millikin, Spalding (which received votes in the D3baseball.com Preseason Top-25) and Ohio Northern. CWRU's home opener at Nobby's Ballpark is scheduled for March 5 against Washington & Jefferson, which received votes in the D3baseball.com Top-25.
CWRU will be headed back to Lexington, South Carolina for spring break this year from March 8 - 13, where the team will play three games against Swarthmore, and single contests against 13th-ranked Baldwin Wallace, along with Arcadia and Ithaca, which each received votes in the preseason poll. On the way home, CWRU will make a stop in Marietta, Ohio for games against Wittenberg, Johnson & Wales, and Marietta (which received votes in the poll). Upon their return to Cleveland, the Spartans will face John Carroll in a road doubleheader on March 23 before starting conference play.
The 2025 UAA schedule will consist of five four-game series with a single game on Friday, a doubleheader on Saturday, and a single game on Sunday to conclude the series. The Spartans will open UAA play on the road at WashU from March 28 - 30, before returning home to host Emory, which received votes in the preseason poll, from April 4 - 6. From there, CWRU will play a four-game series at new UAA baseball participant Chicago from April 11 - 13, host NYU from April 18 - 20, and conclude their conference schedule on the road at Brandeis from April 25 - 27.
CWRU will wrap up its regular schedule with home games against two local opponents, hosting 13th-ranked Baldwin Wallace on April 29 and John Carroll on May 4.
A new path to NCAAs in 2025
In a season that will likely see many familiar faces on the field for the Spartans, maybe the most significant change for the team will be in the NCAA Tournament selection process. In previous seasons, CWRU's only path to the postseason had been via an at-large bid. However, with the University of Chicago playing a full University Athletic Association schedule this year, the conference now has the six teams required to issue an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for its regular season conference champion. Should the Spartans fall short of winning back-to-back UAA Championships this year, they will still have the opportunity to qualify for the postseason via an at-large bid.
CWRU will hope to reach the tournament for the third-straight season for the first time in program history, with the regional scheduled for May 16-18 and the super-regional for May 23-24 at sites to be determined. The NCAA Division III Championships will be back in Northeastern Ohio at Classic Park in Eastlake from May 30 - June 5.
