The top 10 teams in Nassau and Suffolk baseball

NASSAU BASEBALL TOP 10

1. Massapequa: The team returns the top five hitters in the lineup and two six-win pitchers after going 22-3 and reaching the state Class AA semifinals. Senior Erik Paulsen (Stony Brook commit) was one of those six-win pitchers as well as a .500 hitter, and catcher Paul Dulanto (another Stony Brook commit) batted .430 with three homers and 21 RBIs as a sophomore.

2. Chaminade: The Flyers have 14 players back from a team that went 25-2 and won their third straight NSCHSAA title and the state CHSAA Class AA  championship, but they have had to replace the starting staff. Senior shortstop/first baseman Matt Dieguez (Fordham) is one of their best returning hitters after a .286, three-homer season, and the team is expected to be strong defensively.

3. Kellenberg: The Firebirds should be formidable after returning nine college commits from a 17-7 team that fell in the NSCHSAA final. Senior righthander/infielder Andrew Koshy, who’s a Wake Forest commit, is the headliner, and senior shortstop/third baseman Paul Napolitano (High Point) and junior shortstop/second baseman Kenny Noe (Monmouth) should help offensively, too.

4. Calhoun: The Colts have six key returnees from their 25-4 Nassau and Long Island Class A title team and some promising newcomers to try to make a run at a repeat. Senior outfielder/lefthander Matt Kalfas (Fairfield) is at the forefront after batting .466 and pitching to a 2.10 ERA, and his .330-hitting catcher, Ryan Pucella, is also back for his senior season.

5. Clarke: The Rams won 22 games last season and reached the county finals for the third time in a row and for the 10th time in the last 20 seasons. They have five key players back, including hard-throwing junior pitcher/second baseman/shortstop Nick Berasti (2.82 ERA, .313 average), three other .300-plus hitters (seniors JJ Palumbo and Zaim Deljanin and junior Giancarlo Rengifo) and senior lefty Matt Cardozo, who had four saves.

6. MacArthur: The Generals have experienced talent to try to surpass what they did last year, when they went 19-6, took Nassau A-I and reached the Class A semis where they lost to Clarke. Senior outfielder James Eden (Adelphi) is their top offensive player, coming off a .462 season, and junior Tyler Bonsignore (James Madison) leads the rotation as the owner of four playoff wins and 12 overall across his first two seasons.

7. Division: The Blue Dragons have three top talents to lead them after winning 19 games and falling to Calhoun in the county semifinals. Senior catcher Joe Yovino (Elon) batted .467 with seven homers and won a Diamond Award as the county’s Position Player of the Year, and senior first baseman/right-hander James Sill and junior centerfielder Matt Bolton (Binghamton) were also big contributors.

8. Holy Trinity: The Titans have an experienced group coming off a 15-win season, including senior shortstop Nick Delvecchio (LIU), who batted .365 with 22 steals, and Sebastian Velasquez (URI), a 6-4 senior righthander, who went 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA. The CHSAA Catcher of the Year, junior Tyler Cook, is back to guide the staff and brings offense as well.

9. Farmingdale: The Dalers should be able to hit and should be able to field well with returnees at six of the eight spots, but they have had to find replacements for the three starting pitchers who helped them reach the Nassau Class AA final series. Senior centerfielder Joe Burriesci, a 2022 All-Long Island second-teamer and Molloy commit, and junior third baseman Jordan Welch are their top hitters.

10. Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK: The Hawks lost two-way standout Dylan Banner after going 18-3 and bowing out vs. Farmingdale in the Nassau AA semifinals, and they have had to also replace the others who were on the starting staff. But there are plenty of other returnees, including senior catcher Andrew Lenski (Iona commit), junior outfielder/righthander Sebastian Lippman (Georgia Tech commit), senior second baseman Liam Shwom and junior first baseman/righthander Michael D’Ambrosio, so the offense and defense should be good again.

SUFFOLK BASEBALL TOP 10

1. Commack: The Cougars, county champs for two years running, are stocked with some top talents again. The lineup will feature three D-I commits, seniors Chris McHugh (VCU), a shortstop/third baseman who was an All-Long Island second teamer last season, outfielder Joey DiMotta (FDU) and infielder/righthander Connor Schramm (Niagara).

2. Ward Melville: After a season that ended in the Conference I semifinals, the Patriots return two standout senior pitchers, lefthander Charlie West (UConn) and righthander Tommy Ruehle (Southern Arkansas), and a Maine commit at short, senior Jack Friend. Coach Lou Petrucci wants more consistent defensive play from this team.

3. Connetquot: Centerfielder Anthony Scarabino, a .436 hitter as a junior, and third baseman/righthander Ryan Kiendle are the top returnees for a team that won 20 games last season. Coach Dwayne Page called his Thunderbirds a “very hard-working group of kids.”

4. Lindenhurst: The Bulldogs have an experienced team led by five college commits. Senior Thomas Walker (Molloy), a .453-hitting shortstop/righthander, and senior centerfielder/first baseman/lefthander Chris Carson (Stony Brook) are the top players on the list.

5. Rocky Point: The Eagles are sending out some talented but unproven young players as the program tries to continue its run of success. Senior rightfielder/lefthander Dominick Carbone (Coastal Carolina), an All-Long Island second-team pick in 2022, and junior shortstop/second baseman AJ Aschettino (Northeastern) are the proven talents for a team aiming at a fifth straight league title, a third straight conference title and a second straight Suffolk A title.

6. Sachem East: The team is coming off a 16-6 season and has six college commits at the forefront, including James Madison-bound junior infielder/righthander Alex Apicella, who batted .392 and had a 2.45 ERA as a sophomore.

7. East Islip: The team wasn’t eliminated until its fourth playoff game in Conference III last spring. It has two superior seniors back to lead the way — lefthander/first baseman Nick Rizzo (Stony Brook), who went 6-1 with a 0.87 ERA and batted .333 last season, and outfielder Anthony Rigogliosi (Adelphi), who hit .396 and had a .500 on-base percentage.

8. Mount Sinai: The Mustangs, who reached the Suffolk Class A finals last season, have terrific senior pitching with righthander Chris Batuyios (St. John’s), lefthander JT Caruso (Miami) and righthander Max Reichenbach (Mercy). Sophomore Benny Franquiz (Army) is a defensive whiz behind them at short.

9. Bayport-Blue Point: The Phantoms, who have made the postseason for 24 straight seasons, are led by a St. John’s-bound senior, righthander/first baseman Brady Clark, who posted a 0.91 ERA and batted. .373 with 30 RBIs last season when he made All-Long Island second team. The starting pitching should be very strong with senior righthanders Liam Stemmler (FDU-Florham) and Ryan Costa (Manhattanville) also returning after combining with Clark for 15 of the team’s 17 wins.

10. Patchogue-Medford: The Raiders have experience and they have pitching. That includes senior righthander Josh Knoth, the Ole Miss commit and potential high-round MLB draft pick, who claimed the 2022 Yastrzemski Award as Suffolk’s most outstanding player.