The UConn baseball team will take the field for their first game of the 2025 fall season on Sunday, Sept. 28, against a group of returning Huskies in their annual alumni game. The game will take place at Elliott Ballpark, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. After missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven seasons in 2025, head coach Jim Penders will have plenty of questions to answer as the fall gets underway. 22 of the 43 players on the fall roster are newcomers to the team and the fall will be spent trying to get an idea of what their exact fits on the 2026 squad will be.
2025 Big East Player of the Year and offensive leader Ryan Daniels was selected in the 11th round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. The second basemen led the Huskies in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and RBIs. He was also second on the team in home runs and his departure leaves a glaring hole in the middle of UConn’s lineup.
The outfield picture is also unsettled, as Caleb Shpur, Beau Root and Sam Biller all graduated, while Aidan Dougherty transferred to the University of Washington. Shpur, Root and Dougherty were each in the top five on the team in batting average, while Biller had the third highest slugging percentage and home run total. Incoming Southern New Hampshire transfers Jackson Marshall and Nater Watcher each had an OPS over .950 last season and could be big pieces to solving the outfield puzzle.
UConn’s group of returning players is headlined by shortstop Rob Rispoli and corner infielder Tyler Minick. Rispoli started all but four games for the 2025 Huskies and got on base at a .473 clip, second behind only Daniels. The redshirt sophomore was named to the All-Big East first team in his rookie campaign and will look to build on that success as a mainstay at the top of UConn’s lineup.
Splitting his time almost evenly between first and third base, Minick was the team’s second-best hitter in 2025. The rising junior came in third on the team in batting average at .355 and led the team in home runs with 22. That production was good for a 1.162 OPS and a spot on the All-Big East second team. The 2026 MLB draft prospect will look to continue to build his stock with another strong season.
The Huskies are also returning catcher Connor Lane, who started 31 games in 2025. He will be joined behind the plate by Catholic University of America transfer Steve Thomas, who hit over .400 last season with the Cardinals, as well as freshman Cam Righi and returner Gabriel Tirado.
First baseman Maddix Dalena will return after missing most of last season with a wrist injury. The redshirt junior came into 2025 as the Big-East Preseason Player of the Year. If he can recapture his form from 2024, in which he slashed .242/.359/.511, he could quickly find himself at the heart of UConn’s order.
While much of the UConn lineup is currently uncertain, the same can be true of the pitching staff. Thomas Ellisen, who led the team in starts in 2025, transferred to Georgia University over the summer. Redshirt junior Oliver Pudvar, who started twelve games last season, has the most experience of any returner and is likely to be a member of the weekend rotation. The same is true of junior Charlie West, who ended last season as a starter and finished with a sub-three ERA.
Greg Shaw III, who made six strong starts this summer as a member of the Valley Blue Sox in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, could make a jump from the bullpen to the rotation. Incoming transfers Justin Lessing (Middlebury) and Joe Talarico (Santa Barbara City College) each finished their most recent full collegiate seasons with sub-2.00 ERAs. Newcomers Austin Trumpour (SNHU) and Charlie Hale (Endicott) also have substantial experience as starters.
The Huskies will also be on the search for a new closer, as 2025 saves/ERA leader and All-Big East second teamer Brady Afthim graduated and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. Shaw III led the 2025 team in relief appearances with 25 and could be a prime candidate for a high leverage role should he not be used as a starter. Sean Finn, who also pitched to a 3.00 ERA out of the bullpen last season, could also get looks in the later innings.
A roster of returning alumni for the game has not yet been released, but former players who have attended in recent years include Charles Nagy, Kyler Fedko and Willie Yahn, among others.
Correction: First pitch is at 2:30 p.m
I apologize for any confusion