PLAY BALL! For the 12
th time in the past 15 years, the Siena Baseball season will begin at John Euliano Park. The Saints kick off their 2026 campaign when they once again face Big 12 foe Central Florida for a season-opening three-game weekend series Feb. 13-15 in Orlando.
Senior southpaw
Tyler Sausville, who finished last season as the Siena closer, draws the Opening Day start for the Saints opposite UCF newcomer transfer and right-hander Braden Smith Friday night at 6 p.m. North Carolina A&T transfer right-hander
Matt Murtagh will toe the slab for Siena against former Sacred Heart right-hander Joey Trombley in the middle game Saturday at 1 p.m., while left-hander
Sam Falace draws the assignment for the Saints in the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. opposite right-hander Cameron Wicker. The entirety of the season-opening three-game series will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Fresh off a program rebirth last spring – in which Siena produced its most successful season in a decade – the Saints are primed to take the next step in Year Three of the
Alex Jurczynski Era.
This past season, Siena posted a 10-win improvement from the year prior, with their 22 victories marking the program's highest total in nine years. Predicted to finish 11
th out of 13 teams according to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Saints secured a tied for third-place finish to secure the program's first MAAC Tournament berth in four years. The Saints 17 MAAC victories more than doubled the total from the previous season (eight), and equaled the program's most conference wins in 20 years.
The 2026 edition of Siena Baseball returns a solid core intact, while once again looking to prove the doubters wrong. Despite returning eight of nine starting position players, the Saints were projected to finish tied for sixth according to the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Green and Gold have added 11 newcomers, featuring six freshmen and five transfers who join the 2026 squad.
The Siena offense is paced by Preseason All-MAAC selections
Aidan Paradine and
Jake Sparks who anchor a formidable heart of the lineup for the Saints.
A Second Team All-MAAC selection a season ago as a freshman, Paradine also earned ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region honors. The Saints backstop ranked third in the MAAC in batting average (.370) and fourth in on-base percentage (.474), while also leading the Saints in hits (71), runs scored (48), and OPS (1.010).
Sparks also earned Second Team All-MAAC acclaim during his first season manning the hot corner for Siena. The now junior third baseman finished tied for sixth in the MAAC in home runs (14), and 10
th in both doubles (16) and total bases (128). Sparks finished the season with a 24-game on-base streak while also achieving a team-best 19-game hitting streak late last spring.
The Saints also return three-year starters
Nick Bergamotto and
Gavin Thorburn to a battle-tested offense. Overall, Siena welcomes back hitters who accounted for all 37 of the squad's home runs last season, while returning 89% of its total RBI output, 85% of its hits, and 84% of runs scored.
Meanwhile the pitching staff has undergone a bit of a makeover. The Saints will look to replace the entirety of their 2025 weekend rotation which was headlined by staff ace
Alistair Morin, who was the first Siena player in six years to earn First Team All-MAAC honors last spring.
Sausville will aim to lead the staff after ranking second in the MAAC last season with five saves. The Xavier transfer finished the season strong, leading the Saints with a 3.55 ERA during conference action to go along with a 4-1 record and all five of his saves.
Overall, Siena welcomes back seven hurlers who recorded double digit appearances a season ago, although Sausville is the lone returnee to register more than 23.1 innings pitched for the Saints in 2025.
Siena is set to play a 52-game schedule this spring highlighted by a 21-game slate at Connors Park, marking the program's most scheduled home games in 18 years since playing 24 total home contests during the 2008 season. Following another opening weekend in Orlando, the Saints head to 2025 NCAA Tournament participant Wake Forest next weekend, before bookending the opening month of action with a neutral site weekend series Feb. 27 – Mar. 1 against regional foe UMass at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland.
UCF posted a 29-26 record last season including a 9-21 mark in the Big 12, despite leading the conference in batting average (.319 – sixth nationally), OBP, ERA, and WHIP. The Knights were projected to finish 10th (out of 14 teams) according to the Big 12 Preseason Poll, with outfielder Andrew Williamson earning acclaim on the Big 12 Preseason Team.
Siena has played Central Florida more times than any other non-conference opponent in a series which dates back to 1980. Perennial regional power UCF leads the all-time series 70-4 and has won 32 straight dating back to the Saints most recent win, a 7-4 triumph on Feb. 16, 2013. All 74 games have been contested in Orlando.
