Boston College baseball is built on the pillars "Character. Toughness. Class." The Eagles were tested in all three areas a year ago after entering the 2021 season with high expectations from inside and outside the program.

The early returns were positive; series wins at No. 11 Duke and No. 25 Auburn as well as a program-best No. 13 ranking in the national polls. By the end of the season, BC did produce three players drafted in the top six rounds to Major League Baseball, but the season ended at home in late May with a win over eventual College World Series bound Virginia to cap off a disappointing 21-28 season on the Heights. The ultimate test of the program's character and toughness will be how it responds in 2022.
 
Head coach Mike Gambino embarks on his 12th season at the helm of his alma mater with longtime assistant Greg Sullivan across the diamond coaching first base. Gambino added two new faces to the dugout in pitching coach Kevin Vance and hitting coach Tyler Holt. Vance, an All-American closer while at Connecticut, served as the pitching coach at Rhode Island from 2018-21. Holt played three years in the big leagues before returning to Florida State, where he was an All-American outfielder, to serve as an assistant coach.
 
Four players were chosen by their teammates to serve as captains in 2022. Senior catcher Peter Burns (Redding, Mass.) is the first two-time captain at BC since Carmen Giampetruzzi (2018, 2019) and just the third in Gambino's tenure; the first being Tom Bourdon (2013, 2014). Burns is joined by senior pitcher Mason Pelio (San Diego, Calif.) and junior infielders Vince Cimini (Scranton, Pa.), who will wear the No. 8 in honor of Sonny Nictakis, and Luke Gold (Ballston, N.Y.).
 
The Eagles open the 2022 season at Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. on Feb. 18 with a three-game series. The first 20 games of the year are scheduled away from home, including the first two ACC series at Miami (March 11-13) and Virginia (March 18-20). BC's scheduled home opener is March 25 against Louisville.

PITCHERS

Pelio returned for his senior season after posting a 6.65 earned run average and 3-8 record in 14 starts a year ago. A 2019 ACC All-Freshman team pick has three years of experience pitching in the league plus stints with Team USA's Collegiate National Team and on the Cape. Pelio looks to recapture the success of his rookie campaign that saw him earn Freshman All-America honors with a 4-3 record, 3.62 ERA and 62 strikeouts.
 
Providing valuable experience to the rotation is senior right-hander Joe Mancini (Fairfield, Conn.), who has filled the role of weekend starter, midweek starter and middle reliever during his career. He has totaled 42 appearances and 19 starts at BC and bounced back from a slow start in 2021 to post a 4.35 ERA from March 30 through the end of the season.
 
Likely moving to a spot in the weekend rotation is sophomore Joe Vetrano (Shrub Oak, N.Y.). The two-way product, a lefty on the mound and at the plate, went 1-3 with a 4.14 ERA in 18 games, including five starts, as a freshman. Vetrano was a two-time area MVP in high school and New York's 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year. Another young arm looking to factor into the rotation is freshman righty Sean Hard (Mahwah, N.J.). A 20th round pick of the Yankees, Hard was named the state's player of the year by NJ.com and Perfect Game. Sophomore RHP Joey Ryan (Norwood, Mass.) was called on to start and pitch in key relief spots as a rookie with 13 appearances and three starts in 2021. He went 3-0 and struck out 17 batters in 24.1 innings of work.
 
As a freshman, lefty Charlie Coon (Duxbury, Mass.) tied for the team lead with 20 appearances out of the bullpen. He went 1-2 with two saves, a 4.55 ERA and a .239 batting average against. Junior RHP Max Gieg (Lynn, Mass.) started 2021 as the Eagles' closer and notched one save in 12 appearances. Gieg spent the summer with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape and picked up one save, one win and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings with a 1.50 ERA. Another big arm out of the bullpen is 6-foot-8 sophomore righty John West (Shrewsbury, Mass.). In 10 appearances, West went 1-0 with 11 strikeouts in just 9,2 innings of work.
 
The Eagles added three veteran arms, all righties, to its bullpen by way of graduate transfers, including Brendan Coffey (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) from Sacred Heart. He led the Northeast Conference in saves in 2021 with 10 across 35.1 innings with 40 strikeouts and a 0.76 ERA. Liam Dvorak (Bayport, N.Y.), a member of the Irish National Team at the 2019 European Baseball Championships, won nine games with a 4.33 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 143.1 innings at Holy Cross and could compete for a spot in the rotation. Henry Leake (Burbank, Calif.) arrives from Division III Babson. He pitched in 37 career games, including 24 appearances as part of the Beavers' 2019 World Series team.
 
Senior Ryan Smith (Tarrytown, N.Y.) and freshman Matthew Nunan (Egg Harbor, N.J.) round out the group of lefties in the bullpen. Smith has made 10 career appearances, but five came in the shortened 2020 season with a 3.60 ERA and .176 batting average against. Nunan is coming off a state championship with Ocean City High School.
 
Veteran right-handers looking for increased roles in the bullpen include juniors Jon Campbell Jr. (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Brian McMonagle (Moorestown, N.J.). Campbell made five appearances a year ago, while McMonagle has eight career appearances, including two saves.
 
Three veteran righties, who have battled injury or illness, aim to get back on the mound. Seniors Travis Lane (Georgetown, Mass.), who last pitched as a freshman with a 3.90 ERA in 20 games, and Zach Pitzl (Overland Park, Kan.), a walk-on that debuted in 2020, bring veteran leadership to the BC dugout. Junior Evan Moore (Rocky Hill, Conn.) was away from the team in 2021 as he battled and defeated testicular cancer. He last pitched as a freshman with a 3.18 ERA and eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
 
Seeking expanded roles in the bullpen are sophomore right-handers Brad Lombardi (East Greenwich, R.I.) and Aidan Crowley (Shoreham, N.Y.). Lombardi made two appearances last year, while Crowley redshirted the season and made 12 appearances as an All-Star starter for the Nashua Silver Knights of the Futures League.
 
The BC pitching staff is rounded out by freshman right-handers Luke Delongchamp (Holden, Mass.), Eric Schroeder (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Julian Tonghini (New Canaan, Conn.). Delongchamp was the 2021 Central Mass Player of the Year, Schroeder helped Delbarton to two county championships and one state title, while Tonghini was the conference player of the year in 2021

CATCHERS

The Eagles return all 49 starts behind the dish from last season with Burns leading the way with 39 in 2021 and 80 in his career. The lefty backstop has 51 career hits with five home runs and seven doubles. He drove in a career-best 16 runs last season and has two summers of experience on the Cape with the Bourne Braves.
 
Junior Parker Landwehr (Baltimore, Md.), a right-handed hitter, made nine starts last year and hit .235. He scored eight runs, drove in six and hit a home run. Freshman right-handed hitter Liam Little (Lafayette, Calif.) adds depth behind the plate after earning gold glove honors in high school with De La Salle.

INFIELDERS

Gold is the highest rated prospect in the BC lineup after earned All-ACC First Team at third base, ABCA All-Northeast and Cape League All-Star honors in 2021. He is expected to make the move to second base, where he started 10 games as a freshman in 2020. Gold his .316 with nine home runs, 15 doubles and 45 RBI a season ago.
 
In 2021, Cimini played all four infield positions; primarily starting at second and third. This year, he takes over at shortstop for Brian Dempsey, the Eagles' all-time games played leader. Cimini drew 32 walks in 37 starts, hitting .216, but was batting .328 through April 6.
 
First base will likely be occupied by senior Ramon Jimenez (Chicopee, Mass.) and Vetrano. The right-handed hitting Jimenez has seen spot duty at first and designated hitter throughout his career. He is a career .222 hitter with 12 doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI in 35 starts. A lefty, Vetrano earned 27 at-bats as a freshman with four hits, including two doubles.
 
Senior Lucas Stalman (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) is a top contender to take over the third base job. A career .221 hitter, he has appeared in 52 games with 24 starts. Also vying for time at third is freshman Sam McNulty (Cambridge, Mass.), who hit .550 for undefeated Milton Academy in 2021 and followed with four home runs and a .271 average for Nashua in the Futures League.
 
Freshmen Aidan Harrington (Millis, Mass.) and Chris Markovich (Lebanon, N.J.) add versatile depth to the infield at second, third and short. Harrington's older brother Sean spent 2021 as a graduate transfer, back-up catcher with the Eagles. Markovich finishes his high school career at Immaculata after two years at North Hunterdon High School. Sophomore Patrick Roche (Milton, Mass.), who redshirted last year and is battling an injury, hit .297 with five home runs as a Futures League All-Star with the Brockton Rox.

OUTFIELDERS

The departures of three mainstays to the BC outfield, including first-round pick Sal Frelick and five-year player Dante Baldelli, leaves the Eagles looking at several options in the outfield. Sophomore Travis Honeyman (Massapequa, N.Y.) is a front-runner to start in the outfield despite just 14 at-bats and one start as a rookie. Over the summer, Honeyman set a New England Collegiate Baseball League record by hitting .430 as an All-Start with the Ocean State Waves. Sophomore Cameron Leary (Bethpage, N.Y.), a left-handed hitter, made 24 starts as a rookie, primarily in left. He hit two home runs and drove in 13 and followed up his spring as a .313 hitter and All-Star with the Pulaski River Turtles in the Appalachian League, a summer league run by Major League Baseball.
 
Juniors Barry Walsh (Sterling, Mass.) and Daniel Baruch (Cranston, R.I.) will also get serious consideration in the outfield. Walsh, who can play all three spots, is a .231 career hitter with five starts. Baruch, who also give the pitching staff an additional left-handed option out of the bullpen, is a .286 career hitter, including .233 with three doubles and a home run last season.
 
The Eagles also brought in grad transfer Rafe Chaumette (Sugar Land, Texas) from Division III Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Chaumette played for head coach Tim Scannell, who played at Northeastern and arrived at Trinity as an assistant to Pete Hughes, who would coach BC from 1999-2006. Chaumette finished his career with the Tigers as one of the most accomplished players in D3. He hit .367 with 265 hits, 163 runs and 162 RBI. Chaumette was a four-time SCAC First Team selection and a member of the league's 30th Anniversary Baseball Team in 2021.