As the Penn State Altoona baseball team prepares to embark on its 2026 campaign, the Lions are hoping that an infusion of young talent will pair with their returners to help the program ascend the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference standings.

Last season, the Lions went 14-24-1 overall, including a 4-10 mark within the AMCC. Penn State Altoona was voted sixth in the conference’s preseason poll by league coaches, and 10th-year head coach RJ Barnard knows that his team will need to achieve more consistency and improve as the season progresses to navigate a challenging AMCC field.

“Defending champ Penn State Behrend returns a lot and should be favorites to win the conference. Pitt-Greensburg also returns just about their entire starting lineup,” said Barnard. “However, the conference has crowned four different champions in the last six seasons, so I’m sure it’ll once again be whoever gets hot late to take home the crown.”

Barnard’s squad will feature plenty of new faces in 2026. While the Lions have 11 seniors on the team, the roster leans heavily into first-year players, as Penn State Altoona’s 44-player crew includes 26 newcomers to the program.

“Obviously, being so young, there will be a lot of ups and downs throughout the season,” Barnard stated. “However, I do believe this is our best class we’ve brought in in years. There will be many young guys who will be getting opportunities to win starting jobs early in the season.”

Offensively, Barnard expects several key returners to anchor the team’s lineup. Senior first baseman Jonathan Rauch (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) and senior outfielder Brian Chelli (West Hartford, CT/Hall), both named as Players to Watch in the AMCC preseason poll, lead the group, along with senior outfielder Zach Ingold (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) and senior catcher Aidan Donovan (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s).

Rauch was limited to just six games last season due to injury, but the senior brings a career .364 batting average and 28 career extra-base hits back into the lineup. Chelli hit .367 last spring and was third in the AMCC in stolen bases (18) and seventh in doubles (11) and slugging percentage (.560). Ingold was third in the conference last year in walks (28), seventh in home runs (5), and 11th in on-base percentage (.456), and Donovan is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he hit a career-best .279.

Additionally, Barnard points to transfer junior middle infielder Devin Colón (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic), freshman outfielder/first baseman Judd Dasso (Brentwood, TN/Brentwood), and freshman outfielder David Wignot (Charlotte, NC/Lake Norman Charter) as being among the newcomers who could earn time in the lineup.

“A healthy Jon Rauch – for the first time in a while – returning to the middle of the order will be huge. Fellow seniors Brian Chelli and Zach Ingold will also be hitting in the top part of the lineup, and Longwood transfer Devin Colón should also be a mainstay at the top of the order,” said Barnard. “Senior catcher Aidan Donovan, who is great behind the plate, has improved offensively every year. Judd Dasso and David Wignot were two freshmen who really swung it well during the fall.”

Meanwhile, the Lions’ pitching staff will also rely on a mix of returners and first-year players. The team’s rotation will see a boost from the return of senior right-hander Eric Seick (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic), who made just four starts last season due to injury. Seick was a third-team All-AMCC pick in 2024, when he went 4-2 with a 3.83 earned run average. Freshman righty Andrew Crouse (Mercersburg, PA/James Buchanan) also projects to be a key member of the rotation this season.

Out of the bullpen, Penn State Altoona will count on senior right-handers Sean Wing (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s) and Michael Labisi (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) and freshmen righties Michael Tedrick (Plum, PA/Plum) and Jarek Szaflarski (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) for steady work. Wing was a third-team All-AMCC selection last year as a reliever, as he ranked seventh among all pitchers in the conference in appearances (14), eighth in wins (4), ninth in saves (1), and 10th in innings pitched (41 2/3). Labisi made 11 total appearances on the mound last spring, including three starts, while tossing 32 innings.

“Freshman Drew Crouse will be our number one coming into the spring. Eric Seick is hoping to bounce back to 2024 form after an injury-shortened season last year,” said Barnard. “Sean Wing and Mike Labisi will once again see significant innings out of the bullpen. Freshman Mike Tedrick also had a very strong fall and should see significant innings in the pen. Freshman shortstop Jarek Szaflarski will take on the role [former Lion infielder/reliever] Corey Chamberlain had, coming in from the infield to close out games.”

As the season opener approaches, Barnard believes that health and consistency are the biggest keys for his team this spring.

“First and foremost, our upperclassmen must stay healthy. Our pitching staff this season must throw a lot more strikes than last season. Although it was a deflated pitching staff last year due to injuries, we were not very competitive on the mound,” he said. “Offensively, we have more depth and I do believe we will be more consistent top to bottom.”

Penn State Altoona baseball is scheduled to get its season underway on the road Saturday, February 28, traveling to take on non-conference opponent Eastern Mennonite University in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.