There are plenty of arms to go around in Storrs.
Welcome to The UConn Blog’s 2025 UConn baseball preview. This is our 10th season covering the Huskies on a day-to-day basis between this site and our newsletter, which will have something new each day leading up to opening day.
UConn baseball will play 56 regular season games between now and when the Big East tournament kicks off in late May. Some quick multiplication reveals head coach Jim Penders will have to account for at least 504 innings of pitching before his team even steps onto the field for potential postseason play.
The 29 pitchers rostered heading into the 2025 season will all play different roles to help eat up those frames. Some will be top-end weekend starters, some will get the nod in midweek games, others will come out of the bullpen and even more will play hybrid roles to fill in the gaps.
Weekend Starters
In 2024, left-hander Garret Coe and righty Michael Quigley each pitched 103 1⁄3 innings for the Huskies, by far the most of any pitcher to appear for UConn last season. Both have since moved on from the program, leaving a sizable gap at the top of UConn’s starting rotation. Expected to lead the charge in 2025 is the guy who threw the third-most innings behind Coe and Quigley — Ian Cooke. He is also the pitcher expected to be the Big East’s best, with the conference having elected him the Preseason Big East Pitcher of the Year heading into the season for the second straight year. The senior chucked just shy of 70 innings (17 appearances, 10 starts) for UConn last year, striking out hitters at an effective clip. In 67 1⁄3 innings, he fanned 85 and walked just 25, coming on strong in the second half of the season, with multiple clutch performances as the Huskies turned their season around to make the NCAA Tournament.
Gabe Van Emon, like Cooke, made 17 appearances and 10 starts last year and will join him in the weekend rotation. Van Emon dominated in the Cape Cod League over the summer, serving up a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings pitched. Among other accolades, he was named to the 2024 CCBL All-Star team and received the award for most outstanding pitcher on his team. Entering his graduate season, he’ll no doubt get the ball for some big games in 2025.
Also in contention for this top tier is sophomore Ben Schild, who is the only other Husky on the current roster to have recorded a start for UConn in 2024. Schild is a player who can really break out in 2025. He was relied on early in 2024, but made just one appearance after March 26, losing most of his campaign to injury. He made eight appearances as a freshman, and in his most memorable start, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Midweek Starters
UConn won’t play its first midweek game until March 11 when LIU comes to town, meaning it won’t be until about a month into the season until we know who the best candidates are for this role.
Evan Hamberger, among one of the remaining arms with a starter’s pedigree, is a junior transfer from Spokane Community College who threw over 100 innings in 19 starts over his two seasons out west, pairing a 2.85 ERA with 96 strikeouts. The jump from JuCo to Division I is always tough, but the lefty could make a case for himself with a few solid initial appearances.
Another transfer option is Greg Shaw III, who spent the past two seasons with the MAAC’s Manhattan College. The junior made only one start in 28 appearances for the Jaspers, but the defense for him to start isn’t his college stats — it’s his recent summer league success. In the New England College Baseball League (NECBL) this summer, he made seven starts with a 2-0 record, 2.35 ERA and 23 strikeouts across 35.2 innings.
In the same camp as Shaw is junior Thomas Ellisen, who also made seven starts in NECBL action this summer. He threw over 40 innings with a 3.54 ERA and punched out an impressive 54 hitters. The junior has made just three starts in 35 appearances in his two-year career at UConn, but could elevate to a higher role with the Huskies in 2025.
Hector Alejandro missed all of the 2023 season but rejoined UConn in 2024, pitching occasionally (6 appearances, 4 2⁄3 innings). He put an exclamation point on his summer season (5-0, 33.1 innings, 2.16 ERA) with a no-hitter pitching for the Norwich Sea Unicorns in the Futures League. The redshirt senior had a productive summer and could parlay his success with the Sea Unicorns into success with the Huskies.
Bullpen
Anchoring the Husky bullpen in 2025 will be the same guy who did it in 2024: Brady Afthim. A 2.84 ERA across 25.1 innings with eight saves earned the right-handed senior first team All-Big East honors last season. He’ll hold down the back end and look to repeat the same success he had last year. Alongside Cooke, he was named to the 2025 Preseason All-Big East Team.
Other options for right handers include senior Joe Carrea, who appeared in 17 games for the Huskies in 2024, posting a 7.81 ERA in 10 1⁄3 innigs. His six home runs allowed were the fifth-most of any pitcher last season, but if he can keep the ball in the yard, he can be an effective matchup-specific alternative. Sophomore Sean Finn made 10 appearances for UConn last year and surrendered eight earned runs for a 14.40 ERA over five innings of work. While Carrea’s achilles heel was his home runs allowed, Finn’s was his walks. Eight of his 31 batters faced ended in a free pass. If he can hone his command and keep the walks to a minimum, he could also serve as a top right-handed option out of the bullpen.
Sophomores Sam Hutchinson, Charlie West and JT Caruso are three left-handed relievers to watch. Hutchinson is a CCSU transfer who tossed 30 innings last year, recorded two saves and held a 3.00 ERA. West pitched just three innings and change for the Huskies last year but carried an ERA of 4.71 in 21 innings of summer ball, striking out 26. Caruso transferred to Storrs this year from the Miami (FL), where he struck out seven across 6 2⁄3 innings.
One pitcher looking to bounce back in 2025 is graduate right-hander Cameron Mayer. Mayer was a workhorse for Tufts University in his three seasons with the program — throwing over 118 innings with a career 4.11 ERA. When he transferred to UConn last year, his opportunities were limited, appearing just seven times with two innings pitched, but has the potential to get more run this season.
Redshirt sophomore Jude Abbadessa missed all of 2024 with injury, but made 10 appearances (5 2⁄3 innings, 6.35 ERA) in his freshman season. Redshirt sophomore Oliver Pudvar had an excellent rookie season with Manhattan in 2023 (44 2⁄3 innings, 43 strikeouts, 3.37 ERA), but also sat out all last year with an injury. Both have missed considerable time in their college careers, but with health now on their sides, could pitch their way into additional innings in 2025.