WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Catholic baseball team was picked to finish second in the conference in this season's Landmark Preseason Coaches Poll, it was announced today. The Cardinals received 54 points in the poll and earned two first place votes to come in behind Wilkes.

The Cardinals finished last season with a 29-18 record and ripped off 10 straight victories at the end of the regular season and conference tournament to help capture the program's first Landmark championship since 2018. Head Coach Ross Natoli's squad earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and picked up two victories over Mount Union in the regional before falling to Rowan.

Natoli enters his 41st season as the head coach of the Catholic baseball program after collecting the team's sixth Landmark Conference championship last season. He currently sits in 10th among active Division III coaches in career wins with 835 entering the season. 

Despite losing some key pieces from last season, the Cardinals return plenty of talent in the lineup including Sammy Burman who was a Second Team All-Landmark selection as well as an ABCA Third Team All-Region V selection last season. He finished second on the team in batting average (.353) and his 61 hits were tied for the 10th-most in a single season in program history. Matthew Fisher and Jack Bateman also return to the lineup after being consistent fixtures last year. Bateman finished second on the team in homers with six in 2025. Logan Eilbacher also returns this season after missing a majority of last season due to injury. In 2024, Eilbacher batted .356 with 18 doubles, eight homers and 35 RBI as a freshman.

Catholic returns the ace of the pitching staff in Roman Tozzi this year after throwing a career-high 70.1 innings in 2025 with a 4.73 ERA and 52 punch outs. Tozzi is a two-time d3baseball.com All-Region V selection and was an All-American for both d3baseball.com and ABCA in 2024. The bullpen returns three innings leaders from last season in Jake Kenney, Mac Meara and Jack Scholz. Kenney had a 3.29 ERA in relief last season with four saves over 27.1 innings while Meara and Scholz each pitched over 30 innings in 2025.

The Cardinals will welcome three transfers onto the roster this season, Chris Esquivel (Saint Mary's), Gabriel Ruiz (UMBC) and James Vlastaris (FDU), all of which are expected to make an impact for the team this season. Catholic also brings in a freshman class that features 16 newcomers to the roster for 2026. 

Wilkes topped the poll with 62 points, receiving six first place votes after being the top seed in the conference tournament a season ago. Elizabethtown received the other possible first place vote and came in behind Catholic with 51 points. Scranton and Lycoming rounded out the top five in the poll with 45 and 37 points respectively.

Catholic's season is set to get underway on Friday, February 20 when they take on #10 Salve Regina in the Matt Kurkjian ALS Awareness Invitational. First pitch is set for 12 pm in what will be the first game on the new turf at Talbot Field for the Cardinals.