There is no doubt there are sky-high expectations for a University of Pennsylvania baseball team that have won back-to-back Ivy League Tournament championships and three consecutive Ivy titles dating back to 2022.
 
Led by the W. Joseph Blood Head Baseball Coach John Yurkow, the Quakers have established themselves as one of the conference's premier programs, blending a mix of experienced leadership, rising talent, and a winning culture that has fueled their recent dominance.
 
This season, Penn looks to continue upon their recent success and make noise on the national stage once again after appearing in two consecutive NCAA regionals. With a dynamic offense, an inexperienced yet promising pitching staff, and a hunger for more hardware, the Red and Blue are poised for another thrilling run.
 
Gone are the likes of Wyatt Henseler—a third-team All-America selection in 2024 and the Ivy League Player of the Year—and starters Ryan Dromboski and Cole Zaffiro. Carson Ozmer, who thrived on the mound and at the plate will also be missed this upcoming season.
 
As they gear up for Opening Day this Friday, all eyes are on how this veteran-led squad will handle the pressure of defending their crown once again—and whether they can take the program to even greater heights.
 
That mentality starts in the fall with an influx of newcomers and the return of familiar faces. Yurkow saw the potential of his team early on when they arrived in University City and witnessed it only progress further into the preseason leading up to the start of the campaign.
 
"I thought we had a very productive fall season," said Yurkow. "We were able to get some baseball activities done for about nine or 10 weeks while the weather was great. We scrimmaged a bunch and got some questions answered as a coaching staff. It was great seeing a lot of the young guys get some playing time in, even with the learning curve.
 
"And then after winter break, I thought our players came back to campus in great shape. Heading into break, we had a lot of guys at 80 or 90 percent and then they came back closer to 100 percent from a health standpoint. The guys have been extremely focused and ready to go over these last five weeks heading into the season. We're at the point right now where we're tired of just playing intersquad games against each other, so this weekend couldn't come soon enough."
 
Oh Captains, Our Captains
Last year's captaincy was a solid one, the team led by Henseler, Ozmer, and Dromboski.
 
This year, the number is four and is comprised of seniors Connor Chavez, Nate Polo, and Will Tobin, and junior Jarrett Pokrovsky.
"All four of those guys have very strong leadership qualities, so choosing them to captain this squad was a no-brainer," Yurkow said. "It's interesting because two of them have only been around this program for a couple of years. Chavy is a junior college kid and Pok is just a junior.
 
"They really understand what this program is all about and what we embody here at Penn. Those are characteristics you want from your captains."
 
Infielders
The infield is going to look like what it was in 2024, lots of mainstays returning to the fold for another year.
 
Two-time All-Ivy selection Davis Baker returns to play shortstop, surrounded by Chavez at second base and Nick Spaventa at first.
 
Baker has turned into one of the Ivy's most prolific hitters over his first two seasons at the Meik, batting a career average of .318 with 129 hits, 11 homers, 77 RBIs, and has reached base at a .394 clip with 21 stolen bases. His four triples led Ivy League hitters in 2024 and finished in the top 10 in hits (68), doubles (15), stolen bases (14), and total bases (115). Baker enters the 2025 campaign on a 16-game hitting streak.
 
It will be tough to replace a four-year starter and two-time All-America at third base in Henseler, but Yurkow is hopeful a couple players will fill that void this season.
 
"Nick has developed into a pretty good third baseman here, so we're excited to see his production. We also have the luxury of moving Jarrett Pokrovsky around at a couple positions, both in the outfield and at third."
 
A couple freshmen to watch out for is Caden Fahy at shortstop. Yurkow stated that Fahy "is one of the better shortstops I've had defensively since I've been coaching." Michael Powell, a natural third baseman, has started to transition over to playing first base, becoming a depth piece behind Spaventa.
 
Outfielders
The outfield contingent is one that is largely unchanged from the previous season, thanks to the return of a healthy Ryan Taylor in center field and Gavin Collins in left.
 
Despite playing with an upper-body injury for most of the year, Taylor really broke through for the Quakers and earned All-Ivy honors for the first time and had a spot on the Ivy League's All-Tournament team. Taylor led the team in doubles (15), finishing second in walks (29) and stolen bases (13).
 
Collins had a great freshman year in which he hit .274 with 23 RBIs and had 12 doubles, ranking third on the team.
 
Depending on the matchup, there's a plethora of guys that can take turns playing right field. Nate Polo, a veteran presence, is one, along with sophomore transfer Gavin Degnan, Nick Guachione, Cole McGonigal, and Andrew Ruggeri.
 
"It's a pretty good group," said Yurkow. "The nice thing about it is that we also brought in a promising freshman out there in Connor McCabe, who can really run the bases. He's also a left-handed hitter, so that presents some matchup situations for us at the plate.
 
"There will be some great opportunities to go around for those guys. It's an extremely athletic group that we're super excited about."
 
Designated Hitter
A lot of the above names mentioned will certainly fill in as the Quakers' DH for the upcoming year, as both Ozmer and Spaventa split time at that position in 2024.
 
Asa Wilson, largely known for his work as the team's starting catcher, could be an option at DH this season, along with Pokrovsky.
 
According to Yurkow, "those guys are all in the mix for that position right now."
 
Catchers
Wilson caught most of the team's games last season but was hampered by injuries late that caused 2024 graduate Justin Neskie to take a lot of the team's reps in the postseason.
 
Reed Farrell and Qwynn Ahearn were the only other catchers on the roster last season, but Farrell missed the year due to Tommy John surgery and Ahearn only played 17 games due to being banged up as well.
 
This year, the Quakers have four viable options at the position led by Wilson but is being pushed by Ahearn and freshman Ernie Echevarria.
 
"At one point all four catchers on our team were hurt, so we're thankful to be healthy here to begin this season," said Yurkow. "With his experience at this position, Asa is a strong asset to our team. If he doesn't catch, there's a good chance we'll use his bat in the lineup as a DH. Reed is back from Tommy John, but he's coming along a little slower right now, he won't be available for the first couple of weekends.
 
"Qwynn and Ernie are two kids we're high on, both are extremely talented. I think Qwynn has done a great job coming back from his injury, he's in much better shape and has had one of the biggest transformations I've seen from one of our kids since I've been here. He can really catch and throw and gave us some life last year. I think he can make a major move onto the scene this year."
 
Echevarria, a catcher from Miami, Fla., will be a name to look out for as the season progresses and Yurkow projects the freshman will make an immediate impact.
 
"Obviously, Ernie is a freshman this year," Yurkow said. "But he can also play some corner infield and is a talented catch-and-throw guy. At the plate, he has shown some good gap-to-gap power so with all that said, I think our catching situation is going to be much improved this year."
 
Starting Pitchers
Penn's starting rotation is sure to have a fresh look this season following the departures of Zaffiro and Dromboski.
 
Despite the turnover, the Quakers have a promising group of arms ready to step up. With a mix of returning talent and new faces, the staff has the potential to keep the team competitive on the mound, looking to build on last year's success.
 
Penn will rely on veteran players like Will Tobin, Noah Millikan, Tommy Delany, and Marshall Mott in starting roles this year, along with sophomores Josh Katz and Marty Coyne who both put in a considerable number of innings in the front-end of games last year.
 
"This position group is where you have some more marks comparted to previous years," said Yurkow. "In our junior and senior classes, if you look at the innings they've thrown over their careers, they probably aren't as experienced as what we've had in the past couple seasons.
 
"But I think they have thrown the ball well as of late. We used Tobin in a variety of roles last season and he's developed into a swing guy for us. Millikan is healthy now after having some arm issues last year. You'll see him in more of an extended role now. And then all three of John Cerwinski, Jake Moss, and Thomas Shurtleff will contribute to our team in many different ways."
 
Some of the freshmen arms—like Sebastian Haggard, Aidan von Zuben, and Connor Darling—are starting to come along during the preseason and fans could expect to see some of those players throw early in the year.
 
"Braden Fridgen is another guy that is a little bit behind where we'd like him to be right now, but he's not far away from being healthy and back in the mix."
 
Bullpen
There could be crossover entering this season between the starting rotation and the back-end of the pitching staff as Yurkow and pitching coach Josh Schwartz get to know the team a little better in the first few series.
 
The flexibility is there, which is why having Tobin swing between being a starter and a bullpen piece is a great strength for this program.
 
"I could also see Moss be an extended guy to start the year and Darling too," Yurkow said. "We also feel really comfortable with bringing both Shurtleff and Cerwinski into the game late if we need them to do that."
 
Penn was fortunate to have two quality arms come out of the back of the bullpen in recent years, spearheaded by Ozmer and Eli Trop. Ozmer, now a graduate transfer at the University of Alabama, and Trop, selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2024 MLB Draft, will be sorely missed.
 
With new guys looking to step up, Yurkow agrees that the designated "closer" role may not be named until later in the year.
 
"It's a good way to look at it, it's almost like an open competition between all of our pitchers and some of it could be matchup related," said Yurkow. "To start the year, I'd say those guys will likely be Cerwinski and Shurtleff because of their stuff, getting us some strikeouts.
 
"But the way Darling has been throwing in the preseason, he's been getting a lot of swing and miss too. He could be another guy as the season rolls along. We may need to some things different this year depending on how the weekends shake out."
 
Ivy League Outlook
The Ivy League's preseason poll was officially released on Tuesday with the Quakers picked to finish second with 101 voting points.
 
Columbia was the unanimous favorite with 128 points and all 16 first-place votes.
 
Cornell, last season's runner-up, was third (88) and Princeton was fourth with 80 points.
 
Yale (69), Harvard (59), Dartmouth (30), and Brown (21) round out the field.
 
"Based off last year's results, Columbia's senior class is really talented," Yurkow said. "I'm not surprised they were voted the unanimous favorite to win the conference.
 
"It should be another ultra-competitive year, especially the battle for the third and fourth seed to get into the tournament. There are a lot of teams that will be stacked like Cornell, Yale, and Princeton. They will all be very competitive.
 
"We must continue to stress to our team that sometimes you can win games by just not making mistakes, you don't have to be great, but you do need to limit the walks, the errors, and play good defense. We need to throw strikes and if we do, we'll be in those games."
 
Welcome Back, Coach!
Mark Royer returns to the Penn baseball program as an assistant coach following seven seasons as an assistant at UMass.
 
He spent three seasons as the Quakers' volunteer assistant coach, working with the outfielders and assisting the hitters. He helped coach six MLB Draft picks and four first-team All-Ivy outfielders during his tenure.
 
"It's great to have Mark back in Philadelphia," Yurkow said. "We already had a great relationship from his last stint here so bringing someone back who knows the program already makes him a great fit. He'll work with our outfielders, help out the hitters, and coach first base. I'm excited to have him back."
 
With the addition of Royer to the coaching staff, Derek DeMaria moves back to a Player Development role with the program.
 
Coming Up Next
Penn opens play this weekend at No. 9 Florida State, taking on the Seminoles in a three-game set Friday through Sunday. First pitch from Tallahassee on Friday night is set for 5 p.m. All three games will be streamed live through ACC Network Extra and on ESPN+.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.