Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: AIDAN SHINNERS; STAFF WRITER
Coming off a 2025 season that ended 20-29 (11-19 A-10), the St. Bonaventure University baseball team prepares their first season in a newly renovated Handler Park.
Many of the Bonnies players have high hopes for the season, including junior outfielder Conner Vercollone.
“This is hands-down the best team I’ve ever been a part of at St. Bonaventure and beyond,” Vercollone said. “We have hard workers up and down the roster and everyone is bought into the same goal.”
Senior utility player Chris Hoalcraft doubled down on Vercollone’s confidence in this team, mentioning how talented and motivated this team is compared to years past.
“Compared to teams we’ve had in the past, this group is the most talented and most motivated,” Hoalcraft said. “Everyone who is on the team this year wants to win.”
Junior pitcher James Capellupo, who led the team in games started last season, said head coach Jason Rathbun did a great job recruiting new talent over the offseason.
“Coach Razz did a great job recruiting a ton of depth from a pitching standpoint,” Capellupo said. “Our starting rotation is much more stable, with reliable options who have experience in the role.”
Capellupo added that he believes the new group of position players will give the team a better chance to win this season.
“We have a much more athletic group of position players,” said Capellupo. “These guys are capable of forcing issues on the base paths, taking extra bases and stealing bags.”
Rathbun has improved Bonaventure’s record every single season since his arrival in 2023 and looks to continue that streak for the 2026 season.
Junior shortstop Gavin Constantine said that the team has their sights set on returning to the Atlantic 10 tournament and beyond.
“After a long offseason, we set a team goal of returning to the A-10 tournament,” Constantine said. “We believe that when we make it back, we can make a run and make a Regional.”
Hoalcraft recognizes the challenge it will be to win the A-10 and consider their series against Rhode Island University at the end of the season a big measuring stick for the team.
“I am excited to play against Rhode Island this year. We have always had good games against them,” Hoalcraft said. “It’ll be a really good test to see how we match up against the reigning conference champs.”
For Conner Vercollone, the series against Rhode Island is much more personal. Vercollone, who grew up local to the university, said he is thankful to have been rejected because of what he found here at Bonaventure, adding that he got his revenge in their series this past season.
“It was sweet hitting a grand slam against them last year, which ended up being the runs we needed to win,” said Vercollone. “I am thankful for them because if they hadn’t told me no, I wouldn’t have ended up here and met all these amazing people.”
Hoalcraft was excited to see improvements made to Handler Park over the offseason and believes this was a much-needed investment from the Athletic Department.
“The improvements to the field and stadium are really cool,” Hoalcraft said. “We know we have the support of the athletic department to want to invest in our team to be the best we can be.”
The Bonnies open their season Feb. 13 in North Carolina, taking on UNC Ashville. The team will not play at home until Mar. 20 when they take on the Atlantic 10’s Saint Louis University in a three-game series.
