Coming off a 44 win season, top 40 rpi and an at-large bid in the Winston Salem regional, Northeastern looks primed to run it back in 2024. Huskies on paper are loaded and even better this season. They battled through a wild 2023 Colonial Conference season, finishing 3rd behind UNCW and Elon. The CAA conference was a hell of an entertaining race to follow all the way up to the final out in the CAA tournament last season. 2024 should be a similar story while adding powerhouse Campbell to the mix. Loaded.
This team might be my early favorite mid-major squad to do some major damage. With the CAA rising the conference power rankings as of late and Campbell entering, the winner or even the top 3 teams should be taken very seriously.
Northeastern’s pitching staff in 2023 was Top-25 across the board nationally in statistics including 3rd in the country with a 3.75 era. Legit stuff. My favorite part, they were 7th in the country in walks allowed per game (3.14). They return the majority of their key pieces from 2023 including freshman sensation Aiven Cabral. Cabral took on the Friday night role last year as a freshman and handled it with ease. He brings 83 innings and a 2.58 era back to Boston. They also return Jake Gigliotti and Wyatt Scotti, who were both also huge parts of this staff. Both with sub-4 eras and 60+ innings of work in 2023. All in all, Huskies return 226 innings from their top 3 arms. Their bullpen is the biggest question mark for me, especially if Scotti moves to the weekend rotation. Find a few reliable 1 inning eaters, this team is in business.
Offensively, Huskies essentially return everyone. Northeastern was 27th in the country in slugging a year ago and will return 80+ home runs to New England. Leading the way is Mike Sirota, a projected 1st rd pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, who banged out 18 HRs and hit around .350. This guy looks the part, and will be a big part of their 2024 success. Cam Maldonado returns after an incredible freshman season, hitting .353 with 13 HRs and nearly 20 XBHs. I can go down the list of all their notable returners, Tyler MacGregor, Musacchia, Lane and Feinberg will fill this lineup nicely. A deep and mature lineup is going to give teams a lot of problems. I think this offense can compliment that pitching staff and win A LOT of ball games this upcoming season.
In terms of incoming freshmen, not much to see as they were the 78th ranked recruiting class according to Perfect Game. How accurate is that? Idk. I’d have to dive even deeper to see what they have, but if they can find another Maldonado and Cabral, this team is even more dangerous.
I think this is the year Northeastern can win the Beanpot for the first time since 2013. If you aren’t aware, the Beanpot, famous for hockey, is a super fun annual tournament for all the Boston area teams (Boston College, Boston U, Harvard, and Northeastern) with the championship game usually played at Fenway Park. My Beanpot pick: Northeastern.
But on a larger scale, this could be/probably will be my sleeper to make Omaha, I’ll confirm in February when the 11.7 computers are finished crunching the data. Barring any major sophomore slumps, a CAA title and a regional berth must be the minimum for this squad. Let’s see what you got Mike Glavine, you’re on the clock.
Coming off a 44 win season, top 40 rpi and an at-large bid in the Winston Salem regional, Northeastern looks primed to run it back in 2024. Huskies on paper are loaded and even better this season. They battled through a wild 2023 Colonial Conference season, finishing 3rd behind UNCW and Elon. The CAA conference was a hell of an entertaining race to follow all the way up to the final out in the CAA tournament last season. 2024 should be a similar story while adding powerhouse Campbell to the mix. Loaded.
This team might be my early favorite mid-major squad to do some major damage. With the CAA rising the conference power rankings as of late and Campbell entering, the winner or even the top 3 teams should be taken very seriously.
Northeastern’s pitching staff in 2023 was Top-25 across the board nationally in statistics including 3rd in the country with a 3.75 era. Legit stuff. My favorite part, they were 7th in the country in walks allowed per game (3.14). They return the majority of their key pieces from 2023 including freshman sensation Aiven Cabral. Cabral took on the Friday night role last year as a freshman and handled it with ease. He brings 83 innings and a 2.58 era back to Boston. They also return Jake Gigliotti and Wyatt Scotti, who were both also huge parts of this staff. Both with sub-4 eras and 60+ innings of work in 2023. All in all, Huskies return 226 innings from their top 3 arms. Their bullpen is the biggest question mark for me, especially if Scotti moves to the weekend rotation. Find a few reliable 1 inning eaters, this team is in business.
Offensively, Huskies essentially return everyone. Northeastern was 27th in the country in slugging a year ago and will return 80+ home runs to New England. Leading the way is Mike Sirota, a projected 1st rd pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, who banged out 18 HRs and hit around .350. This guy looks the part, and will be a big part of their 2024 success. Cam Maldonado returns after an incredible freshman season, hitting .353 with 13 HRs and nearly 20 XBHs. I can go down the list of all their notable returners, Tyler MacGregor, Musacchia, Lane and Feinberg will fill this lineup nicely. A deep and mature lineup is going to give teams a lot of problems. I think this offense can compliment that pitching staff and win A LOT of ball games this upcoming season.
In terms of incoming freshmen, not much to see as they were the 78th ranked recruiting class according to Perfect Game. How accurate is that? Idk. I’d have to dive even deeper to see what they have, but if they can find another Maldonado and Cabral, this team is even more dangerous.
I think this is the year Northeastern can win the Beanpot for the first time since 2013. If you aren’t aware, the Beanpot, famous for hockey, is a super fun annual tournament for all the Boston area teams (Boston College, Boston U, Harvard, and Northeastern) with the championship game usually played at Fenway Park. My Beanpot pick: Northeastern.
But on a larger scale, this could be/probably will be my sleeper to make Omaha, I’ll confirm in February when the 11.7 computers are finished crunching the data. Barring any major sophomore slumps, a CAA title and a regional berth must be the minimum for this squad. Let’s see what you got Mike Glavine, you’re on the clock.
