MELBOURNE, FLORIDA - The curtain rises on the 2026 Florida Tech baseball season on Friday evening at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field with the first of a three-game set against Spring Hill. The Panthers netted a seven-win improvement in 2025 to finish 24-24 and if they're to continue that upward trajectory this season, it'll be courtesy of both new and familiar faces.
 
"We've got pretty much half a new team coming in this year, a lot of new talent," says senior outfielder Cole Patrick. "We've got a lot of freshmen that are going to be very good and will play probably every day. Honestly, the team vibe right now has been very high. This is one of the best teams, talent-wise, since I've been here. So, I'm really excited to see where this season goes."
 
"I believe that in all aspects, we're going to be that much better," says senior right-handed pitcher Jacob Pino. "I feel like in the weight room, the guys have been getting after it very well, and on the field, our hitting has increased dramatically. Our chemistry is very good as well."
 
The outfield will be led by returning seniors Patrick and Jaden Hill. Hill hit .298 with a .395 on-base percentage, 23 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 2025 while Patrick enjoyed a breakout campaign of .341/.404/.455 in 30 games. Patrick credits his great season at the plate to a change of perspective and not necessarily one limited to baseball.
 
"I think the biggest thing from last year was just realizing where I am and going back to the reason why I got here," says the Markham, Ontario, Canada native. "Just being grateful for all the opportunities and just have fun with it. When I started being loose and having fun, that's when I started performing. Going into this year, that's the mindset I'm trying to have as a senior and being more of a leader: I want to try and be able to help the freshmen, be a team guy and have fun with it. My swing feels good right now and I like where I'm at."
 
The Panther outfield will also be boosted by the addition of Marcello Cortale, a freshman from The Villages, Florida. Marcello arrives in Melbourne after graduating from The Villages High School as their all-time leader in batting average, doubles, triples and home runs.
 
"The coaching staff was at one of my games and they reached out to me," says Cortale. "When I came on my visit, the coaches were so up front with me. It seemed like a great opportunity and it's in a great conference. I figured, why not go somewhere where I can compete for a spot my first year and earn some playing time?"
 
On the infield, the left side is well secured between Conner Wiggins, .284 with 24 RBI and 11 stolen bases as a freshman last season, at shortstop and Adrian Dominguez, who will look to build on a strong fall at third base.
 
The infield will also be buoyed by the impending return of junior second baseman Marshall Burke, who hit .380/.418/.520 in 26 games before suffering a season-ending injury in early April.
 
The Crimson and Gray have plenty of depth behind the plate as well with last year's backstop, Anthony Fimiano, .304 with 18 RBI and 14 extra-base hits in 37 games, returning at the dish. He'll be supported by Brian Perez, a transfer from Palm Beach State College who hit .381 last season.
 
On the mound, Florida Tech's starting rotation will be anchored by Pino, who won four games in 2025 with four quality starts. Jacob believes the staff's greatest strength is that a lineup won't get the same look twice, making it harder to get a read on what's coming from 60 feet, six inches away.
 
"I think that all of our arms are unique in their own way, and that's a very good thing to have," says Pino. "Because there's not a single guy that looks like another guy, and when you get into the seventh, eighth, ninth inning, having different angles, different pitch speeds and different mixes I think will help us succeed."
 
Behind Pino in the rotation will be senior right-hander AJ Wydra, a transfer from Thomas University like Pino, and redshirt junior left-hander Hunter Stolov, a transfer from Hudson Valley Community College (CC). The bullpen will count on right-handed transfers Blake Holshouser (Erskine) and Reilly Kuhar (Thomas) to fill the spots in the back end left by the graduating Ethan Stephens and Ridge Skarbek. Fifth-year head coach Jeff Tam believes that if the staff can fill up the strike zone and avoid walks, they'll have the potential to take a jump and create another multiple-win improvement.
 
The challenge for these Panthers is no different than for any of their past iterations and that's navigating the nation's toughest conference, the Sunshine State Conference. The SSC regularly produces national championship contenders and winners along with players that regularly make the Major Leagues. When you ask Panthers on both sides of the ball about what makes the league so special, the consistent answer you'll get is that they overwhelm their opponents and put them in a position to where they must operate at a near-perfect level.
 
"I think the biggest thing we see with pitching in the SSC is their secondary pitches," says Patrick. "Some starters will have a four or five-pitch mix that makes it really difficult to ambush a certain pitch. So, with that, you'll get your fastballs in the upper 80s to low 90s and then you'll see a wipe out slider or curveball. You want to ambush pitches earlier in the count, so you don't get as deep where they can start throwing those different pitch mixes to get you out, because that's when you get in trouble."
 
"Each hitter doesn't miss their pitch that they are looking for, and if you give that to them, they're going to capitalize on it," says Pino. "Whether that's over the play inside, outside, up or down. That makes it hard for the pitchers because the moment you miss your one spot or you make a mistake, they do capitalize on it."
 
If Tech are to continue their climb back into the top half of the SSC standings, it will most certainly be earned given that of the five teams ranked ahead of them in the conference's preseason poll, they will play three-game series against four of them on the road, including at two-time defending national champion Tampa. There's no such thing as an easy series no matter where you are in the Sunshine State Conference but it could make for a great story for a team looking to re-establish its identity.