By Ethan Hurwitz and Mike King
The first couple of games of Quinnipiac baseball’s 2025 season were as wonky as could be. The team was in competitive games against nationally-ranked Georgia before winning a series against Radford. Tack on a week-long stretch where the Bobcats allowed 39 runs to Morehead State and a home tie against UMass, and the team currently sits at 4-6-1 heading into MAAC play this weekend.
After a 10-14 conference record last season, the Bobcats are looking to right their wrongs and prove that they can compete with the best the MAAC has to offer. After missing the conference tournament in 2024, the Bobcats are hoping to get back into postseason play. But overall, it’s been a shaky start for the entire conference, as just four teams currently sit over .500 (Quinnipiac, Fairfield, Mount St. Mary’s and Rider).
QU Sports Page’s Ethan Hurwitz and Mike King create the ideal lineup after the Bobcats’ first 11 out-of-conference games, including a look toward their first weekend of MAAC play.
1. Sean McCulloch | Left Field | Graduate Student
Stats: 10 games, .349 batting average, one double, one triple, 10 RBIs, 14 runs, six steals, 10 walks
Through the first 11 games of the young season, the Bobcats have had few bright spots. McCulloch has been one of those so far. With 15 hits in 10 games (the second-most on the roster), McCulloch has provided a spark at the plate, as well as on the basepaths. McCulloch leads the team with six stolen bases on seven attempts.
Head coach John Delaney assigned graduate infielder Johnny Knox to leadoff for the first three games, but McCulloch has had the leadoff job for every game since. In his final season at Division III Susquehanna last year, he led his team in batting average, walks and stolen bases. McCulloch is picking up right where he left off last spring and looks to continue to bring the Bobcats some energy in the early part of the batting order, as well as the field, where he’s yet to commit an error.
2. Kyle Garbowski | First Base | Sophomore
Stats: 11 games, .255 batting average, two doubles, 10 RBIs, 13 runs, one steal, four walks
Garbowski’s role in his second season in Hamden has been similar to his freshman year, as one of the team’s daily players from the get-go. Typically slotted into the Bobcats’ two-hole, he’s been a consistent hitter and is leading the roster with 51 at-bats to start the year.
In this spot, Garbowski provides a young spark to the top half of the Bobcats’ order, giving them the energy they need to carry out longer, uglier innings for the opposition’s pitching.
3. Sebastian Mueller | Third Base | Graduate Student
Stats: 11 games, .413 batting average, three doubles, four home runs, 18 RBIs, 15 runs, nine walks
After suffering a labrum injury his senior year, Mueller has returned to the middle of the Bobcats’ lineup, firing on all cylinders.
“I feel good,” Mueller told The Quinnipiac Chronicle before the season. “Arm feels good. I think about arm injuries that a lot of times like the rehab you probably overlook parts of arm care. I feel better now than I was before I got hurt.”
If this is the case, expect Mueller to tear up the opposition this season, making up for last season, where he only appeared in 11 games. Mueller already leads the team through the first 11 games this year with four home runs, proving that his power will be of useful service in the three spot.
4. Alex Irizarry | Shortstop | Junior
Stats: 11 games, .286 batting average, four doubles, two home runs, four RBIs, seven runs, one steal, four walks
Irizarry joined the Bobcats ahead of this season, and parlayed a really strong summer with the Norwich Sea Unicorns of The Futures Collegiate Baseball League into a solid start to his junior year. The team’s starting shortstop has bounced around the middle of the lineup this season, but sticking him at cleanup can give this team some bat control and power — ideally with some runners on.
Second on the team thus far with six extra base hits, Irizarry is an all-around package deal out of the cleanup spot and will rely on his patience and approach to help the team score much-needed runs.
5. Christian Smith | Catcher | Junior
Stats: 11 games, .405 batting average, two doubles, three home runs, 19 RBIs, nine runs, two steals, 12 walks
The junior catcher had a lot of success at the plate last season, slashing .275, ten home runs, and 37 RBI. Out of the five spots, Smith provides valuable experience with both poise and pop.
As a catcher, Smith knows game situations intricately, and this attention to detail will likely lead to success for the offense when he steps up to the plate. It appears that Smith will stay in the lineup as designated hitter when redshirt transfer Cole Constable gets the call to do the catching, proving that Smith’s bat is too valuable to leave out of the order.
6. CJ Willis | Right Field | Senior
Stats: Nine games, .111 batting average, two RBIs, three runs, five steals, five walks
The start to 2025 hasn’t been the strongest for Willis, but it’s hard to ignore the pop he has coming out of the batter’s box. Chosen as a Preseason All-MAAC selection, he played in 49 games for the Bobcats a year ago and is hard to leave out of th lineup. Willis — who drove in 42 runs and smashed eight home runs – will look to find this offensive efficiency heading into conference play
Quinnipiac has also gone with James Marino and Luke Zeisloft in the outfield this season, but Willis’ experience and offensive potential makes him hard to sit for those guys, even when Willis has struggled this month.
7. Johnny Knox | Second Base | Graduate Student
Stats: 11 games, .233 batting average, three doubles, one triple, two RBIs, seven runs, five steals, seven walks
A graduate transfer from Nichols College, Knox bumped his way down the lineup after starting the first three games of the year at leadoff. As a vocal leader for this team, Knox provides an invaluable component to Quinnipiac, and his speed in the basepaths also are deserving of a starting role.
Knox has proven to be a pest for opposing teams so far, stealing five bases and getting on base by any means necessary. However, with a team leading 13 strikeouts, Knox needs to cut down on the swing-and-misses if he wants to move back up the lineup, where his high motor can be of use.
8. Cole Constable | Catcher | Redshirt Freshman
Stats: Seven games, .320 batting average, one double, one triple, six RBIs, six runs, five steals, three walks
After spending his first season with the Maryland Terrapins, Constable transferred to Quinnipiac with four years of eligibility. He started the season platooning with Christian Smith behind the plate, and now the redshirt freshman has carved out his role as the team’s primary backstop.
At the plate, Constable has been a solid player in his first season in Hamden. Despite striking out in every game he’s played in but one, Constable adds power and bat speed to the lineup. Tack on his solid glove skills — he’s yet to make an error and has made 61 putouts — and he’s set for a strong future behind the dish for the Bobcats.
9. Gabe Wright | Center Field | Junior
Stats: Eight games, .192 batting average, two doubles, five runs, four steals, five walks
Wright is the prototypical double leadoff hitter in today’s baseball. His fielding ability, including a diving grab that made SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays, keeps him as a useful player for the Bobcats. His speed in the basepaths is what has kept him in the lineup.
His four steals already surpass his season total from last year (one), and his knack of getting on base in any way possible (five walks, two hit by pitches) is the perfect style of play to turn the Bobcats’ lineup over every game. Wright may not be the strongest bat in the dugout, but he’s a sparkplug player who should get written into the lineup card.
Starting Pitcher: Mike Poncini | Junior
Stats: Three starts, 1-0 W/L, 3.37 earned run average, 14 strikeouts, eight walks, four earned runs
Through the Bobcats’ out-of-conference schedule, Poncini — one of two Quinnipiac starters with three starts under his belt — has been the best starting pitcher on the team so far.. He leads all starters with a 3.37 earned run average, and is tied for the team lead with 10.2 innings pitched.
Poncici and junior Matt Alduino are the only two pitchers to surpass that 10 innings mark, and Alduino struggled in a March 2 game at Morehead State. On the other hand, Poncini is coming off of two-straight starts with at least five strikeouts.
“From a pitching standpoint, we lost a lot of arms, just to the transfer portal and then along with graduation,” Alduino told The Quinnipiac Chronicle before the year. “We kind of rebuilt over the summer, and just kind of changed our perspective on how we want to go about the season as a full team. … We’re building up around eight guys that could be potential starters.”
Whether our recommended lineup is used in Friday’s MAAC opener against Iona or not, the Bobcats will continue to find their best starting nine in hopes of returning to the conference tournament for the first time in two seasons.
