St. John’s to Kick Off 2026 with Four Games in Florida

Friday, February 13

DeLand, Fla. (Melching Field at Conrad Park)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

Ball State

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St. John’s to Kick Off 2026 with Four Games in Florida

2/12/2026 4:55:00 PM | Baseball

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Red Storm will play four games in three days at Stetson

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's baseball team will begin its 2026 campaign this weekend at Stetson, playing four games over three days in DeLand, Fla.

The Red Storm will open the season on Friday afternoon against Ball State at 12 p.m. before taking on Minnesota (11 a.m.) and Ball State (2 p.m.) in a Saturday twin bill. The Johnnies will then close the weekend on Sunday against Stetson in a 2p.m. first pitch.

The St. John's baseball team is coming off its 30th BIG EAST Tournament appearance in 2025. The Red Storm compiled a 29-24 overall record, including a 13-8 mark in league play. Last season, St. John's boasted a potent offense that ranked second in the BIG EAST and 44th nationally with a .300 batting average. The Johnnies led the league with 111 doubles while their 7.5 runs per game were good for second in the conference.

The Red Storm returns three First Team All-BIG EAST selections from 2025 in Jon LeGrande, Shaun McMillan and Jayder Raifstanger. The Johnnies are the only team to return three First Team All-BIG EAST selections from a year ago.

Last season, LeGrande led the Red Storm with a .368 average. He logged seven homers, eight doubles and five triples while driving 48 runs and swiping 33 bags in just 40 attempts. Over the summer, the rising senior was named the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) Playoff MVP, helping the Bourne Braves to their fourth championship after hitting .444 in the postseason. During the regular season, LeGrande hit .288 in 38 games.

Raifstanger hit .357 in 52 starts last year for the Johnnies with four round trippers, 12 doubles and 37 RBIs. McMillan tied for the team lead in homers, leaving the yard nine times and driving in 51 runs. McMillan was one of five Johnnies to hit north of .300, finishing the year with a .328 average. The Freeport, N.Y., native capped a productive rookie season with a NCBWA Freshman All-American Second Team selection.

LeGrande, Raifstanger and McMillan were all selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by a vote of the league's coaches in December. St. John's was selected to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll behind UConn, Creighton and Xavier.

Three of the Red Storm's four opening weekend starters are back for at least their second season in Queens. The only member of the weekend rotation who will be making his St. John's debut is Friday starter Liam O'Leary, a junior college transfer who struck out 121 batters in 83.0 innings of work for Lackawanna College and his team to an appearance in the NJCAA Division II World Series. Evan Chafee, who started a team-high 14 games in 2025, is scheduled to take the ball for game two before right-handers Chris Batuyios and Victor Frederick close out the weekend in games three and four, respectively.

Head Coach Mike Hampton enters his seventh season at the helm of the program and his 25th overall with Red Storm. The 2024 BIG EAST Coach of the Year has been a part of six BIG EAST Regular Season Championships, five BIG EAST Tournament titles and 11 NCAA Tournament teams during his tenure with the Johnnies.

Ball State ended the 2025 season with a 36-22 overall record and a 21-9 record in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Cardinals finished third in the MAC and earned a berth to the conference tournament. After defeating No. 6-seeded Eastern Michigan, the Cardinals fell to No. 2-seeded Kent State and No. 5-seeded Toledo. Ball State returns just one of the six All-MAC selections from a season ago, left-handed starter Keegan Johnson. This weekend's matchups mark the first time the Red Storm and the Cardinals will face each other.

Minnesota is coming off a 24-28 record during the 2025 season and a 10-20 mark in Big Ten play. The Gophers return Second Team All-Big Ten catcher Weber Neels. Last season, Neels led the team with 15 home runs (the most since 2009). The senior was hit by 18 pitches last year, setting a single-season program record. In addition, Neels ranked in the top five in three different offensive categories in league play.

This weekend marks the ninth all-time meeting between the Gophers and Red Storm, with the series tied 4-4. The last time out, Minnesota came away with an 8-4 victory in eight innings at Jack Kaiser Stadium.

Stetson is coming off a banner year, finishing as Co-ASUN champions with a 41-22 overall record and a 24-6 mark in conference play. The Hatters claimed the conference's bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing atop the Graphite Division and second overall in the conference. Stetson went 1-2 in the Auburn Regional, picking up an 11-2 win over NC State in the first game of the tournament but falling to both No. 4-seeded Auburn and NC State.

This season, the Hatters are projected to finish atop the Graphite Division. Jake Gorelick was named the ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and Juan De La Cruz was selected as the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Stetson placed two players on the Preseason All-ASUN Team: Gorelick and Foster Apple. Sunday's matchup marks the first all-time meeting between the two programs.

Following this weekend's contests, St. John's travels west to Tempe, Ariz., for a three-game set with Arizona State from Feb. 20-22. First pitch against the Sun Devils next Friday is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. local time.