SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team opens the 2025 season on Friday, February 14 at Davidson. BryantBulldogs.com previews the 2025 team leading up to Opening Day.

Position: Pitchers
Returners: Luke Delongchamp, Jared Burrows, Kyle Rizy, Jackson Vanesko, Jack Pletter, Toby Scheidt, Sean Zaslaw, Landon White, Trey Deitelbaum, Mark Scamardella, Bradley Lewis, Thomas Maher
Newcomers: Liam Chamberlain, Alex Slotter, Brooks Ey, Dylan Scudder, Clay Robbins, Michael Belcher, Ty Davis, Zach Davis, Sean Clifford, Owen Birchard

Quick Pitch:
Bryant's starting rotation was a question mark heading into 2024 and it'll be a question mark heading into the 2025 season, as well. Luke Delongchamp returns as the odds on favorite to start Opening Day, but Saturday and Sunday is up for grabs. There will be plenty of options thanks to the return of Kyle Rizy and Jackson Vanesko from injury and the addition of transfers and freshmen.

Fun Fact:
Bryant won the America East Championship with starting pitchers providing just 14.1 innings of work.

Notes and Notables:

• Delongchamp returns as one of the best starting pitchers in the America East after going 5-2 with a league-best 2.76 ERA in 65.1 innings last spring. He struck out 59 and walked just 18.
• Delongchamp was dominant in league play, going 4-1 with a 2.16 ERA. He started league play by allowing one or less in each of his first four starts.
• And while Bryant may have to replace the rest of its weekend rotation, pitching coach Tim Cronin will get to choose from a list that includes 11 upperclassmen. That list includes seniors Kyle Rizy and Jackson Vanesko, both of whom return to the mound after missing most of 2023 and all of 2024 following Tommy John Surgery.
• Rizy has made 18 appearances in parts of two seasons with the Black and Gold, posting a 3-2 record and a 3.60 ERA.
• Vanesko was shifting into a starting role in 2023 before suffering an injury. He has appeared in 17 games (four starts), posting a 4-1 record and a 5.02 ERA in 37.2 innings.
• Bryant also welcomes back graduate students Jack Pletter, Jared Burrows and Mark Scamardella, juniors Landon White and Bradley Lewis and sophomores Sean Zaslaw, Trey Deitelbaum and Thomas Maher.
• Scamardella was one of Bryant's best pitchers down the stretch last year, allowing just five runs (4 ER) over his last 15 outings (20.0 innings). That included 4.0 scoreless innings of relief vs James Madison in the NCAA Tournament and 7.1 total innings of scoreless relief in the postseason.
• Scamardella has made 35 relief appearances over the last two seasons and has struck out 48 in 48.0 innings.
• Burrows enjoyed a strong 2024 as a versatile reliever for the Black and Gold, pitching a variety of roles over 20 appearances. He finished with a 4-3 record, one save and a 5.13 ERA in 26.1 innings. Burrows allowed just 23 hits and didn't surrender a home run.
• Pletter also did a little bit of everything in his first season with the Bulldogs, appearing in 17 games and making two starts. He pitched mostly in long relief, finishing with a 5.87 ERA in 30.2 innings. Pletter struck out 29 and issued just 15 walks on the year.
• White emerged as a key piece of Bryant's bullpen after battling injuries during the early part of the season. He went on to appear in 11 games and finished with a 2-0 record, one save and a 1.29 ERA. White made seven of his appearances over the final five weeks of the season, including two huge appearances in the conference tournament. He earned the save in the winner's bracket final with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief and then picked up the win in the America East Championship with 1.1 scoreless innings.
• Lewis was one of Bryant's go-to lefty arms out of the pen, posting a 5.94 ERA in 16 appearances.
• Zaslaw and Deitelbaum both contributed on the mound as true freshmen last spring. Zaslaw made 18 appearances two starts, posting a 6.98 ERA in 19.1 innings. He worked a scoreless inning of relief in the America East title game.
• Deitelbaum worked 11.2 innings over eight appearances, finishing with a 8.49 ERA.
• Bryant bolstered its staff with a transfer class that includes Liam Chamberlain (UConn Avery Point), Brooks Ey (Indiana), Alex Slotter (RIT), Dylan Scudder (Eastern Connecticut) and Clay Robbins (Southern Maine).
• Chamberlain went 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 53.0 innings last spring. He pitched at least 5.0 innings in all nine of his starts.
• Ey started his career with two seasons at Fordham before spending the last two years at Indiana. He has appeared in 39 career games and made 23 starts. Ey owns a 5-11 record, 6.81 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 150.2 innings. His best season came in 2022 when he went 4-7 and struck out 65 over 75.2 innings as a starter at Fordham.
• Slotter also brings a great deal of experience to Smithfield, having appeared in 36 games (19 starts) over four seasons at RIT. He went 8-12 with a 5.81 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 134.2 innings. Slotter went 4-5 in a career-high 50.2 innings last spring.
• Scudder comes to Smithfield after two seasons at Division III power Eastern Connecticut. He appeared in 26 games (17 starts) and posted a 10-3 record and 73 strikeouts in 88.0 innings. Scudder won six games as a true freshman in 2023 and then posted a 2.61 ERA in 12 appearances (six starts) in 2024.
• Robbins also comes from a Division III power, Southern Maine, and has thrown 173.1 innings in his career. He went 10-11 with a 4.41 ERA and 147 strikeouts in his career with the Huskies. Robbins was a second team all-conference selection last year after going 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 63.1 innings.
• Bryant also welcomes a deep freshmen class that includes Michael Belcher, Ty Davis, Owen Birchard, Zach Davis and Sean Clifford.
• Belcher was a standout at Woodland Regional (Conn.), posting 351 career strikeouts. He wrapped up his career by tossing a no-hitter in the State Championship game to lead Woodland to its first-ever state title.
• Ty Davis was a standout at Bristol Central, the same high school as current teammate Gavin Greger.
• Birchard was four-year varsity letterwinner at Auburn (N.Y.) High School, the same high school Bryant Director of Athletics Bill Smith attended. He struck out 47 in 25.2 innings as a senior.
• Zach Davis is Bryant's first-ever recruit from the state of Vermont and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state in 2024. He made 10 appearances for Vermont in the Futures League this summer, posting a 3.50 ERA in 18.0 innings.
• Clifford is a local product from Woonsocket, R.I. He struck out 50, allowed just 16 hits and finished with a 0.90 ERA in 30.0 innings at Lincoln High in 2024.