WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hawks enter the 2026 season with their eyes set for greatness. After a loss in the Conference of New England (CNE) tournament Semifinal in 2025; The Hawks are excited for another opportunity at a championship and NCAA tournament appearance.

Familiar Faces:
The Hawks enter the 2026 season with a lot of familiar faces, bringing back 37 returners including five captains. The Hawks were able to see postseason action in 2025 where they would unfortunately fall to Roger Williams in the CNE Championship Semifinal. 

Of the returners, senior captain Michael Featherstone (Ramsey, N.J.) talked about that experience saying "I would say we learned a lot from our loss. It was obviously heartbreaking and it was so tough for a lot of the older guys who had built the foundation of this team and program… It just adds motivation for our team more than anything. We're going to come back hungry, we've now been there, we had a couple wins in the tournament, and we're ready to kind of avenge that loss." 

Junior captain  J.J. Romatzick (Stratford, Conn.) spoke as well about building off 2025 into 2026 "We finally got a taste of what it feels like to be in the playoffs last year, as it was our first year to compete. So now we know what it takes in order to take that next step and move on in the tournament. Our end goal is to win a championship and we've taken what we've learned from last year, put it into practice, worked on everything we need to, and I think we're ready." 

The Hawks will begin their season in familiar fashion to 2025 as they take on Trinity College for a double header on Saturday, Feb. 28. When asked about his team expectations senior captain Jackson Ciccone (Danbury, Conn.) said. "Our team expectations are high, we have a lot of returners coming back, and I think giving it our all every game is the best thing we can do. Whether that's a championship or NCAA tournament, I think that will just be a byproduct of giving it our all everyday." 

A New Look: 
The Hawks bring in nine freshmen and two transfers for the 2026 season, as they hope these fresh faces can make an impact on the goals set for the season. Along with these newcomers are two new assistant coaches in Infield Coach Noah Plantamuro, and Assistant Coach Howard Rebhun. In his fifth year at the helm head coach Steve Malinowski believes these moves could pay dividends in Hartford's success. 

When asked about stepping into a leadership role senior captain Ryan Knight (Peabody, Mass.) said "When I was a freshman I was nervous coming in, with a bunch of older guys on the team. Now that I am that older guy I'm trying to help the freshman and the sophomores everyday, whether they don't know how to do a certain drill or just take them under my wing, and just make things easier for them. They've done well with everything, they come everyday with confidence and compete." 

Along with the freshmen and transfers, senior captain Joe Dooley (West Hartford, Conn.) makes his return to the mound, after missing much of the last two seasons with injury. "I'm super excited to get back on the mound, after missing the last season. I'm also just very grateful it's been a long year and a half almost two years of being sidelined. The training staff has done an unbelievable job working with me every single day. I appreciate them greatly and I'm just excited to get back out there with the guys and get back on the mound." 

Key Matchups: 
Shortly after kicking off their season, the Hawks will spend spring break in the sunshine state as they compete in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on March 14-18th. Where they will face Bowdoin College, Salve Regina, William Paterson University, University of Scranton, and Ramapo College. 

Hartford will begin CNE play on March 24th when they play Western New England University. Following that they will face the current #2 DIII rated team and conference opponent Endicott College in a home double header on March 28th. On April 14th Hartford will get a chance at payback as they hit the road to take on Roger Williams University in a double header. The Hawks will host senior day on Apr. 18th with a double header against Nichols College. Hartford will round out the regular season on the road, as they face Gordon College in a double header on May 2nd. 

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