2025 Fall College Baseball Reset: Duke

The Duke Blue Devils came one win away from Omaha last year. However, Murray State pulled off the Cinderella run to the College World Series. It proved to be Duke’s final opportunity to win with Chris Pollard, who left to take over the University of Virginia baseball program. Replacing Pollard is former Wake Forest coach Corey Muscara, who will be tasked with rebuilding the program.

The Returnees

There weren’t many players to return to Duke University after 2025 — for obvious reasons.

One, several notable players either went pro or exhausted their college eligibility. Duke had an older team each of the last two seasons. Ben Miller, Jake Hyde, and Ben Rounds were all in at least their fifth college season. Wallace Clark, who entered 2025 as a 23-year-old, was another example of that spirit.

Clark (Diamondbacks) was one of several players to go pro. So did Reid Easterly (Mariners), James Tallon (Phillies), and Owen Proksch (Rangers).

Aside from those losses, Chris Pollard took A.J. Gracia, Kyle Johnson, Sam Harris, and Henry Zatkowski with him to Virginia, plus former Duke recruit Jayden Stroman. Macon Winslow, another starter in 2025, went to ACC rival North Carolina.

There are, however, some returning faces to Duke.

One is senior Tyler Albright, who finished last year with the third-most hits (67) on the roster. Albright was one of four Blue Devils to finish the 2025 campaign with double-digit home runs.

Jeff Lougee, who played eight games as a freshman last year, is also back. He hit just .111 in limited action.

Aside from Albright, several relievers like Edward Hart and Marcello Mastroianni are back for the Blue Devils in 2026.

The Newcomers

New head coach Corey Muscara brought with him some familiar names from Wake Forest, including ex-Demon Deacons assistant Matt Wessinger as the team’s new hitting coach. Plus, former MLB first-round pick Will Craig joined as the recruiting coordinator.

One Demon Deacon player, pitcher Nate Brittain, joined those individuals for the blue and white.

Along with the coaching staff, new freshmen and transfers highlight some of the new faces in Durham.

Perhaps the most intriguing newcomer to the Blue Devils is junior infielder Michael DiMartini, who was one of the best hitters in the NCAA last season with Dayton of the A-10. DiMartini slashed .403/.465/.685 with 14 home runs and 32 extra-base hits.

This will be DiMartini’s third school in three years. He only played 13 games with Penn State in 2024.

Aside from DiMartini, the Blue Devils also got junior pitcher Bennett LaPalm off the Flyers’ roster. LaPalm struck out 56 over 44 as a reliever last season.

Duke also picked up several other players via the transfer portal. Sophomore infielder Nolan Johnson and grad student Bobby Marsh came over from Miami (FL), while sophomores RJ Hamilton and Aidan O’Connell from Vanderbilt joined the program after receiving sparse playing time in 2025.

Sammy Petrocelli, who didn’t pitch at all with Stanford last season, is another added recruit.

Junior infielder Jake Lambdin, a starter for the Xavier Muskeeters last season, is now with Duke.

Junior reliever Caleb Anderson, who struck out 33 over 28.2 IP with Wichita State last year, is another newcomer.

The Blue Devils welcomed seven new freshmen, including New York prepster Collin Anderson and pitcher Will Oschell.

Summary

With so many new faces at Duke, it’s going to be very interesting to see how the program rebounds after a summer of change.

It won’t be an easy campaign. However, the Blue Devils’ roster does include hitters who have a history of production at the Division I level.