The Games:             Towson (8-17, 1-2 CAA) vs. Monmouth (11-13, 1-2 CAA)
When:                        Friday, March 28 at 3 p.m.
                                    Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m.
                                    Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m.
Where:                       John B. Schuerholz Park | Towson, Md.
Series:                       Monmouth leads the all-time series 5-3
Live Stats:                TowsonTigers.com
Streams:                   FloCollege
 
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University baseball team is hosting the Monmouth Hawks in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play this weekend at John B. Schuerholz Park in Towson, Md.
 
The series begins on Friday at 3 p.m. The Tigers and Hawks will play one game each on Saturday and Sunday, both at 1 p.m.
 
The games will stream live on FloCollege. Live stats for all three games can be found on TowsonTigers.com. Parking information for fans coming to Friday's game can be found at the top of the page.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Towson enters the first conference home series at 8-17 overall. The Tigers have wins over UMass Lowell, Holy Cross, George Washington and a series win over Maryland Eastern Shore in non-conference play to begin the season. The Tigers faced Cornell in the final non-conference, weekend series of the season, taking the first game of Saturday's doubleheader before dropping the Sunday rubber match. Last week, the Tigers lost a late lead to George Mason on the road before topping Massachusetts with a season-high 20 runs scored at John B. Schuerholz Park. In the CAA opener, the Tigers topped the Northeastern Huskies 3-2 in 11 innings on Friday at Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass. for their first win in Brookline since May 21, 2016.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Monmouth enters Friday at 11-13 overall and 1-2 in CAA play. The Hawks have a three-game sweep over Georgetown in non-conference play, along with wins over Dayton, Pitt, NJIT, FDU, Villanova and LIU. In the first CAA weekend series, the Hawks topped the Hofstra Pride 12-11 in 10 innings on Sunday.
 
HAVE A DAY
Towson outfielder Max D'Alessandro had a historic day on March 19 vs. Massachusetts, finishing with six hits to tie the program's single game record. He ended the day with a double, home run, five RBIs, four runs scored and a stolen base. He is currently tied for the league lead with eight home runs and has 22 RBIs, good for 13^th among league leaders. The only other Tiger to record six hits in a game in program history was A.J. Tinnirella vs. Hofstra in 2006.
 
PEYTON, BISHOP & ROBINSON COLLECT PRESEASON ALL-CAA HONORS
Infielders Jordan Peyton, Casey Bishop and Taye Robinson each earned 2025 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) preseason praise.
 
Jordan Peyton was named to the 2025 All-CAA Preseason Team after batting .336 with 40 runs scored and a team-leading 41 RBI's last year. The 2024 All-CAA Honorable Mention finished the season with multiple hits in 11 of his final 13 games, batting .545 (30-for-55) with 13 runs scored, five home runs and 18 RBI's during that stretch.
 
Bishop earned preseason honorable mention recognition for the second-straight season after earning a 2023 CAA All-Rookie Team nod. He batted .216 with 12 runs scored, six RBI's and two stolen bases in 25 games played after missing more than half the season due to injury.
 
Robinson was tabbed a preseason honorable mention after a 2024 CAA All-Rookie Team selection. The Gaithersburg, Maryland native hit .310 with 26 runs scored, 28 RBI's and seven stolen bases in 51 games played. He closed the season on a seven-game hitting streak with multiple hits in 14 games during the campaign.
 
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
The 2025 Towson roster consists of 18 newcomers: 13 transfers and 5 freshmen. New Tigers set for prominent roles this season include Rowan College of South Jersey outfield transfer Max D'Alessandro, Hood transfer pitcher Dutch DeProspero and freshman first baseman from St. John's College Nich Francuzenko, among others.
 
HOMEGROWN TALENT
The 2025 Tigers' roster features 17 players from the Free State, including seven newcomers. Highlighting the newcomer group is High Point transfer Brett Ahalt, James Madison transfer Matt Leikus and Radford transfer Leo Simpson, the brother of Tiger pitcher Max Simpson, among others.
 
EARNING STRIPES
The Tigers have welcomed multiple coaches to the staff ahead of the 2025 season. J.D. Pulfer, who formerly served as a volunteer assistant for two seasons, returns in a full-time role after his most recent stint as an assistant coach for Eastern Illinois. Pulfer was a three-year starter with the Oregon Ducks, where he has the sixth-most hits in program history and was drafted in the 19th round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Assistant Coach Joel Aviña most recently coached Towson infielder Jordan Peyton for the Bristol Blues in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) this summer, helping Peyton win the league's Defensive Player of the Year award. Prior to that stint, Aviña served as an assistant at Post University for three seasons, where he led the Eagles to a .974 fielding percentage in 2024, the 16th best mark in Division II. Former Tiger pitcher Justin Rebok, who stands eighth all-time in program history in career appearances, joins the staff as the Director of Pitching Development. Third year Tiger pitching coach Mike Ruppenthal was also elevated to associate head coach in the offseason.
 
TIGERS IN THE PROS
On March 24, John Cristino became the second Tiger from the 2023 season to ink a deal with a Major League Baseball (MLB) organization after signing a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. The New Jersey native played for the New England Knockouts, now the Brockton Rox, of the Frontier League in the 2024 season. Cristino finished the season with a league-best 26 home runs, earned a Frontier League All Star nod and was named the league's catcher of the year. The catcher slashed .293/.367/.583, adding 20 doubles, a triple, 72 RBIs and 65 runs scored in 89 games before being traded to the York Revolution of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), where he helped the Revolution win the league title.
 
In July 2023, former Tiger right-handed pitcher Ethan Pecko was picked in the sixth round (194) of the MLB draft by the Houston Astros as the 19th Towson player in program history to be selected. In his first full season with the club, he ascended to Double-A Corpus Christi and was named the 2024 Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year after finishing 4-6 with a 3.47 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 96.0 innings pitched across stops at Low-A, High-A and Double-A.
 
Former infielder Richie Palacios, a third-round pick in 2018, had previous MLB stints with Cleveland and St. Louis before being traded to Tampa Bay before the 2024 season. Palacios is on the Rays' 40-man roster to begin the season for the second year in a row, despite landing on the 10-day injured list with a right ring finger fracture. The Brooklyn native has found a home with the Rays, finishing 24^th in the American League with 19 stolen bases in 92 games played a season ago.
 
RUNS IN THE FAMILY
The Tigers roster is littered with familial connections to professional sports, starting with pitcher Nate Nabholz. His uncle, Chris Nabholz, was the second Towson baseball player drafted in program history. Nabholz started 100 games in the Majors after being selected in the second round of the 1988 draft by the Montreal Expos. Redshirt freshman pitcher Joey Zito is the nephew of Cy Young award-winning pitcher Barry Zito, who pitched for 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. Newcomer pitcher Jace Cunnane is the son of eight-year MLB pitcher Will Cunnane. Infielder Casey Bishop's father was previously the strength and conditioning coach for the Baltimore Orioles for 14 years. Outside of baseball, Jordan Peyton is the cousin of former Towson football player and Super Bowl champion Jermon Bushrod and infielder Taye Robinson is the cousin of current Miami Dolphin Chop Robinson.
 
2024 RECAP
The Tigers finished the 2024 season at 15-39 overall and 5-20 in CAA play. The Tigers had two Honorable Mention All-CAA selections in outfielder Elijah Dickerson and infielder Jordan Peyton. Redshirt freshman Taye Robinson was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. The Tigers' 369 strikeouts were the seventh-most in a single season in program history, while their 11 saves were fifth-most in TU history.