Fall report: UMass to focus on details with large freshman class

UMass senior outfielder Nolan Kessinger (Southborough, Mass.) will be a team leader this spring. (Thom Kendall/UMass Athletics)

Editor’s note: This is the 11th in an offseason series profiling the region’s Division 1 baseball programs.

Over the last two years, there have been plenty of signs of growth in the Massachusetts Minutemen.

Head coach Matt Reynolds (South Boston, Mass.) has put his stamp on the program in that time and hopes a team filled with young talent can take further steps in 2020. His preseason roster includes 14 freshmen and two redshirt freshmen.

Last spring’s club improved its win total by three, claimed its first Beanpot championship since 2012 at Fenway Park and went 4-1 against teams that qualified for NCAAs. Four-year starting pitcher Justin Lasko (Stratford, Conn.) signed with the New York Mets after becoming the program’s all-time strikeout leader with 247 in his 311 ⅓ innings. Among returners, now-redshirt sophomore Collin Shapiro (Exeter, N.H.) earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie honors and finished with a team-leading .301 average and 35 runs scored.