2026 Baseball Season Preview
2/18/2026
The Brown baseball team is set to start its 2026 season this Friday afternoon with game one of a three-game weekend at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida against Miami (Ohio), Illinois State and Indiana State.
The 2026 Bears will feature a senior class that has seen extensive playing time over the last three years, as well as an eight-member freshman class which has several pieces who are expected to contribute right away. All told, the squad boasts a roster of 38 players, including 30 returners, with all but one pitcher returning from 2025.
The campaign will also mark the start of a new era for Brown baseball, with an entirely new staff, headlined by head coach Frank Holbrook and associate head coach Eric Podbelski.
Brown was tabbed eighth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, but the Bears have good reason to expect steps forward from last season.
SCHEDULE
The slate features 40 games, including 16 home games at Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium and 21 games against Ivy League opponents. The Bears will face off against four teams that made NCAA Regionals in 2025, and another opponent that was a regional finalist in 2024.
STARTING ROTATION
The Bears will feature an experienced pitching staff in 2026, with nearly 81 percent of its innings from last season returning, with graduated senior Santhosh Gottam the only pitcher from last season no longer on the roster.
Junior Ryan Oshinskie will help anchor the Bears’ starting rotation. After missing the first part of the 2025 season, Oshinskie returned in April and struck out 27 batters over 16.1 Innings of relief. Over the summer, he shined and earned First Team All-Cape League honors with the Bourne Braves, posting a 1.93 ERA over 13 appearances, including two starts. In 28.0 innings, he struck out 38 batters while allowing just six earned runs on 20 hits and seven walks. He also posted a 0.96 WHIP while limiting opponents to a .194 batting average.
He will be joined by senior Dylan Reid, who is returning from injury last season. Also joining the rotation in 2026 will be senior Peter Dubie who ranked second on the team in appearances last season with 17, all but one of which came in relief, where he struck out 45 batters over 38.2 innings.
Two rookies who will also look to factor in the rotation this season will be Porter Berryman and Drew Nelson. The southpaw Berryman hails from Lilburn, Georgia, while Nelson stands at 6’5 and comes to Brown from San Juan Hills High School in Ladera Ranch, California.
“In general, the freshman class has been pretty strong on the hill,” Holbrook said. “Peter Dubie will pitch on Friday against Miami and be the game one starter. I think he's got really good stuff, it's just him transitioning into that starting role where in the past he’s mostly been out of the bullpen.
“Porter Berryman's been really good indoors,” Holbrook said. “He's also left-handed, so that provides a little bit of some matchups out of the bullpen. He also can provide some length and I think he profiles as a guy who can start down the road.”
BULLPEN
The back end of the Bears’ bullpen will be occupied by senior Christian Keel, who ranked second on the team behind Gottam last season with 54.0 innings over 14 appearances (10 starts). He will shift back to the bullpen this season and looks to get the ball in high-leverage situations late in the game.
Also in relief, junior Brenden Kline will see action following 12 relief appearances last season, along with sophomores Ian Keusch, Carter Barth and Bryan Yang. Also in the mix to provide a boost are newcomers Camren Piwnicki and Cal McBurney.
“Keel is a veteran guy that has pitched in some different roles,” Holbrook said. “I think he's best suited out of the bullpen. He's really competitive. He’s a guy that you see with three-inning saves, one-inning saves, and bounce back the next day. Cal McBurney is another freshman who has thrown a ton of strikes indoors and has been good early on. Piwnicki will be another guy who can give us some length out of the bullpen.”
CATCHER
Junior Brandon Chang ranked second on the team with five home runs as a rookie and will serve as the Bears’ No. 1 catcher for the second straight year. Chang scored 15 runs with 15 RBIs while going a perfect 9-for-9 in steal opportunities. Defensively, he threw out 36 percent of the runners attempting to steal on him.
Backing up Chang will be junior Andrew Hanlon and sophomore Jack Edmunds. Edmunds posted a .393 on-base percentage over 22 games while seeing action mainly as a DH in 2025.
INFIELD
The Bears will return three starting infielders from last season that made at least 27 starts, including Second Team All-Ivy League selection DJ Dillehay. The senior tied for the team lead with six homers last season while leading the team with 30 RBIs and posting a .272 batting average.
However, the defensive alignment will look a little different to begin 2026, with all three returning starters moving to different positions. After spending most of his first three seasons at shortstop, Dillehay will shift over to third base. Senior Mark Henshon will move back to second base, the position he played as a freshman before serving as the first baseman the last two years.
After making a big splash as a rookie third baseman last season, sophomore Christian Butera will move across the diamond to first base in 2026. Butera finished second on the team and led all Ivy rookies with an overall .303 batting average and added a .391 on base percentage. He led the team with a .504 slugging percentage and tied for second on the team with 13 walks.
Up the middle, freshman Matt Luigs will get the opening day start at shortstop after impressing with both his bat and glove in the preseason. Freshman Harssh Ramayanam Venkkat, a standout defender, will also look for time at shortstop this season. Sophomore Cam LaGrassa returns this season after making 12 starts last year, and has been working at both first base and the outfield during preseason.
OUTFIELD
Headlining the Brown outfield is the return of senior centerfielder Mika Petersen, the reigning Ivy League batting champion and a two-time First Team All-Ivy honoree. Peterson posted a .355 batting average and led Brown with a .401 on-base percentage, while ranking third in the league with 54 hits and leading the team with nine doubles. He has appeared in 112 out of a possible 116 games with 111 starts over the last three seasons.
In left field, senior Logan Meusy made 26 starts last season and will also look to anchor the outfield, along with sophomore right fielder Alex Benevento. Meusy finished the season with nine RBIs and eight runs scored, drew seven walks and six hit-by-pitches, and delivered a walk-off pinch hit RBI double to give Brown the win over Dartmouth. Benevento made 13 starts while tallying four multi-hit games and clubbed a big three-run homer in a win over Byant on April 1.
Returning junior Brady Dever, who hit three homers as a freshman two years ago, along with Miles Newsome, and LaGrassa will all battle for time in the outfield as well as designated hitter.
