FIRST TEAM
P: Justin Hascup, Old Bridge, Sr.
Hascup could fire up a strikeout, or, simply induce weak contact on the mound. His approach baffled hitters the last three seasons for the Knights. The righthander had a 1.60 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings this spring and allowed just seven earned runs and 18 walks. He was also one of the best two-way players in the GMC. Hascup hit .385 (30-for-78) with 17 RBIs and 18 walks.
P: Connor Murphy, Edison, Jr.
Murphy was eager for the spring after gaining 20 pounds of muscle in a productive offseason. However, he battled the flu early on, lost some of that weight and struggled in a couple outings. By mid-April, Murphy felt better and was near-unhittable. The righthander had a stretch where he allowed one earned run in 33 innings over six appearances. He finished with a 1.89 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings. He allowed 39 hits and 31 walks for a WHIP under 1.00 and finished 5-3. He also drove in 21 runs.
P: Cory Pascarella, Colonia, Sr.
Pascarella just had one of those special seasons on the mound. He used a low-90s fastball and a devasting changeup to keep hitters guessing. The righthander, who also played left field and in the infield, had a 0.42 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 67 innings, allowing just 18 walks and 22 hits and was 7-1. He also hit .326 as the leadoff hitter with 23 RBIs.
P: Louis Rizzolo, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jr.
After the Trojans lost two other top pitchers via graduation and to an injury, Rizzolo was needed to step up. He delivered. The lefthander struck out 98 in 59 2/3 innings with a 1.40 ERA. He allowed just 12 earned runs and 21 walks in leading the White Division champions. Rizzolo had a 15-strikeout performance and chipped in 13 RBIs and hit .288 with an additional 24 walks and stole a dozen bases.
C: Michael Robinson, Sayreville, Sr.
Robinson’s accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider he played through the season with a bad shoulder and a sprained ankle. Catchers, though, are tough and Robinson managed to flourish both defensively and offensively at the plate. He threw out 15 of 25 base runners. He also hit .354 with 28 hits (nine extra base hits) with 13 RBIs and struck out just six times in 97 plate appearances with a .454 OBP.
1B: Carter Cumiskey, Spotswood, Sr.
Cumiskey was the type of player who could carry a team and change the outcome of a game in seconds. He was a two-way star who thrived all four seasons. He hit a blazing .455 with 40 hits — with three home runs, eight doubles and a triple this year. For his career, Cumiskey had a .401 average with 133 hits, 16 home runs, 96 RBIs and a school-record 28 doubles. He was just as good on the mound posting a 1.20 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. To break it down, he gave up just one earned run in 31 innings against White Division opponents for a 0.23 ERA and held division opponents to a .177 batting average. The lefthander had 212 Ks in his career.
INF: Julius Rosado, South River, Sr.
Rosado was a must-see player in his four years with the Rams. He burst on the scene as a star freshman hitting .578 with 37 RBIs and he never let up. Rosado graduates as the program’s record holder in just about every key hitting category and longtime Rams coach Mike Lepore notes that Rosado is the GMC career home run leader (30) and has the second-most hits in GMC history (157) — that’s meaningful with all the top players through the years. This spring, he batted .500 with 37 hits, five home runs, 33 RBIs, 30 stolen bases and had a 1.573 OPS. On the mound, Rosado had 46 strikeouts and a 0.72 ERA.
INF: Gavin Slicner, Woodbridge, Jr.
Slicner was a clutch hitter with some power for the Red Division champions. He batted .400 (34-for-85) with three home runs and six doubles and had 18 RBIs. He walked 19 times, stole 17 bases and scored 33 runs. The versatile Slicner mostly played shortstop but deftly moved to second base and third at times.
INF: JP Zayle, St. Joseph, Sr.
Zayle, aka Mr. Walk-off, etched his name in the storied program’s legacy during the Falcons run to the GMC Tournament championship. He hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh as St. Joseph beat Spotswood in the semifinal. In the final, he slugged a walk-off grand slam to give the Falcons a 7-4 win over Edison. The 6-foot, 225-pound second baseman hit .418 (28-for-67) with three home runs and a team-high 25 RBIs.
OF: Colin Kroner, Colonia, Jr.
Kroner was a three-prong star who helped the Patriots win 23 games at the plate, on the mound and with his glove. He hit .333 with 24 RBIs, including the walk-off hit in the 1-0 win over North Hunterdon in the North 2 Group 3 semifinal in 10 innings. Kroner, the team’s best defensive outfielder who plays LF, was a co-ace and had a 0.70 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings, utilizing a slider and curveball to fool hitters.
OF: Dominic Massaro, South Plainfield, Jr.
Massaro’s one of those players you may not realize how good he is until watching him in person. He flies around the bases and patrols center field, snagging away seemingly sure hits. His stats were pretty good, too. Massaro hit .394 (41-for-104) with 12 walks, 28 stolen bases, 27 runs scored and 20 RBIs to help the Tigers win the North 2 Group 3 title.
OF: Joe Spinello, East Brunswick, Jr.
Spinello was a speedy sparkplug for the Bears. The centerfielder covered ground with a strong arm and was 23-for-23 in stolen bases out of the two-hole in the lineup. He batted .395 (30-for-76) with three home runs, 11 doubles and a triple along with 19 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
U: Xavier Diaz, Woodbridge, Jr.
Diaz showcased his pure hitting skills with gap power for a .436 batting average (34-for-78) and had a .603 slugging percentage. He drove in 18 runs with two home runs and seven doubles while walking 15 times and scoring 24 runs. The junior chipped in 12 stolen bases and primarily played first base and saw time at third. Diaz has a career .366 batting average for the Barrons (83-for-227).
U: Chris Kozak, Middlesex, Jr.
One way to excel on the mound is to limit base runners. Kozak posted an 0.84 WHIP giving up 51 hits and nine walks in 70 1/3 innings. In all, he allowed nine earned runs for a 0.90 ERA with 65 strikeouts. In the Central Group 1 final, Kozak went 7 1/3 innings giving up three runs (1 ER) as the Blue Jays won 4-3 against Schalick in eight innings. In the state final, the center fielder Kozak threw out a runner going to third to end a sixth-inning rally. Kozak also hit .282 (22-for-78) with 16 RBIs, seven extra base hits and 17 runs.
U: Dominic Long, Middlesex, So.
Sometimes, the numbers just tell the story. Long finished 12-0 on the mound with a 1.37 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings. At bat, he hit .364 (32-for-88) with five doubles, 16 RBIs, 18 runs scored and chipped in seven steals. In the postseason, Long went 4-0 allowing four earned runs in 21 2/3 frames. That includes picking up the win in the sectional final with 2/3 relief innings and then throwing a complete game in the Group 1 final.
U: Collin Perna, South Brunswick, Jr.
Perna played every inning of every game at shortstop for the Vikings while swinging a potent bat. The junior hit .446 (29-for-65) with 16 extra base hits — a GMC-high six home runs and 10 doubles. He walked 15 times, stole 14 bases, scored 15 times and drove in 16 of South Brunswick’s 49 runs this season.
SECOND TEAM
P: Kevin Arroyo, Woodbridge, Jr.
P: Lucas Malamug, Metuchen, Jr.
P: John Smith, Old Bridge, Sr.
P: Richie Zangara, St. Joseph, Sr.
C: Adrian Sanchez, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jr.
1B: Robert Roma, Edison, Jr.
INF: Dylan Chiera, Colonia, Jr.
INF: Bobby Christensen, St. Joseph, Sr.
INF: Nick Irizarry, South Plainfield, Sr.
OF: Matt Jelleme, Metuchen, Jr.
OF: Luke Palermo, St. Joseph, So.
OF: Chris Rodriguez, Perth Amboy, Sr.
U: Dom Innocenti, Edison, Jr.
U: Dan Kapsch, South Plainfield, Sr.
U: Aiden McCarthy, South Plainfield, Jr.
U: Dom Parenti, Middlesex, Sr.
THIRD TEAM
P: Davyn Ciriaco, North Plainfield, Sr.
P: Declan DiCarlo, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sr.
P: Ben Faigin, Monroe, So.
P: Soham Prajapati, J.P. Stevens, Jr.
C: Seamus MacKinnon, Highland Park, Sr.
1B: Owen Reynolds, Middlesex, Sr.
INF: Will Buchan, Spotswood, Sr.
INF: Kelvin Heuston, New Brunswick, So.
INF: Willy Pena, North Brunswick, So.
OF: Jared MacWithey, East Brunswick, Sr.
OF: Mark Stein, Dunellen, Sr.
OF: Jeremy Vasquez, South Amboy, Sr.
U: James Fenton, Metuchen, Fr.
U: Grant Lorentzen, J.F. Kennedy, Jr.
U: Kevin Penny, South Plainfield, Sr.
U: James Zsorey, South River, Sr.
HONORABLE MENTION
NOTE: Players that were not on the first three teams earned Honorable Mention based on two criteria: 1, They were selected All-Division by the coaches. 2, They were selected to play in either the 2025 Frank Gavigan Senior All-Star Game or the 2025 GMCBCA Underclassmen Showcase.
Carteret: Nick Kee, Luis Hernandez
Dunellen: Michael Dow, Kristian Roman Lopez, Cole Mayer, Ryan Hutchins, Danny Watts
East Brunswick: Hayden Dziubeck, Tyler Zeichner
East Brunswick Magnet: Anthony Bienvenue, Nomar Carreras, Tommy O'Neill, Jack Clements, Charlie Misura
Edison: Anthony Calantoni, Brody Ferrer, Darren Tirado
J.P. Stevens: Mukund Rao
J.F. Kennedy: Zack Tyler
Middlesex: Dylan Ianiero
Monroe: Jack Lobue
New Brunswick: Devin Heuston, Alex Rodriguez, Jacob Henderson, Elkin Reyes
North Brunswick: Timothy DeGaetano
North Plainfield: Bennie Sokolowski, Tommy Zotollo, Jake Zotollo
Old Bridge: Chris Crosta
Perth Amboy: Justin Foy, Chris Aracena, Kristian Gonzalez
Perth Amboy Magnet: Zachary Lenardo
Piscataway: Riley Wingate, Sumedh Shingala
Piscataway Magnet: Colton Lyerly, Kyle Malchiodi
Sayreville: Thomas Schlaline, Logan Kaufman
South Amboy: Ben Smith, Diego Colon
South Brunswick: John Koch
South River: Noah Borrero, Julien Borusovic
Spotswood: Tyrus Lazar
St. Joseph: Kris Almanzar, Domenic Erbafina
St. Thomas Aquinas: Will Bethea
Woodbridge: Ryan Leach, Derek Oxner, Michael Gurovich
NJ Baseball: The 2025 Home News Tribune All-Area teams
