Fall Baseball News From UMass Lowell

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While we may be five and a half months from the start of the 2025 college baseball season, Fall ball is underway. The first order of business for the UMass Lowell River Hawks was the naming of Captains for the new season. On Monday, head coach Nick Barese named the two players who will lead the team when the season gets underway.

Outfielder Alex Luccini and infielder Brandon Fish have been named captains of the River Hawks baseball team. Both are seniors and have made contributions to the program. Luccini has been a solid outfielder for the River Hawks over the last four years. In 2024 he batted .290 with nine home runs and 39 RBI. He was also 16-for-18 in stolen base attempts. Those numbers earned him a spot on the America East All-Conference second team. For his career to date, Alex boasts a .270 career average with 143 hits, 13 HR, and 91 RBI. He has an on-base percentage of .363, with 105 runs. In the field, the Hopedale, Ma. product has a career fielding percentage of .981 with 343 putouts. In 2024 Alex had 174 chances with 163 being putouts. He had seven assists to only four errors. He finished 2024 with a .977%.

Brandon Fish is from Londonderry NH and has been a corner infielder for most of his baseball career at UMass Lowell. A third baseman by trade, Fish saw time last season at second base as well. He was a member of the America East All-Rookie team after his freshman year. In 2024, Fish batted .269 with 29 RBI. He had 53 hits to go along with 26 runs scored. In the field, he posted a .926% with 42 putouts between third and second base. For his career as a River Hawk, Fish has a career batting average of .268 with 150 hits, 93 RBI, 70 runs scored, with a .327 on-base percentage. In the field, he has a .924 fielding percentage with 124 putouts and 243 assists. In 2024, Brandon had 143 chances, 42 putouts, and 96 assists to 11 errors. His fielding percentage was .926. He helped start 14 double plays.

There is one other player to keep a watch on this fall and in the spring. Left-handed pitcher LJ Keevan, a senior out of Holden, Ma. In 2024, he struggled mostly out of the River Hawks bullpen. He finished 2024 with a 13.34 ERA. 27.2 IP, and allowed 41 earned runs on 38 hits. He walked 26 while striking out 19 and teams hit .339 off of him. LJ spent the past summer in Montpelier, Vermont pitching for the Vermont Mountaineers. Out of their bullpen, Keevan had a 2.11 ERA, 16.2 IP, with 20 strikeouts, eight walks, and only nine hits. In the NECBL playoffs, LJ made two appearances totaling 4.2 IP, six strikeouts, two walks, five hits, and a 1.92 ERA If Keevan can repeat what he did this past summer, UMass Lowell could have a stopper on their hands.