Rutgers University
Bryant
Baseball Hosts Bryant for Opening Weekend
Mar 05 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball is set for its first home weekend of the season when it hosts Bryant for a three-game set at Bainton Field.
RU will be celebrating Opening Weekend at Bainton Field, with the series include numerous promotions and giveaways. Saturday's game will feature a pregame ceremony to celebrate the offseason facilities upgrades at Bainton Field, with Director of Athletics Keli Zinn set to throw out the first pitch.
The Scarlet Knights (6-5) defeated Western Carolina on Saturday and beat Stony Brook 5-1 in the home opener Wednesday.
The Bulldogs (4-5) took two-of-three at Radford last weekend and also own a series win at Davidson this season.
All three games this weekend will be streamed on B1G+. Fans can follow along on X (@RutgersBaseball) for live updates. Live stats will be available here.
Series History
This weekend marks the first all-time meeting between Rutgers and Bryant.
The 2026 Scarlet Knights
- The 2026 roster features a total of 39 players, with 15 returners and 24 newcomers.
- Of the 24 newcomers, 11 are true freshmen and 13 are transfers.
- Head Coach Steve Owens enters his seventh season at the helm of the program and has accumulated four consecutive winnings season with RU.
- Ryan Fecteau joins the program as associate head coach/pitching following an eight-year stint at Virginia Tech as pitching coach.
- Former major leaguer Frank Schwindel also joins the staff as director of player personnel.
Roster Reloaded
- Rutgers recruited the top transfer portal class in the Big Ten, per 64Analytics, with the haul consisting of 13 players (5 pitchers, 8 position players).
- Among in the incoming transfers, INF Charlie Meglio and OF Chase Krewson were both named Big Ten Players to Watch,
- The Scarlet Knights also welcome the top ranked recruiting class in program history, consisting of 11 true freshmen ready for their debut season on the Banks.
Returning Up the Middle
- The Scarlet Knights return all three starters up the middle in C Matt Chatelle, SS Yomar Carreras and CF Peyton Bonds. Bonds was named a Big Ten Player to Watch and the No. 9 2026 MLB Draft Prospect in the conference by D1Baseball.
- Carreras was also named the No. 9 2027 MLB Draft Prospect in the big Ten by D1Baseball.
Rotation Diversity
- Rutgers will use the trio of RHP Dallin Harrison, RHP Zack Konstantinovsky and RHP Chris Sand as its starting rotation this week.
- Harrison is junior transfer from San Diego who has worked his way into a weekend role for RU after a strong fall and preseason.
- Konstantinovsky returns to the rotation after missing 2025 due to injury.
- So far in 2026, he has pitched to a 2.20 ERA with 19 strikeouts just six walks in 16.1 innings.
- Sand, a true freshman, has started each of the last two Sundays and seen extended action all three weekends.
- He threw three strong innings on Sunday against Troy, giving up just one run on a solo home run across three innings, striking out one with no walks.
Lineup Experience
- In addition to three returning starters, the RU lineup projects to feature loads of experience.
- Behind the dish, Matt Chatelle (129) and Trey Wells (114) have a combined 243 games of collegiate experience.
- Infield transfers Ryan Jaros (56), Charlie Meglio (102) and Quinten Perilli (130) combine for 288 games of collegiate experience.
- In the outfield, Chase Krewson (91) and Tristan Salinas (55) both offer plenty of starting experience.
Defensive Excellence
- Rutgers has been among the best defensive teams in the country the last four seasons. RU is one of just six teams with a .976 fielding percentage in each of the last four seasons (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Oregon, Vanderbilt)
- In that timeframe, a pair of shortstops in Danny DiGeorgio (2022) and Josh Kuroda-Grauer (2024) were both All-Americans and Brooks Wallace Award finalists for the best shortstop in the country.
Professional Development
- Rutgers is the only team in the Big ten to have a top-three round pick in the MLB Draft in each of the last three seasons: Trevor Cohen (2025, R3 - Giants), Josh Kuroda-Grauer (2024, R3 - Athletics) and Ryan Lasko (2023 - R2 - Athletics)
- In total, RU has seen 16 players either drafted or signed to MLB organizations since 2021.
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