Snow was still melting on Jeff Albies Field on a recent morning when the William Paterson Pioneers took their positions inside the Rec Center and tried to simulate spring. A makeshift diamond stretched across three basketball courts. The “mound” was a flat slab of polyurethane. The bases were pieces of vinyl that shifted and curled.
The temperature outside did not feel like baseball weather. But with the academic year ending in May, the Division III season starts early. The Pioneers are scheduled to open their season Sunday, Feb. 15, with a doubleheader in Hoboken against Stevens Institute of Technology.
They are relying on one of the oldest rosters in the NJAC to push through the competition.
William Paterson returns much of its roster after finishing 19-20 in 2025 and 3-16 in NJAC play. A preseason poll of NJAC coaches predicted the Pioneers will finish eighth out of 10 teams. Still, the experienced roster — 55% upperclassmen — believes it can return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
“The biggest thing this year that I haven’t seen the past two years is that I am playing with my brothers, not just my teammates,” junior pitcher Rob Nathan said.
Nathan posted a 5-2 record last season with a 4.50 ERA and 54 strikeouts. He threw a no-hitter in Florida against Framingham State and earned a complete-game victory over NJAC rival Stockton.
Nathan is not the only Pioneer the team will lean on this season. Junior first baseman Ty Kobylakiewicz and senior catcher Eliot Germanson are expected to play key roles in the team’s postseason push.
Confidence and mental stability will be critical. Kobylakiewicz put up strong numbers last season but said external factors prevented him from reaching his full potential.
When asked how he plans to block out those distractions, Kobylakiewicz said, “I take it day by day, practice by practice, and eventually game by game and try not to overthink it … there’s going to be some bad games and some good games and you are going to face adversity.”
Germanson did not begin his career as a vocal leader but developed into one over time. He said he has learned to trust his decisions.
“Just trusting yourself and being confident in the decisions you make. It’s okay to be wrong,” Germanson said.
Germanson caught Nathan’s no-hitter against Framingham State last season, and Nathan credited him for the way he called the game. The chemistry between the battery mates — and throughout the roster — has continued to grow.
Over the past two seasons, the Pioneers have gone 30-47. Nathan said the team is determined to change that trajectory.
An influx of transfers last season contributed to inexperience in conference play. William Paterson went 14-4 in nonconference games but struggled in the NJAC, where the level of competition proved more demanding.
“That experience is really going to help us,” head coach Mike Lauterhahn said of navigating the conference schedule. “With that year of maturity, it’s going to help us get to where we need to be.”
Lauterhahn emphasized the strength of the NJAC, which sent five teams to the 2025 NCAA tournament: Rutgers-Camden, Rowan, Kean, Ramapo and TCNJ. Kean and Rowan advanced to the national quarterfinals.
“For 50 years, it’s been the best conference in Division III in the country,” Lauterhahn said. “And that’s what you signed up for.”
