Why Cardinal Newman baseball's youth movement is finally paying off
Cardinal Newman's baseball team, with no seniors, is defying expectations thanks to young talent and coaching.
In 33 years as a high school baseball coach, this is a first for Joe Russo . After leading a veteran Cardinal Newman team to a school-record 26 victories in 2025, Russo knew this season's roster would be younger. He just didn't realize how young.
The Crusaders have no seniors. "We graduated 14, we lost one returning senior, and a couple of juniors from last year decided not to come out," Russo said. "They didn't even try out, so it's not like we cut anyone.
" When Cardinal Newman played Jensen Beach on April 1, Russo's lineup had the look of a junior varsity team — five freshmen and four sophomores in the batting order, a sophomore on the mound. But the Crusaders didn't play like a JV team. Liam Magun pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight, and Daniel Martinez drove in three runs to highlight a 6-2 victory over the Falcons.
With four wins in the last five games, Cardinal Newman has climbed over . 500 at 12-11. That may seem like a modest accomplishment for a program that spent much of the past two years ranked No.
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