Penn baseball celebrates in the dugout against Yale on April 22, 2023.
Credit: Samantha TurnerEight months ago, just one win separated Penn baseball from history. Now, just one day separates the Quakers from another crack at the plate.
On Friday, the Quakers will begin their season with a road series at Abilene Christian, and while no titles will be given out in Texas, the Red and Blue’s opening matchup signals the start of arguably the most promising campaign in program history. After the Quakers fell just one win shy of becoming the first ever Ivy League team to advance to a Super Regional, expectations abound for the reigning Ancient Eight champs. Penn was recently picked as the unanimous No. 1 in the Ivy preseason poll, and the Quakers return six All-Ivy honorees from a season ago.
After watching firsthand the team’s dominance in the back half of last season, I believe that the widespread belief in the Red and Blue is not only justified but also obvious. So much so that, for the Quakers to consider the season ahead a success, nothing short of an Ivy League title will do.
And luckily, the team has even bigger aspirations in mind.
After falling to Southern Mississippi in last year’s NCAA Regional, coach John Yurkow mentioned that winning a regional with the Quakers had been a longtime goal of his. And while he had not been shy about sharing that goal with others, Yurkow suspected that many doubted such a thing was possible at a school like Penn.
“People looked at me and nodded their head. I don’t know how many of them really believed me,” Yurkow said. “I think quite a few after I walked away probably gave a chuckle.”
But no one is laughing now as the Quakers look ahead to the new campaign with a regional victory as more of a realistic objective than an unlikely dream. And with many of last year’s biggest contributors returning, Penn has both the skill and the experience to break the Ivy ceiling.
Pitching was perhaps the Red and Blue’s greatest advantage in 2023, with then-senior Owen Coady, junior Ryan Dromboski, and senior Cole Zaffiro all recording sub-3.2 ERAs. Dromboski, the Ivy Pitcher of the Year, and Zaffiro, an All-Ivy first team selection, are back atop the mound, sustaining the Quakers’ unmatched starting staff.
It is also worth noting that Dromboski and Zaffiro each have NCAA Tournament experience, with Dromboski starting in the victory over Auburn and Zaffiro picking up the win against Samford. If the Quakers are still playing in June, it will be with a pair of aces who have been there before.
From an offensive perspective, the Quakers also have their biggest bat back in senior third baseman Wyatt Henseler. Henseler rewrote the record books last season, setting the Quaker program marks for single-season and career home runs. Henseler also racked up seven hits over Penn’s four tournament games, providing a lethal combination of power and consistency that poses a problem for any opposing pitcher, Ivy League or otherwise.
And while the Quakers have also lost a great deal of last season’s talent, including Coady, catcher Jackson Appel, first baseman Ben Miller, and infielder Cole Palis, there are an array of young players rising to fill the gaps they left behind. Sophomore utility player Jarrett Pokrovsky left his mark on last year’s Ivy League tournament with countless clutch plays, including a grand slam in the championship game against Princeton, while outfielder Ryan Taylor and infielder Davis Baker, both sophomores, each took home Ivy Rookie of the Week awards in 2023.
All this is to say that Penn has the roster necessary to do damage on the national level, and with 2023 Ivy Coach of the Year John Yurkow running the show, there is no excuse for anything less than excellence.
I believe that, when the Quakers’ season draws to a close, it will be on the other side of history. With talent, experience, and the proof that they can swing with the best, Penn is more than capable of clearing last season’s hurdle and reaching the Super Regional round.
But along with that sky-high ceiling comes similar expectations: If the Quakers’ last out comes before the NCAA Tournament, it will be difficult to render their season anything but a disappointment. For a team that has grown accustomed to the top, nothing less will do.
WALKER CARNATHAN is a sophomore and current sports editor studying English and cinema and media studies from Harrisburg, Pa. All comments should be directed to dpsports@thedp.com.
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