On March 4, the St. John’s men’s baseball team fell to 1-10 after a 12-2 loss at Penn State, and it looked like the season was over as soon as it got started. Now, three months later, the Red Storm are getting ready to face Alabama in the NCAA Super Regional, completely turning the season around. A key contributor to that turnaround is Adam Agresti, the hometown star from Yorktown, who has been reliable and consistent all year and has delivered in big moments. 

One of those big moments came in St. John’s previous game against No. 10 Florida State. The Red Storm were considered the heavy underdogs coming into that game, and through the first several innings, the game was playing out that way. Through the first four innings of that game, St. John’s recorded only one hit.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning and with two outs on the board, Agresti hit what he called the biggest swing of his life, a grand slam to get St. John’s off the ground, leading them to the 5-4 victory, ending Florida State’s season. 

Those early-season struggles can be attributed to St. John’s having little preseason practice time because of the weather, so the first 10 games were essentially the first time the team was on the field together. The players knew they were better than the product they were putting on the field.

“We realized we weren’t playing up to the standard of what St. John’s baseball has been in the past and the whole history of the program,” Agresti said. “We really had to start stepping up and start playing loose and relax and knowing what we can do at the plate, just have some fun out there.”

Agresti has had a standout season for St. John’s, helping lead the team to the super regionals. He leads the team with 19 home runs and 54 RBIs, is tied for second with 48 runs, and ranks fourth with 62 hits. His versatility as a hitter, catcher, and first baseman makes him incredibly valuable to the team’s success.

A big part of Agresti’s growth has been his ongoing training with Velo University, where he has trained since he was a teenager. The staff helped him rehab after elbow surgery, strengthen his body to play at the Division I level, and grow mentally as both a player and a person. He credits general manager Nick Serio as a mentor who helped him prepare to compete at the Division I level.

His training at VeloU has inspired him to keep improving and growing as a person, and the professional athletes who train there give him added motivation to keep working, extend his career, and eventually play professionally.

For Agresti, being from Yorktown, just 42 miles from Queens, is a point of pride. “It’s amazing to stay close to home and be at St. John’s and show what Northeast guys can do when we get the chance to play.”

This season has been incredibly fulfilling for Agresti because he has been healthy in a way he wasn’t in previous years. As a freshman, he played only 12 games before being shut down with an elbow injury. Last season, he played in 40 games but missed several weekends because of injuries and was still recovering from elbow surgery. This season, he said he feels like the player he was before the injury, and that has been amazing for him.

To defeat Alabama, St. John’s has to play a complete game. “We’ve been pitching it really well, the starting pitchers and relievers, they’ve been doing a great job keeping us in games, and our hitting has just been amazing,” Agresti said. “Just a bunch of timely hits and gritty at-bats, showing great toughness at the plate, and if we can continue to do that and defend the field well, we’re going to put ourselves in a really good spot.”

For Agresti, it’s about maintaining confidence in the abilities that helped him reach this level at St. John’s. “It’s really easy in this sport to get down on yourself and second-guess, especially with all the failure that comes with it,” Agresti said.

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