Staff file photo / Preston Byers Kennedy senior Freddy Bolchalk delivers a pitch during a game last season against Ursuline.

The Warren JFK baseball program is not adjusting expectations with a relatively young team in 2025.

“We’ve lost some people over the years, but the expectations stay the same,” Kennedy head coach Jim Ciambotti said. “We expect to compete at a high level.”

There is good reason for that; the Eagles have won four consecutive district titles, and in 2021, Ciambotti’s first year, JFK won the Division IV state championship.

Just like any given year, though, Kennedy will have some work to do to achieve the same or greater success in the postseason.

For starters, the Eagles will have to replace their starting catcher. Four-time all-conference selection Caleb Hadley, the team’s reliable former catcher, graduated last spring and is currently a part of the Youngstown State baseball team.

“That’s going to be one of the areas that we’re going to have to monitor,” Ciambotti said of the catching position. “We got two kids – Landon Snyder, who’s a freshman, and we got Michael Bartoe. They will share that position. With Caleb, we knew we had trust, confidence back there. But we feel these two can adequately do the job.”

Catching will likely be a work in progress for the Eagles, particularly early in the season, but that is nothing new to Ciambotti.

The fifth-year coach has admittedly overseen several slow starts, but he said even if Kennedy picks up a few losses early again this spring, he will not be overly worried about it.

“We’ve always kind of stumbled out of the gate for numerous reasons,” Ciambotti said. “Like every other program in the area, it has to do with the weather. We’ve been very fortunate this week. That’s one factor. Another factor is our basketball team and the success that they’ve had the last four or five years. So we’re getting maybe half of our ballclub late.

“The lack of consistency really has to do a lot with our slow start, not seeing live pitching and not being outside, all those factors. As far as a quick start, I’m not worried about quick starts. I’m more concerned about how we look when we’re going into May.”

Ciambotti said the 2025 Eagles will rely heavily on seniors Bartoe, Dom Ryan, Taggart Carfangia, Freddy Bolchalk and junior Andrew Lapolla both in terms of performance and leadership. Bolchalk, in particular, is expected to lead a deep pitching staff that the coach believes is possibly the greatest strength of the team.

Highlighted newcomers include Snyder, Graham Seese and Lucas Mealy, the latter of whom Ciambotti said will play only half of the season after transferring from Lakeview.

While someone like Snyder may take on a vital role as one of the team’s catchers, Ciambotti stressed the importance of not expecting too much from the underclassmen.

“With the younger guys, I’ve told the coaches, and I gotta look in the mirror myself – we have to be very patient,” Ciambotti said. “Obviously, we’re dealing with kids that don’t have a lot of experience. So we’ve got to coach hard, teach hard and just hopefully see the growth at the end of the season.”

JFK is scheduled to begin its season at Salem on March 29, which, if weather permits, would be the first of six games in eight days.

The Eagles’ regular-season slate includes games vs. Boardman, Cardinal Mooney and Lake Center Christian, opponents Ciambotti expects – and hopes – will test Kennedy.

“I like to play, obviously, the tougher teams to get us ready for the postseason,” Ciambotti said. “It’s going to really be a challenge this year with the younger squad.”