Three high school friends add to Knights’ depth
Since Cole Russo, Dominic Castellano and Kris Sosnowski met before their freshman year of high school, they’ve been inseparable.
The three played baseball together from 2017-21, at Tampa Jesuit High School. They’ve not only developed as baseball players over that time, including winning a class5Astatechampionshipin 2019, but became best friends.
The three are freshmen at UCF, and staying together played a major part in coming to Orlando. The season hasn’t started yet, but they’ve gotten their feet wet early.
“We were together all the time,” Castellano said. “With that, you’re going to create some memories and a lot of fun things that you don’t forget and you really come to appreciate. Having that trust between these guys, knowing that they’ve got my back and I’ve got their backs, that it helps you just be ready to compete and ready to go.”
All three being in the 2021 recruiting class marked a rarity for UCF baseball. According to Perfect Game, the last time UCF added three players from the same high school in a single recruiting class was 2008, when five players from Winter Springs signed with the Knights.
“It’s a dream come true to be able to play here with my two best friends,” Russo said. “You never see that where you’ll have two of your best friends that are in high school that will all commit to the same college and you’re all going to be at one school together.”
Russo, an infielder who was rated as the No. 21 recruit in Florida, headlined the Knights’ signings. Baseball runs in his family, as his father Pat, uncle Paul and cousin Paul Jr. played baseball professionally. Russo said his family was the biggest influence on him picking up baseball as a kid.
Castellano, a left-handed pitcher and the No. 68 recruit in the state, had a senior season to remember. He posted a 1.62 ERA and 83 strikeouts as he earned firstteam all-conference honors.
A right-handed pitcher who was ranked No. 118 among Florida recruits, Sosnowski overcame injuries early in his high school career to have a dominant senior season. In 13 appearances, Sosnowski recorded a 0.31 ERA with 52 strikeouts. After not playing the year before due to COVID-19, his teammates recognized him as the most improved player in the 2021 season.
“I came into the year without any expectations or anything,” Sosnowski said. “I worked hard for it and I worked day in and day out just to try and be the best player I could be.”
Russo, Castellano and Sosnowski wrapped up their first fall baseball training session at UCF recently in the Black and Gold World Series scrimmage. The Knights were split into two teams, with Russo on Team Black and Castellano and Sosnowski on Team Gold.
Each team scored an early run to tie the score at 1 in the top of the second, and the score remained the same until the ninth inning. In lieu of extra innings, the teams competed in a home-run derby to decide the winner. Team Black prevailed, winning the derby 6-1.
With their first semester undertheirbelt,Russo,Castellano and Sosnowski said they felt perfectly at home at UCF which finished last season 31-30 overall, 18-14 AAC, tying for fourth place with Cincinnati. They thanked the upperclassmenforwelcomingthem with open arms, and now they feel even more motivated to get the season started in February.
“It’s just great how these guys can just bring us in so easily and welcome us and let us know what it’s going to be about,” Russo said. “Like the spring season, I think it’s going to be a blast because we have a lot of talented guys. We have really good team chemistry and I think we’re going to take this for a ride and we have a chance to win a national championship. I’m really excited to go to war with these guys and get after it.”