By Scott Barancik
Opening Day of the college baseball season is just weeks away. To mark the occasion, Jewish Baseball News (JBN) has prepared a timely update on the latest comings and goings in the D-1 landscape.
Our report includes two Jewish ballplayers new to our D-1 roster, 12 transfers to new D-1 schools for the 2026 season, two college freshmen accidentally left off our recent High School Update, and additional players.
Our roster of D-1 players—currently totaling 97—is likely incomplete. If you know of a D-1 athlete who is not listed on the roster, please fill out our Unlisted College Player form now. JBN considers a player Jewish if he has at least one Jewish parent or has converted to Judaism, does not practice another faith, and is comfortable being identified as a Jew.
On to the news!
New Additions to D-1 List
- RHP Cooper Katskee, a redshirt junior, has transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after playing for two other D-1 schools. The 21-year-old Nebraska native was named the 2025 Mid-America Conference (D-1) Pitcher of the Year after going 11-2 with three complete games, a 3.08 ERA, and a 1.063 WHIP for Miami University (Ohio). In 2022, Prep Baseball Report ranked Katskee the #16 RHP and #44 player overall in Nebraska’s graduating high-school class
- C Nate Sterling, a junior, will play for Elon University in 2026. In 2025, Sterling hit .336 (36-for-107) with one HR, nine doubles, 19 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 14 tries, posting a .392 OBP for Los Angeles Valley College (junior college)
D-1 Transfers
- LHP Jake Toporek, a graduate student who went 8-1 with a 3.49 ERA for Wagner College (D-1) in 2025, has moved to Tulane University for the 2026 season. Was a 2025 First Team All-Northeast Conference (D-1) selection
- LHP Zac Laviage, a 2024 high-school graduate who redshirted at Chapman University (D-3) his freshman year, has transferred to Texas Southern University
- LHP Zach Mizrahi, a graduate student and junior college alumnus, has joined the roster at Stetson University
- OF Adam Haber, a senior who previously played at a junior college and Wofford College (D-1), will play for Georgia State University. In 2025, Haber hit .302 (39-for-129) with four doubles, 15 RBIs, a .395 OBP, OPS of .728, and 13 stolen bases without being caught
- C Gavin Taylor, a junior who played for Brigham Young University in 2024 and Los Angeles Valley College (junior college) in 2025, is enrolled at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. In 2025, Taylor hit a team-best .358 (44-for-123) with six HRs, 34 RBIs (#1), OBP of .488 (#1), OPS of 1.098 (#1), and 6 stolen bases in 7 attempts. Prep Baseball Report ranked Taylor the #5 catcher and #42 player overall among California’s high-school class of 2023
- SS Asher Friedman, a sophomore, will play for Alcorn State University this season. In 2025, Friedman hit .278 (25-for-90) with three HRs, 21 RBIs, a .343 OBP, and .765 OPS. Prep Baseball Report ranked him the #34 shortstop and #168 player overall in Maryland’s high-school class of 2024
- C Drew Charney, a redshirt sophomore formerly at Butler University (D-1), will compete with C Gavin Taylor for the starting lineup at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. In 2025, Charney hit .167 (2-for-12) with one RBI and a .333 OBP in limited action. Prep Baseball Report ranked him the #3 catcher and #15 player overall in Minnesota’s high-school class of 2023
- OF Hunter Friedberg, a redshirt sophomore who came to bat just one time with the University of San Diego (D-1) in 2025, will play for the University of Northern Kentucky. He is the older brother of OF Hamilton Friedberg, a highly-ranked outfielder in California’s high-school class of 2026
- RHP Mason Koczwara, a junior who previously played for a junior college and a D-1 school, has transferred to Florida International University. In 2025, Koczwara went 7-3 with a dominant 1.86 ERA over 12 starts for Wallace Community College-Dothan in Alabama
- C Mike Savino, a graduate student, has transferred from City College of New York (D-3) to Manhattan University. In 2025, Savino hit .339 (19-for-56) with two doubles, a triple, 10 RBIs, a .471 OBP, and .720 OPS
- RHP Drew Kaplan, a sophomore who plays for the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college, has committed to play at Utah Valley University (D-1) in 2027. In 2024, high-school senior Kaplan was named the 2023-24 Gatorade Nevada Baseball Player of the Year after hitting .483 with seven HRs and 43 RBIs, a .574 OBP, and 1.362 OPS. Prep Baseball Report ranked Kaplan the #5 RHP and #20 prospect overall among high-school seniors in Nevada’s high-school class of 2024
Freshman Additions
- In late December 2025, JBN reviewed top athletes in the High School Classes of 2025-27. Our report inadvertently left out two #1-ranked players from the Class of 2025 who are playing for D-1 schools this season:
- 1B Charlie Buckles is a freshman at Florida State University. In 2025, Prep Baseball Report ranked Buckles the #1 first baseman and #7 prospect overall among high-school seniors in Maryland that year. It also ranked him nationwide — the #11 first baseman, and #436 player overall
- LHP Austin Weiss is a freshman at the University of Maryland. In July 2025, Baseball America ranked Weiss the #162 player nationwide in the High-School Class of 2025, citing a 95-mph fastball and a variety of effective off-speed pitches. While projected as a Rounds 3-7 talent for the 2026 MLB Draft, he reportedly is likely to remain at Maryland. Prep Baseball Report ranked Weiss the #1 left-handed pitcher and #2 prospect overall among Maryland’s 2025 graduating high-school class. It also ranked him the #19 LHP and #118 prospect overall nationwide. Weiss was a relief pitcher for the USA Baseball 18U National Team that won the U18 World Cup qualifier in November 2024
Other News
- OF Harrison Feinberg, a redshirt senior at Northeastern University, was named a 2026 D1 Baseball Preseason All-American (Second Team) and the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association Co-Player of the Year. Feinberg is coming off a standout season where he hit .367 (76-for-207) with 18 HRs, 67 RBIs, a .455 OBP, 1.170 OPS, and 37 stolen bases in 41 attempts. In 2021, Prep Baseball Report ranked him the #6 outfielder and #16 prospect overall among high-school seniors in New England
Notable D-3 Achievement
Jewish Baseball News limits its college baseball coverage to players at D-1 schools. But one D-3 athlete’s achievement recently caught our eye:
- LF/2B Jack Gold, a junior at Pomona-Pitzer (D-3), was named a 2026 D3 Baseball Preseason All-American, First Team The 2025 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year after hitting .346 (53-for-153) with 15 HRs, 13 doubles, 54 RBIs, a .505 OBP, 1.257 OPS, and 12 stolen bases in 13 tries—all while making just 2 errors in the field
