EASTON, Pa. –Lafayette baseball head coach Tim Reilly announced Thursday that the program has signed eight student-athletes to its class of 2025.

"This year has been far from a normal recruiting process" head coach Tim Reilly said. "While we have had to adjust many of our methods of communication, it has been a privilege to get to know each one of these players and their families. This is an extraordinary group of young men and we are extremely excited for them to join our program next fall."
 
The Lafayette Nine welcomes Ben Petrone, Kaleb Willis, Jack McMullen, Michael Zarrillo, Peter Meyerson, Chase Barley, Joe Skapinetz and Easton Brenner as its newest incoming class.

More information on each of the newest Leopards can be found below.


 
Ben Petrone will come to Lafayette from Princeton, New Jersey, where he is a four-year varsity starter at The Hun School of Princeton at shortstop and second base. The 5-11 infielder has a career batting average of .340 and, as a sophomore, helped lead his team to a 23-2 record and a NJ State Prep A Championship. Petrone is no stranger to winning as this was his second of back-to-back Prep A State Championships while at The Hun School. Petrone and his team capped off the 2019 season with a Mid-Atlantic Prep League Championship.
 
He was named team captain for both his junior and senior seasons and has earned a Trentonian First Team All-Prep Selection and a Trenton Times First Team All-Non CVC/Prep selection during his career.
 
Petrone is the son of Michael and Emilie Petrone and has one younger brother, Drew. His mom, Emilie, played lacrosse and field hockey at Haverford College and went on to become a member of the USA Women's Lacrosse Team. His dad, Michael, played baseball at Haverford.
 


Coming to College Hill from Westampton, New Jersey, is outfielder Kaleb Willis. Kaleb started playing high school baseball as an 8th grader and was a four-year varsity starter at Kings Christian School before transferring to Rancocas Valley Regional High School in his senior year. He is a career .365 hitter accumulating 70 hits, including nine doubles, two triples and one home run. Kaleb was the 2019 New Jersey state leader in runs (42) and was second in stolen bases (30). His success helped lead his team to becoming 2018 NACA Division 1 National Champions as well as three-time PJAA Champions.
 
Willis is the son of Monroe Willis II and Kori Hutton and has two sisters, Kykah Hutton and Monroe-Alexis Willis. His father, Monroe Willis, played basketball at Gwynedd Mercy University, his grandfather, William C. Hutton Jr. played football at Penn State and later went on to play for the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins (now known as the Washington Football Team) in the NFL.


 
Jack McMullen comes to The Hill from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. McMullen is a three-year varsity starter as an outfielder, first-baseman, and right-handed pitcher at Chagrin Falls High School, where current Leopard outfielder, Jack Amendola also attended. McMullen, a two-sport athlete, plays forward and center on his high school basketball team. In two seasons of baseball and two seasons of basketball, his teams have captured two baseball Chagrin Valley Conference Championships and one basketball Chagrin Valley Conference Championships. In two seasons, he has earned multiple All-Conference and All-State awards for his successes on the baseball diamond and basketball court. He currently holds a sub 1.00 ERA in his two years on the mound at Chagrin Falls.
 
McMullen comes from a long legacy of Leopards. His uncle, Hal Kamine, and cousin, Matt Kamine, both played baseball at Lafayette while another cousin, Justin Kamine, was a member of the men's soccer team.
 
He is the son of Kevin and Ilene McMullen and has two siblings, Ryan and Rachel. His father, Kevin McMullen, played baseball at Denison University and his mother, Illene McMullen, played polo at Cornell University. His sister, Rachel, currently rides equestrian at the University of Georgia.


 
Next up in the Leopards signing class is Atlanta, Georgia, native Michael Zarrillo. Zarrillo attends Holy Innocent's Episcopal School where he is a four-year starter in the Golden Bears infield. He owns a career batting average of .310 with an on base percentage of .425. While at Holy Innocents, Zarillo has helped lead his team to a Regional Championship and a Final Four appearance in two seasons. The 6-0 shortstop was named team captain and received the Matt Molen Leadership Award this past year.
 
He has played his summer ball for 6-4-3 DP Athletics throughout his high school career. For his successes in the summer tournament circuit, Zarrillo was named to the Perfect Game All Region Team. He is the son of Michael and Teri Zarrillo and has one younger sister, Hailey. His father, Michael, played hockey for Montclair State University.


 
The lone catcher in the 2021 recruiting class for the Leopards comes from Norwalk, Connecticut. Peter Meyerson joins the Maroon and White from Brien McMahon High School where he a four-year varsity catcher and outfielder. As a freshman, Meyerson batted .323 with an on base percentage of .419 and a .710 slugging percentage. These numbers earned him a Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference All-West Team award. Off to a hot start again as a sophomore, Meyerson was sidelined with an injury that caused him to miss most of the 2019 season.
 
He was a two-sport athlete when he arrived at Brien McMahon, playing as a strong forward on the school's freshman basketball team in 2018. He was named team captain of the basketball team before deciding to focus his time on the diamond. Meyerson is the son of Andrew and Martha Meyerson. He has one older sister, Keara. 


 
The Class of 2025's next incoming player hales from New City, New York. Chase Barley attends and plays for Clarkstown North High School where he's a three-year starter on the varsity baseball team as a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman. Barely started pitching as a sophomore and has seen big jumps in his development over the past year. He is ranked as one of the Top-100 athletes in the state by Prep Baseball Report who also lists him as one of the top-15 left-handed pitchers in New York. He was named varsity captain for the 2021 season and also plays for Drillers Baseball New York.
 
He is the son of Tarris and Liz Barley.


 
Joe Skapinetz comes to Lafayette from Far Hills, New Jersey, where he's a four-year varsity starter for Gill St. Bernard's School as a third baseman, first baseman and pitcher. In his first two seasons, Joe recorded 43 hits, including five doubles, one home run and 25 RBIs. On the mound, he totaled 78 strikeouts over 61 innings. On May 10th, of his sophomore year, Skapinetz threw a complete game no-hitter against cross town rival Bernard's High School. At the conclusion of his sophomore year, he earned a First Team All-Conference nod as well as First Team All-Prep B accolades. Joe was also the Courier News' 3rd Team All-Area selection and was named a "Top Sophomore" by NJ.com. The year prior, as a freshman, Skapinetz earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.
 
He is the son of Brett and Alison Skapinetz and has one brother, Jack. He father, Brett, played baseball at Rutgers and his uncle Mark Skapinetz, played baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison.


 
Rounding out the Lafayette Leopard 2021 recruiting class is Easton Brenner from Houston, Texas. Brenner is a four-sport athlete at Lutheran Southern Academy lettering in baseball, football, track and playing two years on the Pioneer basketball team. His track career led him to the state tournament in the 4x100m while placing 3rd in the district in the 100m. Brenner's athleticism allowed him to play several positions over his four years on the football team. As a captain of the football team, Easton also earned an Academic All-State and 2nd Team All-District award. Also, a captain of the Southern Lutheran baseball team, Brenner helped lead his team to a pair of state championships in 2018 and 2019.
 
He is the son of Lon Brenner and Reagan Brenner and one sister, Reed.
 
The 2021 Patriot League Baseball season is set to start on Saturday, March 13, with regular-season play running through Sunday, May 9.