Wilkes University’s men’s baseball team earned the No. 1 seed for their first Landmark Conference championship tournament, defeating the University of Scranton 7-5. The last time the team earned a No. 1 seed for a conference tournament was 1994, when they won the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom. This season, despite being eliminated in an 8-6 defeat by No. 2 Elizabethtown, the team took home two major Landmark awards and had four players selected to the 2025 All-Landmark Conference team.

First-year student Arthur John “AJ” Levandoski from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was named Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year and was selected to the first team, along with senior Luke Spencer, a third baseman from Lehman, Pennsylvania. Jack Mathis, an infield and outfield sophomore from Exeter, Pennsylvania, and Nathan Loch, an infield sophomore from Effort, Pennsylvania, were selected as honorable mentions.

“I’m super proud of this award. I put in the work and it’s all I wanted,” says Levandoski, a mathematics and education major.

In addition, Head Coach Mike Guy and the Wilkes coaching staff were awarded the Coaching Staff of the Year. Guy began his coaching career at Wilkes during the 2023-24 academic year.

“I don’t think we would’ve gotten this award without the valuable lessons and development that our assistant coaches instill,” says Guy. “We have so many great coaching staff members, all working with different positions, and all have great relationships with our players.”

Guy is grateful for the University’s support and for faculty and staff members who show up to the games, help the students maintain good academic standing, talk to families and serve as advocates to provide student-athletes with the best experiences possible, both in the classroom and on the field. Levandoski couldn’t agree more with the staff receiving this special recognition.

“They are absolutely incredible and would do anything for us,” says Levandoski. “They go above and beyond. No one works harder than Guy, and I wouldn’t want anyone else as a coach right now.”

Guy is looking forward to the recruitment process for the upcoming season and a focus on talent development, building on this past season and how far they have come.

“The guys worked really hard this year, achieved a lot of their goals,” says Guy.

The shared goal for coaches and the team is to return as the No. 1 seed in the Landmark Conference championship tournament, win a playoff and ultimately make it to regionals and the College World Series. The team is more than ready for the challenge.

“We are definitely coming into next season with a chip on our shoulder, feeling the loss from this past season,” says Levandoski. “It’s going to make us work ten times harder and come back even stronger.”