The Newburgh Free Academy baseball team has been gutted by departures.

In addition to losing a wealth of seniors, the Goldbacks also lost two players before their senior seasons as Jalen Collins moved and Mason Hoover transfered.

The Goldbacks have also lost a strong group of seniors from a team that posted a 12-9 record last year and finished 5-1 in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I.

The Goldbacks entered the Section 9 Class AA tournament as the fifth seed and suffered a 3-2 loss to No. 4 Valley Central in the first round.

Also gone are Tyler Martin, Tyler Slaughter, Joe Ponesse, Tyler Cross, Tyler, Voltaire, John Ahearn, D.J. Paron, Bryan Merritt, Patrick Lennon and Rocco Tammone.

However, ninth-year coach Scott Seabury is undeterred about the Goldbacks’ prospects this season.

“We are a very young team, and it seems like there aren’t very high expectations for us throughout the section,” Seabury said.

The Goldbacks return a junior-laden team, which will be led by outfielder Nick Schmidt, pitcher/outfielder D.J. Cliffor, pitcher/outfielder Chase Rounds, catcher Chris Leggett, pitcher/first baseman Logan Voltaire and middle infielder J.J. McCoy.

The team’s lone senior is a new player, pitcher/first baseman Dan Decker. Sophomore pitcher/utility player Joey Santo, sophomore second baseman Jake Cross, freshman third baseman/pitcher Jayden Hines, junior pitcher/first baseman/Luis Pagan, junior pitcher Edwin Nunez, junior pitcher/outfielder Connor Hollenbeck, junior pitcher/third baseman Colin Wing, junior outfielder J.P. Walsh, junior outfielder Antonio Vinciguerra, and junior first baseman Zach Barrese are new to the varsity team for the 2024 season.

“However, despite how others may view it, we are looking forward to competing and proving everyone wrong,” Seabury said.

It’s also a season of change for the Goldbacks as they will play their home games at Delano-Hitch Stadium after a long absence.

With the addition of a sixth class – Class AAA – by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, the division only includes four other teams – Middletown, Monroe-Woodbury, Kingston and Pine Bush. Instead of playing two games against divisional opponents, the Goldbacks will play a three-game series against each divisional opponent.