2026 Triton College Baseball Season Preview

Triton College baseball coach Ernie Radcliffe has an abiding goal for his program.

"I'm here to make sure we bring our rich history back," Radcliffe said of the Trojans' heyday highlighted by Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, Lance Johnson and coach Bob Symonds.

Former longtime Chicago Public League coach Radcliffe has worked furiously to recruit talent as he begins his second season on the job. But maybe Triton baseball has come back in a certain way when players start to recruit the coach.

Strong, strapping first baseman Eric Fleetwood, a Cincinnati product, e-mailed Radcliffe with the desire to play for him.

"He recruited me," Radcliffe said of Fleetwood. "I compare him to Frank Thomas. I threw batting practice to him on a cold day in December. He was smoking the ball."

Radcliffe said Fleetwood's advancement in sports was set back by a broken leg while playing football in high school. But when healthy, Fleetwood competed in a Major League Baseball-sponsored home run derby in Arizona. "I watched a video and he really hit 'em out of the park," said Radcliffe.

Fleetwood will now prove on the field whether Radcliffe's projections are true. He is slated to be Triton's cleanup hitter, batting behind All-Region leadoff man Andrew Crenshaw (a Chicago Lindblom product), designated hitter Tyler Trapp (a Chicago Lane Tech alum) and third baseman Bryce LaSane.

Radcliffe is counting on second baseman Crenshaw to spark the lineup.

"He's been all-state all his life," the coach said. "He can bunt and run. He's a high-end player who is going to Jackson State."

Trapp also possesses great speed batting second. LaSane has lots to prove after being a redshirt freshman.

Other members of the projected starting lineup are shortstop Khanon Gresham, catcher Angel Castro, left fielder Isaiah Spann, center fielder Philip Northern and right fielder Elliot Alicea, an Illinois State University commit who will see double-duty as a reliever. "He's a five-tool guy," Radcliffe said of Alicea.

In addition to Alicea, the pitching staff will include right-handers Ryan Heitz, Spencer Spinks, Jaden Rivera and Edward Lopez, and lefties Jack Wolfe, Robert Vicioso and Brody Kelsey.

Radcliffe's big-league comparisons aren't just limited to Fleetwood. He compares right-handed pitcher-catcher Gael Urbieta, a Loyola Academy alum, to Bartolo Colon for strength and endurance. Right-hander Rodney Rodriguez has a cutter that Radcliffe hopes follows in Mariano Rivera's tradition.

The Trojans will open the season at home at Symonds-Puckett Field with doubleheaders March 4 against Highland Community College and March 8 against Moraine Valley Community College. A single game follows March 9 against Waubonsee Community College before the Trojans hit the road against Black Hawk College in Moline, then go on a five-game Florida trip.
 
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)