Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Hubbard’s Braydon Songer swings at a pitch during a Division IV regional semifinal vs. Canfield in Canton on June 3.

Things have changed for Hubbard’s baseball program.

After going 23-7 and winning their first district championship last year, the Eagles, despite losing numerous key players to graduation, are set to take on the part of the “hunted” after decades of being the hunters.

“You won a league championship, you won a district championship. People, when they see Hubbard on their schedule, they’re going to circle that, and you’re going to get everybody’s best shot now,” Hubbard head coach John Schiraldi said.

The preparation, Schiraldi said, had to change for his team off the heels of the best season in Eagles baseball history. It needed to be “different” if Hubbard want to repeat as Northeast 8 Conference or district champions.

Repeating, though, remains difficult, particularly in the wake of a dozen players from last year’s team graduating, including four-year starting catcher Johnny Reyes, as well as Gabe Rusnak, who made up a one-two pitching punch with Braydon Songer that spurred the Eagles to 13 straight wins in the middle of last season.

Schiraldi said losing so many players is “tough,” but he has confidence the 2026 team’s seniors – Songer, Colten Smith, Jonny Adamson, Logan Elavsky and Bobby Thompson – will help “set the tone” during the season.

Songer is also expected to once again serve as the Eagles’ ace. Last year, Songer broke multiple school records during a historic season in which he recorded a 0.33 ERA, 100 strikeouts and eight wins. In Hubbard’s extra-innings district title victory, Songer struck out 12 batters before hitting his pitch limit.

Schiraldi said Songer will be the first of what will likely be a rotation also featuring Adamson and sophomore Dylan Wright and Maddox Pieton, the latter of whom the head coach said has “made a big jump” and believes can effectively replace Rusnak.

“I think Maddox is ready to step right into that role. He’s looked really good,” Schiraldi said. “He got innings for us as a freshman last year, and [his] velo’s up, he’s bigger, stronger than he was. He actually reminds me of Gabe his sophomore year.”

Multiple returning lettermen and underclassmen will bolster the Eagles’ lineup, including Logan Balla, Colten Yobe, Mike Bobovnik, Lucas Alexander, Dylan BuCher and freshman Tyler Sarisky.

“We lost a lot of seniors, but we have guys that were lettermen and platoon players that have experience,” Schiraldi said. “We have four returning starters, but the other guys, they’re not strangers to this. They’ve played, they know what’s expected of them.”

Hubbard will have plenty of competition as it tries to go back-to-back as NE8 champions. Last season, the Eagles went 11-1 in the conference, with their only loss coming in the season opener vs. Poland.

Hubbard will also try to break a trend.

Since South Range’s string of titles in the first few years of the league’s existence, no team has won the NE8 in consecutive years. In 2025, the Eagles became the fourth different champion in four years; after the Raiders won in 2022, Lakeview took the crown in 2023 and Poland eked out Hubbard for the title in 2024.

“Our conference goes a long way in [battle-testing us],” Schiraldi said. “Obviously, Poland and South Range and Girard are very good, and Lakeview is solid. Historically, Niles has been very good. Struthers is always dangerous.”

In addition to their league slate, the Eagles are set to play Austintown Fitch, Ursuline, Warren G. Harding, Warren JFK and Springfield, the latter of which is Hubbard’s season-opening opponent March 28.

The schedule, Schiraldi hopes, will properly prepare the Eagles before postseason play in May and, potentially, June.

“This isn’t their first go-around,” Schiraldi said. “Like I said before, with the expectations, I think they know what’s expected of them. … Anytime in Northeast Ohio, early in the year, the weather probably won’t cooperate. It may not be the prettiest baseball but we’ll make adjustments, and hopefully, come out and play solid from the start.”