The Gannon Knights baseball team is entering the 2022 season with a new face and a new direction.  

Gannon will be led by new head coach DJ Cannon in the 2022 season. 

Cannon was previously the head coach at Chatham University and found great success with its program at the Division III level and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. 

Now Cannon is looking to carry that success over to the Division II level.  

That is the task Cannon said he is thrilled to take on. 

“I am honestly just excited to get out on the field with this group of guys.” said Cannon. “It has been great getting to work with these guys and prepare for the season.” 

Cannon said that energy revolved around seeing what can be accomplished against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition.  

Last season, Gannon finished with an 18-17 record, including a 16-12 record in conference play that was good enough for a fourth-place finish in the PSAC Western Division. 

The Knights boast a very experienced roster that figures to keep them competitive throughout the season. 

Cannon said returning players will be key to the team’s success.  

“We have a veteran group of guys that have played a lot of college baseball and have experienced success over the past few seasons.” Cannon said. “We have a lot of guys that have made the sacrifice to come back and utilize extra years of competition from redshirts or due to losing the 2020 season and are committed to push this program forward.” 

Cannon said he feels the hunger to succeed will lead to big accomplishments.  

“Our veteran leadership will definitely be a strength that will help propel us throughout this season,” he said. 

Part of that experience includes preseason All-American pitcher Deven Judy. The redshirt senior hurled 55 innings last season and struck out 66 batters en route to an earned run average of 3.27.  

Judy also threw four complete games, two of them being shutouts. 

On the other side of the diamond, redshirt junior Brandon Weatherholt led the charge for the Knights offensively.  

Weatherholt had a .319 average and ripped a team-leading five home runs. 

These veterans will help lead the Knights through a very tough PSAC and help develop younger players whom Cannon thinks will get some playing time. 

“Despite having a lot of veterans, I believe we will have a number of new guys that come in and make an impact.” Cannon said. “We have a couple young pitchers that will get an opportunity early to earn roles. 

“With so many games in Florida, we will mix up the lineup and see who will win jobs and earn more opportunities going forward.” 

At the end of the day, Cannon said he wants his team to take it day by day, so it can make a run in a tough conference and possibly see an NCAA tournament appearance. 

“As cliche as it sounds, we need to stay focused on getting better every day; we will be tested early with a tough schedule in Florida,” Cannon said.  

“This will be a great opportunity to learn a lot about ourselves and get a taste for what it will take to be successful in our conference schedule. As always, our conference will be very strong this year, so just taking it game by game and staying even keel will be very important. I am very excited to see what we can accomplish as a group this year and cannot wait to get on the field.” 

Gannon opens its season in Winter Haven, Fla., on Feb. 27 at the Russ-Matt Invitational and will take on the Oilers from the University of Findlay. The Knights are scheduled to play eight games in Florida through March 5 and will open their home schedule March 19 with a doubleheader against D’Youville. 

TIMOTHY CORSO 

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