Ben Leeds • Editor-in-Chief • Volleyball Beat Writer
Ben is a senior from Trumbull, Connecticut, majoring in Communication with a dual concentration in Sports Communication and Public Relations. After joining Center Field near the end of his freshman year, he helped cover women’s lacrosse games and has been the beat writer for Marist’s volleyball team since his sophomore year. After two years as associate editor, Ben was named the publication’s editor-in-chief ahead of his senior year at Marist. Ben is a fan of the Yankees, Rangers, Giants and Knicks and will gladly argue that those are the core four New York.
Cara Lacey • Managing Editor • Women’s Soccer Beat Writer
Cara is a senior from Breezy Point, New York, majoring in Communications with concentrations in Sports Communication and Advertising with a minor in Environmental Studies. Cara joined Center Field towards the very end of her freshman year, after interviewing for the role of director of social media. During her first two full years at Center Field she covered the Water Polo team. Cara’s favorite sports teams are the Islanders, Yankees, and Giants. She always has too much faith in the Giants.
Jaylen Rizzo • Director Of Multimedia
Jaylen is a junior from North Haledon, New Jersey. She is majoring in Sports Communication with minors in photography and graphic design. She is also a Sports Information Assistant for Marist Athletics and a freelance concert photographer for local north Jersey publications. After graduation, she hopes to work for the NHL or continue to work in college athletics. She is a die-hard New York Rangers fan and also supports the Yankees.
Max Rosen• Associate Editor • Basketball Beat Writer
Max is a junior from Huntington Station, New York majoring in Communications with concentrations in Sports Communication, Journalism and Public Relations. He joined the Center Field team as a freshman by helping cover the baseball team and is also a member of the club baseball team at Marist. He is a massive New York Mets fan and also roots for the New York Giants.
Hayden Shapiro • Assistant Editor • Football Beat Writer
Hayden is a junior from Warren, New Jersey majoring in Communications with a concentration in Sports Communications. Hayden serves as the football beat writer for Center Field. His passion for the game of football goes beyond rooting for his favorite team, the Carolina Panthers, as he loves to evaluate talent at every level, specifically focusing on NFL Draft prospects. Hayden also wishes he could go back in time and make Cam Newton jump on the fumble that ultimately led to the Panthers losing Super Bowl 50.
August Lieberman • Assistant Editor
August is a junior from New York City with a double concentration in journalism and sports communication; August formerly covered the Women’s Lacrosse team. He is unfortunately a Giants fan but proudly an OKC Thunder fan.
Gene Barbieri • Associate Multimedia Director
Gene is a senior from Hawthorne, New Jersey, majoring in Communication with a concentration in Sports Communication. He has been creating graphics, podcasts, and behind the scenes content for Center Field since his sophomore year. He is also the executive producer of the Red Fox Report and can often be found at the corner right computer in the Lowell Thomas Studio. Gene is a die hard Yankees fan, and hopes to one day work for ESPN, MLB Network, or any other major broadcast network.
Quinn DiFiore • Assistant Director of Multimedia
Quinn is a Sophomore from North Attleboro, Massachusetts, majoring in Communication with a dual concentration in Sports and Advertising as well as a minor in Graphic Design. He joined Center Field at the beginning of his freshman year and started off making various graphics for feature stories. By the end of the year, he got to design the cover for the annual Center Field Magazine. He is a diehard Boston sports fan and will always argue that Boston has better sports teams than New York.
Ryan Eichem • Assistant Editor • Men’s Soccer Beat Writer
Ryan is a Sports Communication and Journalism student minoring in Spanish. He is from Philadelphia and loves the Philly Union and the Cubs.
Nate Shoemaker • Copy Editor
Nate is sophomore from Albany NY majoring in Communication with a concentration in sports communication and Journalism. Nate is a passionate Red Sox fan and LeBron James fan. Nate believes that LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time.
Mike Duda • Copy Editor
Mike is a sophomore from New Hyde Park, New York, majoring in Communications with concentrations in Sports Communication and Journalism with a minor in Political Science. Mike joined Center Field at the beginning of his freshman year, first writing for the Volleyball Roundtable. During his first year with Center Field, he covered softball, baseball, and the water polo MAAC championship. He is a massive New York Mets and New York Jets fan that also roots for the New York Knicks and New York Islanders and hopes to work for the Mets after graduation.
Ava Battinelli • Assistant Editor
Ava is a senior from New Jersey, majoring in communications with a concentration in journalism and a minor in photography. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Marist Circle and joined Center Field as an editor ahead of her senior year.
Leander Schaerlaeckens • Faculty Advisor
Leander Schaerlaeckens is a Professional Lecturer in Sports Communication at Marist and serves as the faculty advisor to Center Field. He’s also the soccer columnist at Yahoo Sports and previously worked at ESPN and FOX Sports. His writing has appeared in the New York Times and ESPN The Magazine and was twice noted in the Best American Sports Writing anthology.