‘No Other Place Like It’ Mancinelli Says Of The Naval Academy

Brian Mancinelli RHP / 1B / St John Paul ll, MA / 2026

FALMOUTH, Ma. - Brian Mancinelli has a great understanding of what attending the Naval Academy means.

“There is no other place like it,” the St. John Paul II High School junior said. “All other schools hold similar characteristics to each other but they don’t relate to Navy. They value more than what others stand for.”

The chance to play baseball at the Patriot League university was a no-brainer for the ninth-ranked 2026 right-handed pitcher in New England.

“This is an unreal opportunity for me with baseball and as an individual leading into my adulthood,” Mancinelli explained. “I’m not making the decision for the next four years, it was for four-plus. Five years are required after that. It’s a big decision for a 17-year-old to make, but there’s no other place like it to grow as a baseball player and as an adult for my future.”

A connection with Navy was initially made in a “unique” way according to Mancinelli.

“It all started with a retired admiral who lives at Cape Cod in the summer where I live,” Mancinelli reflected. “I’ve been mowing his lawn for four years and he liked me for who I am. He said my name to a Navy baseball coach at an event and then after that they saw me at the Future Games for the first time.”

Conversation followed, with Mancinelli’s high school coach and club coach passing along their views on the 15th-rated junior in Massachusetts.

“They like me for who I am,” Mancinelli said in regards to Navy. “I was told by a coach several times, to be recruited by Navy it’s not just about being a baseball player. You’re a leader, someone strong mentally and physically. They believe in me as somebody that stands out, not just somebody looking to play college baseball for four years.”

Northeastern was the only other offer the 24th-ranked 2026 in New England had besides Navy.

“There were a few more in the works,” Mancinelli pointed out. “A bunch saw me at the Future Games. That event is what put me out there to schools.

“I was shocked,” added Mancinelli in reference to interest he was given once college coaches could make contact with players in the 2026 class on Aug. 1. “I had no clue. All of a sudden I’m talking to schools that maybe I didn’t even think of, schools that saw me at the Future Games. It was quite interesting. That first week of August coaches were calling and texting, getting to know who I am and it just went from there.”

It was in eighth grade when college baseball became something Mancinelli believed was in his future.

“That’s the year I thought this was going to happen,” the fifth-rated junior RHP in Massachusetts related. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk to a commitment, but I had the sense I had a chance to play at the collegiate level.”

Getting his game better from that point on benefitted the cause.

“The biggest thing was trusting myself, trusting what I have done and trusting who I will be,” Mancinelli explained. “I try to look at myself as a person and baseball player three or four years down the road. That’s how I pitch. Trust myself and attack. I definitely get analytical, but then just go out and pitch.”

Admittedly, the challenges ahead are steep according to the 6-2 182-pounder.

“I know the first year will be challenging and the summer leading into it, but I’m somebody who puts his head down,” Mancinelli explained. “I don’t have parents or family that have been in the military, but I believe part of me was made for it. Forcing myself to learn and overcome these challenges will make me a great baseball player and a better person in society.”

A commitment to the Naval Academy brought on a “weird” feeling according to Mancinelli.

“I’ve always been somebody who keeps working, so to be sealed up was kind of weird,” Mancinelli said. “But it’s amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I’m not a recruitable player anymore.”

A 3.7 student in high school who lives eight hours from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Mancinelli looks forward to a future in the military.

“The whole reason behind the school is to be different,” Mancinelli concluded. “When I made my decision it was the Naval Academy or not the Naval Academy. There is no other place like it. If I turned it down I was closing the door for no other place like it for me. This will set me up for life.”