South Brunswick opens 2026 season with new attitude, new coach, as GMC veteran, NJ Hall of Famer Lou Urbano takes the reins

The South Brunswick baseball program isn’t that far removed from a trip to the GMC Tournament finals in 2021, and yet they are.

There’s been a decline in participation, and last season the Vikings won just four games.

Enter Lou Urbano, a Greater Middlesex Conference baseball veteran, who made his name in the northern end of the county, coaching at JFK in the 1980s, Woodbridge and Colonia in the 90s, and St. Joseph-Metuchen into the new century, before going back to Barrons.

Now, he’s at South Brunswick, with his first goal to change the culture, his second to increase the numbers in the program. Do those two things, Urbano says, and the third goal – winning – will take care of itself.

Urbano knows a thing or two about winning. And so do his former players. That’s why one of his first moves was to bring in one of his former players at Woodbridge, Harry Rutkowski, one of the GMC’s all-time greats, who played his college ball at Rutgers.

There’s a lot to do for Urbano, who’s also a football coach, and plans to remain on the staff of Brian Russo at Rahway – yet another Woodbridge connection.

Much of the pitching staff remains, with a number of sophomores and juniors back, including Jack Whitlock and Tyler Skakacs, who combined to throw 40 innings last season.

Their top hitter is Collin Perna, a junior who hit an eye-popping .446 last season with six home runs and 16 runs batted in, for a lineup that struggled to hit .216 last season, and scored just 59 runs.

And moving “down” to the White Division this year won’t necessarily be a cakewalk, but should give the Vikings a bit more breathing room. Yet, they’ll still have to face two of the league’s three 20-game winners from a year ago in Middlesex and Colonia, as well as scrappy Spotswood, the only team to beat the Blue Jays twice last season.

The Vikings open the season Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 with the first of a two-game, home-and-home set with Perth Amboy. They’ll visit the Bay City for Game Two Thursday afternoon, also at 4:30.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with new South Brunswick baseball coach Lou Urbano