It’s been a long road back to the mound for Hofstra University’s Sean Hamilton. After struggling his freshman year in 2023 and pitching to an 8.82 ERA over 10 appearances, Hamilton was ready for a bounce back sophomore year to establish himself in the Pride’s pitching staff. Just before the start of the 2024 season, he was hit with the three worst words a pitcher can hear: Tommy John surgery.
“It was painful,” Hamilton said. “After my freshman season, that summer, I worked really hard. I came back in the fall, [and] I was throwing harder. I had command of my curveball [and] everything was going great. I was working my way to being a weekend starter and then right after Christmas, I started feeling forearm pain.”
Hamilton went to two different doctors before seeing a Metabolic Equivalent Tasks surgeon. He was sent to get an MRI and was ultimately given the news that he would need surgery on his UCL and would miss the entire season.
“That was kind of crushing,” Hamilton said.
Any pitcher faced with Tommy John can easily feel defeated, knowing their year is done before it’s even started, but Hofstra’s head coach Frank Catalanotto noticed the opposite from Hamilton.
“He had blinders on, [and] he was so focused on getting better,” Catalanotto said. “He kept telling me ‘I’m going to be ahead of schedule,’ and he was dedicated to making sure he came back stronger than ever.”
Tommy John surgery has a typical recovery time of 12 to 15 months, so Hamilton knew that the mental battle was going to be just as important as the physical rehab.
“I wanted to stay positive … the whole time,” Hamilton said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs, but you can’t let the downs drag you down because then you’re not going to recover as well.”
During the season, Hamilton could regularly be seen in the press box at University Field, talking about baseball, his teammates and his recovery while being in control of the walk-up music of each Hofstra batter and in-between innings.
“It was fun to see because sometimes if you’re not playing or hurt, ‘woe was me’ can be the feeling, but he was never like that,” Catalanotto said. “He was just excited to get his work in and obviously, when he was around the team, he was supportive of his teammates.”
With so much time off from pitching, Hamilton found new ways to improve his game without having to throw.
“Sitting out last year, you get a perspective on the game, you get to watch other guys play and succeed and learn from their success,” Hamilton said. “Carlos [Martinez] last year … he really performed amazingly all conference. So, getting to watch him pitch, learning from how he threw his sequences helped me a lot last year.”
Martinez was a bright spot on the Pride’s pitching staff last season, ranking in the top 10 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) for wins, ERA and innings pitched enroute to an All-CAA First Team selection. He fell victim to the dreaded Tommy John surgery as well, undergoing the operation during the off-season, keeping him sidelined for the entire 2025 season.
“You see the growth and the maturity,” Catalanotto said. “Now, since we have some other guys going through the same thing with Tommy John surgery, you see him talking to those guys and telling them what to expect and having his arm around them. He’s a good leader for this team.”
Martinez and Hamilton’s relationship goes back further than their time at Hofstra, playing together since they were 15-years-old, only adding to the impact they’ve had on each other in their time of greatest need.
“It’s great because we’re so close,” Hamilton said. “We can bounce anything off each other. I asked him questions about last year, he asked me about my recovery. It sucks that we both went through it, but we can both learn from each other and improve for next year.”
Even after missing an entire season, Hamilton’s experience, albeit off the field, has him prepared to take on a larger role on the pitching staff.
“I feel like I’ve become more of a leader,” Hamilton said. “I’ve become a lot more confident in myself, my stuff and my abilities. All my pitches, now I have full command over them a lot better than I did before surgery.”
Hamilton made his first appearance of the season on Tuesday, March 11, against Fairfield University. He is now able to bring his positive, team-first attitude directly to the field.
“He’s a great kid, a leader [and] the guys look up to him. He’s definitely a future captain,” Catalanotto said after Hamilton’s first start of the season against Seton Hall University on Tuesday, March 25.
Hamilton ultimately got a no-decision in that game, but was the first player out of the dugout to welcome his teammates after every inning.
“When [the team] sees him doing that, it gets everyone involved and they want to do the same thing,” Catalanotto said.
After nearly 22 months away from in-game action, there’s nothing that can keep Hamilton away from the game he loves.
“It’s a great feeling,” Hamilton said about being cleared to throw for the first time after surgery. “[I] live to play the game. I love being here, playing the game and getting to compete … I just want to win. That’s the whole reason everybody is out here playing every day: to win. Any way I can help the team win is exciting.”
