ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Rising senior infielder Brendan Munnelly has been named as the team captain for the 2025 Navy baseball season, head coach Chuck Ristano announced Monday.
 
"Being named captain for this team is no doubt the greatest honor of my life," said Munnelly. "I am very fortunate to be surrounded by such great teammates who push me to be better every day and I owe everything to them, while this coaching staff and support staff have worked tirelessly to support us and have given us all the means to carry on the Navy Baseball legacy. There is no other group of guys that I would want to be shoulder-to-shoulder with."
 
A two-year letterwinner, Munnelly has been a crucial part of the team's leadership and served a supporting role during the Midshipmen's run to the 2024 Patriot League Championship Series. Seeing action in the infield in each of his first three seasons at Navy, Munnelly has shown versatility for the Navy defense while also battling through injuries.
 
An operations research major, Munnelly is also an Annapolis native and a Naval Academy legacy, with his mother, Christie, being an USNA Class of 1992 graduate.
 
"Brendan's selection as team captain for the 2025 season is a testament to who he is as a person, player, and aspiring officer," said Ristano. "He effortlessly demonstrates leadership characteristics that make our job as coaches much easier. He is organized, a tireless worker and always puts the needs of the group in front of his own interests. More than anything, he has tremendous self-awareness and feel. He always knows what to say, when to say it and how to deliver the message. He also understands that actions speak louder than words, and he continually demonstrates our program and institutional ideals by how he lives his life and impacts others around him. The level of respect he commands allows him to seamlessly have formal and informal interactions with ease. This is a tremendous honor and one that Brendan is most certainly worthy of."
 
Navy posted a 28-23 record in Ristano's debut season at the helm, capping it off with the Mids' first appearance in the league championship series since 2019.