Canton Baseball Players to Receive SUNYAC Award of Valor June 1

Canton Sports Information Department

Syracuse, NY – SUNY Canton baseball players Sal Diaz, Johnathan Guerrero and Jared Paone have been chosen as recipients of the 2026 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Award of Valor. The award, which originated in 2003, is presented to those who have used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome a life-altering event, and whose ability to overcome obstacles has served as an inspiration to others.

Diaz, Guerrero and Paone will be recognized by the conference and the SUNYAC Governing Body, along with the other 2026 award recipients, at the SUNYAC Awards Banquet in Syracuse on June 1, 2026. Watch the awards banquet live here and check out photos here.

The below story written by Canton Senior Media Relations Manager Greg Kie illustrates the obstacles that Diaz, Guerrero and Paone have had to overcome and how they serve as an inspiration to others.

Hard of Hearing SUNY Canton Student-Athletes Break the Baseball Sound Barrier

Head Coach Ryan Stevens helps the team build a culture of inclusivity beyond spoken words. 

Canton, NY – Communication was imperative for three hard of hearing student-athletes as they found their home at SUNY Canton. A welcoming culture and new technologies have helped create an inclusive environment under Head Baseball Coach Ryan Stevens.

Salvador (Sal) Diaz, a senior Health and Fitness Promotion major from Norwalk, Calif., and Johnathan Guerrero, a junior Sports Management major from Indio, Calif., both joined Stevens when he began leading the Canton team in 2024. The coach met the students when Stevens' previous team from Wells College played Gallaudet University, one of the nation's leading centers of higher education for deaf and hard of hearing students. Gallaudet shut down its baseball program, leaving the players without a team. Stevens also recruited Jared Paone of Marblehead, Mass., in 2024 at a Coastal Carolina Baseball Camp Showcase and Paone joined the team in 2025.

"What initially drew me to Sal, Johnny, and Jared was how well they play the game," Stevens said. "Their skill and competitiveness stood out right away. I wasn't thinking about their ability to hear, I was focused on how they could help our team and the kind of players, the kind of people, they are."

Diaz is one of the team's captains and the starting catcher. Guerrero is a left-handed pitcher. Paone, who can also pitch, typically plays first or third base. All three players also hit, and Diaz led the SUNYAC with seven home runs, a .697 slugging percentage and 18 extra-base hits in the regular season, while leading the team in numerous categories including batting average (.374) and on-base percentage (.496). None of the players thought their hearing put them at a disadvantage.

Diaz has put together an impressive resume in his short time with the Roos. He was named to the D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region First and Second Teams, respectively as well as SUNYAC First Team All-Conference following the 2026 season. In his first season with the Roos in 2025 he was named the SUNY Canton Athletics department's Co-Male Student-Athlete of the Year and earned All-Region honors from D3baseball.com and the ABCA. Diaz also received the college's Phoenix Award, which is given in recognition of students who have persisted through personal or academic challenges and have gone on to find success while enrolled at the college.

"SUNY Canton has been a really good environment for me," Diaz said, noting he had some concerns about fitting into the community when he first came to college. "You see the baseball guys; they were really friendly."

While practice-time communications remained largely unchanged with the three teammates, the coach needed a different solution for game-day pitch calls. SUNY Canton's Student Accessibility Services Director Megan Riedl and the Canton College Foundation purchased PitchCom one-way wrist communication devices to alleviate the strain on in-game communications without violating NCAA regulations.

"Our goal is to make certain our students have access to all aspects of higher education, including athletics," Riedl said. "I'm continually impressed that SUNY Canton's staff are so forward thinking and supportive of our students."

Diaz, who wears the PitchCom device on the outside of his catcher's mitt, said he relies on the vibrations to stay in sync with his coach and teammates. "It's quick and easy," he said. "As long as the catcher and the pitcher are able to agree on one pitch, we move on."

Before implementing the new technology, Guerrero would use American Sign Language (ASL) to signal Diaz. "We were using ASL as a way of communicating," Guerrero said. "We can't hear in the rain because we take out our hearing aids. The watches are a big upgrade for the sport of baseball."

The pitcher noted that the team still uses ASL alongside the new technology. Some signs are becoming universal among the whole team as they relay quick in-game communications.

Guerrero joined the Roos just after having ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in his elbow, commonly known as Tommy John surgery. "I was at my weakest mentally, physically and emotionally," he recalled. "That was my rock bottom right there."

This spring, in a triumphant first time back on the mound, he pitched five innings and allowed only one run during a spring break matchup against The University of Olivet. The Roos went on to win the game. Following his strong return, he started seven games, pitching a total of 40.2 innings.

As one of the newest members of the team, Paone ranked second on the team in both batting average (.346) and on-base percentage (.485) appearing in 31 games. He recorded 28 hits, 14 runs and drove in 13 more on his way to being named SUNYAC First Team All-Conference. The freshman said that although he was new to the team, he felt a bond with his teammates.

"We really have come together as a family," he said, noting that the camaraderie he felt was larger than just the relationship between the three hard of hearing players. "I feel like we have a relationship, and everyone gets along really well. On the field, we always pick each other up when someone messes up or gets a little upset."

Guerrero said the inclusivity he witnessed transcended baseball and offered advice to anyone considering playing for the Roos. "Just always know they're not alone in this school," he said. "If you come here, regardless of the sports, background, culture, whatever, just know that you're never going to be viewed differently by anyone at the school."

Paone added, "Everyone is very welcoming here."

Diaz, Guerrero and Paone were nominated for the SUNYAC Award of Valor by Assistant AD for Communications and Marketing Nate Hart.