By Ava Geaniotis

College is expected to set students up for their approaching careers, but for one particular Adelphi alumnus, a class assignment launched his future business.

Vincent Messana, ‘13, founded Axcess Baseball, a year-round, go-to media coverage source for amateur baseball on Long Island, in 2017. However, it started as an idea for a project in Blodgett Hall in 2013.

Messana came to Adelphi in Fall 2011 to play baseball. A journalism major, he was a transfer student from another college where they didn’t have a school paper. During his time at Adelphi, Messana combined his passions for sports and for writing by becoming The Delphian sports editor.

During his senior year in 2013, Messana was a student in Professor Mark Grabowski’s Web Journalism class. One of their assignments was to start a blog with a niche subject.

Messana chose baseball.

Messana created Baseball on The Island in 2013 and incorporated it in 2015. In 2017, he grew his vision into Axcess Baseball.

Recently, Messana returned to Blodgett Hall to speak to students in the communications department’s Social Media Lab class. He gave advice about perseverance, building a brand, establishing an effective social media presence, finding sponsors and hosting events.

The Delphian’s social media editor, Ciara Salinas, interviews Vincent Messana following his presentation. Salinas is also a student in the Social Media Lab class.

Messana stressed the importance of having a presence on all social media sites but keeping track of where your audience is. That way, content creators can focus their efforts on platforms that are most popular and profitable. Specifically, he explained that high schoolers are most active on TikTok and Instagram, but that game coverage was most impactful on X and hosting podcasts.

When he started, Messana said he wanted to do everything himself for his business, and although he is still its front-facing man, he learned he realistically couldn’t do everything at once. He described anxiety over stagnation and a constant pressure to deliver content. So, he had to learn how to build consistent content ideas and delegate responsibilities.

For example, during off-seasons, Messana supplements Axcess Baseball with pitching lessons, which helps him create content. Axcess Baseball also created a series named “Where Are They Now” that looks back on top players from the past.

Axcess Baseball also hosts events – such as their Axcess Awards Banquet and ALS Charity Games – that celebrate top performers and build community. Even though there are many moving parts to live events and there is constant pressure to deliver, Messana said that they are worthwhile.

Senior communications major and Social Media Lab student Miguel Cuevas found Messana’s advice very influential. Cuevas said that he also took Web Journalism with Professor Grabowski a year ago and that he had that same blog assignment. Hearing Messana’s story, Cuevas said, “You can get to anywhere you want to be as long as you put your mind to it.”

What stood out to Cuevas most was that Messana didn’t have a straight line to success – Axcess Baseball took many forms over many years to find what worked best and become what it is today.

“That really gave me a fire under me to keep going, keep practicing what I do,” Cuevas said.

To students looking for a career in journalism, Messana said, “Just start.”

“Some [people] just kind of have a fear of failing and not being successful or trying something new, putting yourself out there,” Messana added. “But you just have to try, because you’re not going to know where it’s going to lead you.”