Quarantined in Italy: Ex-Stan State standout Koutsoyanopulos awaits restart of season

Aldo Koutsoyanopulos spends about eight months out of the year in Northern Italy. Since 2018, the Stanislaus State alum is a resident of Parma, Italy, from March to October.

After two stellar years as a Warrior, Koutsoyanopulos found a professional career as an outfielder for the Parma Baseball Club in the Italian Baseball League.

However, his third year in Italy started drastically different than the previous two.

Three days after arriving to prepare for the IBL spring training, Koutsoyanopulos found himself sheltered-in-place with roommates in an apartment not far from Nino Cavalli Stadium, the team’s home facility in Parma.

Koutsoyanopulos has been quarantined, with the rest of Northern Italy, since returning from a backpacking trip with friends on March 8 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“When we got back from the mountains, we were notified that the region of Emilia-Romagna, where Parma is, had become a red zone,” the 24-year-old Koutsoyanopulos said. “(There was) no leaving or entering during the quarantine. Baseball activities got shut down immediately after the quarantine was issued.”

Northern Italy was a hot spot in March during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Emilia-Romagna region reported the second-most coronavirus-related deaths in Italy. Neighboring Lombardy was the hardest hit and had been in lockdown since Feb. 22.

As of April 29, nearly 3,500 people have died with more than 25,000 people testing positive in Emilia-Romagna.

Fortunately for Koutsoyanopulos, he has not been infected, but he has seen the devastation around him.

“It seems like an apocalypse,” he recalls. “People are wearing masks to protect themselves. There are long lines to enter the grocery store. I do know a few people who have been tested positive, but no one from my team. Luckily no one I know has died.”

Koutsoyanopulos wasn’t able to leave Italy to return home to Mission Viejo, where his immediate family lives. With the pandemic crisis also escalating in the United States, he felt it would be safer to remain in Parma.

Italian Baseball League starts training May 18

Italy has begun lifting some restrictions of the lockdown. Sports teams will hold training starting on May 18 and the IBL is expected to begin play in mid-June.

Until then, and for the last eight weeks, Koutsoyanopulos has kept up with his workouts at his apartment to make sure he’s ready to get back on the baseball field.

“I have taken this time during the quarantine to physically and mentally prepare myself for the season and for my future in my baseball career,” he said. “Because I have so much time, I am able to take my time and really work on bettering myself. I have been riding the stationary bike for extended periods of time, rolling out, and making sure I get my body feeling ready for the next day of training.”

When not working out, he’s filling the extra time playing video games, eating, or talking with friends and family. He also makes occasional trips — a five-minute bike ride — to the grocery store.

Koutsoyanopulos is eager to return to baseball after enjoying two successful seasons both as a member of the Parma team and the Italy National Team.

In 2018, he was Parma’s most valuable player while leading the team to the IBL Finals, or the Italy Series (Parma lost to Bologna). In 2019, Koutsoyanopulos had a .317 batting average, one of the top hitters on the team while Parma advanced to the league semifinals.

As part of the national team, he played in the 2018 Super6 European tournament in the Netherlands. Italy finished second in the tournament.

Koutsoyanopulos played at Stanislaus State few years back

Koutsoyanopulos is able to play on the national team as an Italian citizen because his mother, Giuliana, is from Trieste, Italy.

“After Stanislaus, I was contacted by the Italian National Team manager Gibo Gerali to see if I was interested in playing in Italy and possibly having an opportunity to play for Team Italy,” he said. “The decision was a no-brainer because of my passion and love for the game of baseball.”

It was also a no-brainer because he loved visiting Italy throughout his life and has learned the Italian language since he was 10 years old. Koutsoyanopulos has family in Trieste, which is about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Parma.

“A large portion of my family still lives in Trieste,” he said.

He also holds a Greek passport and has traveled to Athens, where his father Chris was born and raised.

Koutsoyanopulos was a Stan State Warrior from 2015-17 after transferring from Central Arizona College. As a Warrior, he posted a career batting average of .319 with 88 hits and drove in 45 runs as a regular infielder.

He was a member of the 2017 team that went 34-18 and advanced to the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship tournament. That team featured an “alphabetic soup infield” with tongue-twister names of Koutsoyanopulos, Nick Ippolito, Gino Franceschetti and Adam Nascimento.

Koutsoyanopulos is counting the days to when Italy ends the lockdown so he can get out to the ballpark. He is also looking forward to putting in another solid campaign, even if it’s shortened, before his annual post-season visit in Trieste prior to returning to the United States.

However, with the tightened travel restrictions and uncertainties during this ongoing crisis, he may not be able to return to Southern California.

So, Koutsoyanopulos might have to extend his stay and spend a cold, harsh winter in Northern Italy.