Kingston, R.I. — Long before deciding to join the UConn baseball program as a graduate transfer, Casey Dana got a good hard look at the way the Huskies operate.

Dana played against UConn during his four seasons at Seton Hall.

"They play extremely hard," Dana said of his impressions. "I was very fascinated watching them play and how they just win games. They always find a way to win games."

A visit to the Storrs campus to check out the school, facilities and program convinced Dana to make UConn the next stop in his collegiate baseball journey.

"They were one of the first schools to reach out to me after entering the transfer portal," Dana said. "Once they got me on campus, I learned more about the program and the atmosphere that these coaches provide. It's a winning program. So it was a very easy decision once they got me here."

Dana is one of four new graduate transfers on the roster, joining Ben Huber (Limestone College), Cole Chudoba (Assumption) and Enzo Stefanoni (Harvard). They've all made an impact, helping the Huskies off to an impressive 16-5 start.

In the second game of a weekend series against Rhode Island on Saturday, Huber and Dana started at first base and in right field, respectively, batting third and fourth in the lineup.

Prior to Saturday's 6-2 loss at Bill Beck Field, Huber was batting .312 with four home runs and 16 RBI while Dana had a .288 batting average and team bests in home runs (five) and RBI (22). They both started the first 20 games.

Stefanoni, a right-handed pitcher from Darien with a 2-1 record and 2.86 earned run average, will make his sixth start in Sunday's game against Rhode Island in Storrs. He owns the third best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the country at 32 to 1. Chudoba (1-0, 2.13), who's from Oxford, is primarily a reliever, with six of his seven appearances coming out of the bullpen.

The Huskies have other transfers on the roster as well, including five that started on Saturday. Zach Bushling (Sierra College), Erik Stock (Old Dominion), T.C. Simmons (Grossmont College), Matt Donlan (Stonehill) and David Smith (LaSalle) all came from programs on the Division I or junior college levels.

"I think seven of the nine starters today are transfers of some sort, whether junior college, four-year college or grad student transfers," coach Jim Penders said on Saturday. "And they've had an immense impact. They've got a real presence in the lineup."

Penders and his coaching staff do their homework when it comes to recruiting transfers. They look at far more than just statistics.

A player has to be the right fit for the program, especially a graduate transfer that usually has only one year of eligibility remaining.

Penders looks for a certain level of toughness, thoughtfulness and maturity. He also wants to know why a player is leaving his current school.

"If he says, I really want to play in Omaha (at the College World Series), I want to play a national schedule, I love the way you guys operate, it's like, okay, this guy could be a fit," Penders said. "And they have to be a guy that everybody says is one of the hardest workers on the team and isn't afraid to get dirty and is going to do the little things and is a good teammate.

"As long as there are those things, usually they're going to fit in just fine"

UConn's graduate transfers checked off everything on the Penders' list.

"We're really fortunate in that we identified character traits in each of those guys that weren't going to distract from our ethos, our vision, our character, our culture," Penders said. "They've only added to it. They've added value. They fit in very well. They're hard-working guys.

"This is their last go-around, so they want to make the most of it."

Transfers have been welcomed with open arms by their new UConn teammates, helping to ease the transition.

Dana, an All-Big East second team selection last year at Seton Hall, says they all share a common goal — winning games.

"These guys are great," said Dana, who's from Montgomery, N.Y. "I couldn't ask for a better group of guys. They took me in like I was playing here for four years. It's been awesome."

It's a good sign that Dana noticed during his Seton Hall days what makes UConn a special place to play, according to Penders.

"If he talks about the way that we do things, then he's got a good chance of being the right guy," Penders said. "And he's one of those guys. He's a no-nonsense, real quiet guy. He just does his work and shows up ready to go."

g.keefe@theday.com