Coming out of St. John the Baptist, Brian McLaughlin was more than capable at playing at many major baseball programs. He spent four years playing under one of the brightest baseball minds on the island in John Habyan and had the type of power that coaches fawn over.
He knew, however, that someday baseball might not always be there for him.
He decided to go to the school that not only offered him the best chance to pursue a career in engineering, but where he could also play baseball so he chose SUNY Maritime.
“I don’t regret a single day that I spent there,” he said in regards to his decision. “There was some good schools but Maritime represented something different. I knew it was the best option,” he added.
He is coming off a decorated career in which he re-wrote the record books for the program. He is now the career-leader in hits (156), doubles (30), HRs (14), RBI (112) and total bases (234). His senior season was one for the ages.
He became the first player in program history to be named All-American. The St. John the Baptist grad won the Skyline Conference triple crown with an absurd batting average of .450, smacking nine HR and driving in 51 runs. He led the Privateers to their first Conference championship with a 14-2 victory over Mount St. Mary’s.
When he stepped onto the baseball field for the first time, Maritime was considered a long way from competing with the heavyweights in the conferences such as Farmingdale State, SUNY Old Westbury and St. Joseph’s College.
After Head Coach Charlie Barbieri took over, he noted that things changed. In just three years, they were able to go from also-rans to Conference champs.
“It was unbelievable how Charlie took a team that had never had a winning season to two 22+ win seasons and taking down Skyline powerhouses. He brought the team together and never had a doubt in his mind that we would be successful. It was unbelievable to play for him for three years,” he added.
Equally impressive is the fact that McLaughlin had such a stellar season without playing baseball last summer. While being in the school’s engineering program, he had to honor his obligation to go on a three-month long senior cruise, which prevented him from playing any form of organized ball.
“I worked out on the ship. I did lots of weight training and conditioning–more than I’ve ever done. This is definitely the strongest I’ve ever been. That probably played a role into the season I had,” he added.
Since his amazing season concluded last month, he’s been getting showered with accolades from all of the publications including ABCA, ECAC and d3baseball.com. For good measure, he participated in our Battle of the Border this week and he smacked a two-run single and was named Most Valuable Player of the game.
“It was great seeing all the other great college seniors from Long Island. I enjoyed every second of it,” he added.
Now that his playing career is complete, he noted that he is a “bit disappointed but it was a great way to end it.”
He is confident that the Maritime baseball program is about to enter a very prosperous period.
“We had started to get some publication because of our high mid-career salary and now winning the championship just adds to it. Many more talented players are now going to choose Maritime.”
While the Privateers will certainly miss his bat in the lineup, they will return virtually all of their impact players and they will certainly be contenders next year as well.
