Typically mid-December does not feature much in the way of college or high school baseball news, but this was an atypical week. There was some college commitments, some announcements and great news for a Long Island native.
Let’s start with the college commitments…
Ryan Schechner (Bellmore JFK 2020) commits to Division-I Towson University. He is a LHP that works in the low 80s. We named him to our Preseason All-Long Island list back in March and followed it up with a great season. Had a 15-K, 1-hit shutout in his best start of the season.
Justin Doskoez (Eastport-South Manor 2020) commits to Division-III SUNY Purchase. He’s a RHP and the younger brother of Alex, who had an incredible 2018 season for ESM in which they appeared in the Suffolk AA Finals.
Charlie O’Brien (Chaminade 2020) commits to Division-III Hamilton College. After losing many of their starters last season, Chaminade will be counting on some new faces in 2020. O’Brien has an opportunity to play a major role in this. He plays his summer ball for Long Island Elite.
Jake Woods (Ward Melville 2020) commits to Division-II University of Bridgeport.
Kyle Flynn (Garden City 2020) commits to Division-III Vassar College.
Rule 5 Draft
The Rule 5 Draft takes place every year as a way to prevent teams from hoarding prospects in the minors. This is good news for the players, who have a chance to get a big break and play in the big leagues. With the fourth pick in the first round of this year’s draft, the Kansas City Royals selected Stephen Woods (Hills East 2013). This is great news for Woods, who had an incredible 2019 season (1.88 ERA) after missing the entire 2018 season due to injury. He’s a hard-thrower, and on a team like the Royals that are rebuilding, he could be in the big leagues right away otherwise they have to offer him back to Tampa Bay.
O Captain
Rich Ciufo (Pat-Med 2015) was named captain of Brown University. He is regarded as a prolific defensive shortstop and started all 39 games for them last season. It is a pretty high honor for a player to be a captain of a prestigious university.
Schedule Announcements
Hofstra announced their 2020 schedule, they will be opening up their season on Friday, February 14 against Purdue in Sanford, FL with a four-game series. They finished their 2019 season with a record of 18-31-1.
St. John’s announced their 2020 schedule, they will open up their season on Friday, February 14 against Kenneshaw State in Georgia before facing Georgia State and Georgia Tech the next two days.
