Where are they now
Where Are They Now Powered by Prime Performance: Jake Thomas
(This is the third installment of “Where Are They Now” in which we catch up with some of the great players in Long Island history. Previously, we featured James Bailin and Jeff Tyler. Thank you to Prime Performance for sponsoring this year’s series.) The Early Days Jake Thomas was raised in Merrick, NY. He is the youngest of two children, his sister being one year older. After moving a few times during his youth, Jake’s family settled in Merrick when he was in 3rd grade. He was a die-hard sports fan, he also played hockey and football until high school. His favorite team was the New York Yankees. At the first baseball game he attended in 2nd grade, he was fortunate enough to get Jorge Posada to give him his game used bat when he wished him a Happy Birthday prior to ...
Where Are They Now Powered by Prime Performance: Jeff Tyler
Jeff Tyler always found a way to win. Whether it was during his storied high school career for the MacArthur Generals or in college for the Adelphi Panthers there was often a W next to his name in the box score. In fact, even long after his career ended he still found a way to be the winning pitcher. That’s right, even at Adelphi’s Alumni day many years after his final competitive pitch, he was able to hawk a win against Adelphi’s current team. Jeff Tyler owns Long Island’s record for the most wins in a varsity career with 32. He played during the height of Levittown’s special run in which he led the Generals to back-to-back Long Island Championships in 1993 and 1994. But to understand the full story, you must start from the beginning. The Early Days Tyler was...
Where Are They Now Powered by Prime Performance: James Bailin
(Special thanks to Prime Performance for sponsoring this year’s “Where Are They Now” You can check them out by clicking here.) Photo Credit: Newsday/Bill Davis 29-0. There’s a beauty in perfection. It is elusive in the game of baseball – a game that is designed to include failures and to humble every player. For Division Ave HS in 1996, there was no such failures. The Blue Dragons went wire-to-wire not losing one game. In fact, they only played in one game that was decided by one run. They scored 325 runs during the regular season and often were up by double digits before their starting pitcher took the mound. And their starting pitchers usually only needed one or two runs to begin with. One of their starters, James Bailin, was untouchable that season as he fi...
Where Are They Now: Bryan Verbitsky
Bryan Verbitsky has a claim for the best high school career on Long Island of this century. He was a two-time Diamond Award recipient – given annually to the top player in Nassau County. He led Island Trees to a County Championship in 2007 over Clarke. He ended his career with his name all over the record books at Island Trees – finishing first in home runs (30), hits (136), ABs (319), runs (129), second in SBs (45) and fourth in ERA (1.90). Simply put, he had one of the finest careers a high school player can have. Additionally, and this is something that often gets forgotten – he did so when the conference was talent-based, meaning he performed exceptionally against the best players in the county. “There were no gimme wins in the league,” said Verbitsky. Many people that played baseball ...
Where Are They Now: Chris Gannon
(Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on February, 13, 2024.) In what remains the last County Championship for Hauppauge, Chris Gannon put together one of the finest seasons in Long Island history. He played CF and batted leadoff – hitting .483 with 5 HRs, 10 triples, 7 doubles, scoring an incredible 55 runs, drawing 27 walks, 42 hits and drove in 32 runs. The Eagles went 21-5 for the second straight year and successfully defended their title as Suffolk County Champs, this time against future MLB draft pick Tim Layden from Deer Park at Ducks Stadium. Surely, a player of that ilk would go on to play Division-I baseball before continuing his career in pro ball. For Gannon, however, his true love was not baseball, but soccer. He also starred on the Hauppauge boy’s soccer...
Where Are They Now: Matt Daley
Thousands upon thousands of boys grow up dreaming to play Major League Baseball. Very few are talented enough to even play at the collegiate level. Truly passionate baseball fans will still try to find a way into the industry through a position as a journalist, a scout or if they are intelligent enough, a front office position. Garden City alum Matt Daley is in the very, very small subsection of the baseball world that was both talented enough to play at the big league level while being intelligent enough to transition into a front office position for the New York Yankees. If that sounds difficult to do, that’s because it is. Most organization are looking for highly-educated individuals with economic degrees or MBAs as opposed to a former player that simply has an eye for talent. Dal...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Chris Gannon
In what remains the last County Championship for Hauppauge, Chris Gannon put together one of the finest seasons in Long Island history. He played CF and batted leadoff – hitting .483 with 5 HRs, 10 triples, 7 doubles, scoring an incredible 55 runs, drawing 27 walks, 42 hits and drove in 32 runs. The Eagles went 21-5 for the second straight year and successfully defended their title as Suffolk County Champs, this time against future MLB draft pick Tim Layden from Deer Park at Ducks Stadium. Surely, a player of that ilk would go on to play Division-I baseball before continuing his career in pro ball. For Gannon, however, his true love was not baseball, but soccer. He also starred on the Hauppauge boy’s soccer team where he was a two-time Long Island Champ. Ultimately, those two y...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Nick Clark
(Photo Credit: Cosmic Fox Media) When it comes to sliding door moments – this one might top the list. During his senior season at West Babylon HS, Nick Clark had already decided he wanted to attend Adelphi University to play basketball. His dream was to play in the NBA. Despite West Babylon’s outstanding team – they won the Suffolk County Championship in 1993 and 1994 – he did not have plans to continue his career after graduation. As fate would have it, legendary Adelphi baseball coach Ron Davies, was attending his West Babylon game to watch his teammate, Mike Rayola. Clark had what he described as his “best game of the year” and Coach Davies asked him if he’d be interested in playing baseball at Adelphi University. Clark responded that he was alr...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Bryan Verbitsky
Bryan Verbitsky has a claim for the best high school career on Long Island of this century. He was a two-time Diamond Award recipient – given annually to the top player in Nassau County. He led Island Trees to a County Championship in 2007 over Clarke. He ended his career with his name all over the record books at Island Trees – finishing first in home runs (30), hits (136), ABs (319), runs (129), second in SBs (45) and fourth in ERA (1.90). Simply put, he had one of the finest careers a high school player can have. Additionally, and this is something that often gets forgotten – he did so when the conference was talent-based, meaning he performed exceptionally against the best players in the county. “There were no gimme wins in the league,” said Verbitsky. Man...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Kyle Gelling
It’s rare that you can truly say you work at your dream job. Long Island native and former Division-I baseball player, Kyle Gelling, has the distinction of being able to say that as he has established himself working at Barstool Sports since 2018. While luck certainly plays a part in finding the perfect job, Kyle put himself into that position through relentlessly pursuing his passion of working in sports and has reaped the rewards of that work. But to understand how he got there, you need to know where he started. The Early Days Kyle was born and raised in West Islip, the second of two children, his sister being 10 years older. He always had a love for sports – specifically baseball and football. His father split season tickets with a group of friends and he was able to attend...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Matt Crohan
During the summer of 2012, Matt Crohan had a routine that was unique for a 16-year-old. As one of the top prep left-handed pitchers in the country, everyone wanted to see him play against the best competition and that happened to be in the south. “I used to fly to Florida on Fridays and wait to hear where I was pitching the next day,” said Crohan. “I would pitch a couple innings, then I would hang out for the next couple days until it was time to go home,” he added. That was during a time in his life in which his name became increasingly more synonymous with the best amateurs in the nation. On one particular weekend, he recalled flying to Fort Myers, FL to pitch in a Perfect Game tournament in which he threw four shutout innings with nine strikeouts, allowing just one hit and one walk. His...
Where Are They Now Powered by The BK7 Brand: Luke Stampfl
Flying out to left field in your final collegiate at bat is not the Hollywood ending most imagine. Especially not when you were already 3-for-4 with a home run over 400 feet in that game. And it’s in an elimination game at Clemson in the NCAA Regional. But St. John’s grad student Luke Stampfl still smiled as he rounded first base. Partially because he said it was his hardest hit ball of the day – even factoring in the home run – and partially knowing that he gave absolutely everything that he had – and that included months of grueling pain that he endured from a cyst on his tailbone, which overlapped with his recovering from a deep bone bruise on his knee after fouling a ball off. Stampfl had a career that most players dream of – playing five years of Division-I at two of New York’s finest...
