UConn Baseball Recruiting and Commitment Thread

[huskymedic]

 

[BaseballDog]

Good pick up, plays 2 way in HS but projects as a RHP at the D1 level. His brother Bryce plays D3 at USM.

 

[Stainmaster]

So the Huskies will have players from Mansfield, MA and Windham, ME coming to campus in the fall of 2021. Ironic.

 

[Steve UConn72]

Both PerfectGame.org and PrepBaseballReport.com are reporting another UConn commitment.

Brady Afthim, RHP/catcher, High School Class of 2021 from Windham High School in Maine.

Brady Afthim Class of 2021 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA

Brady Afthim Class of 2021 Perfect Game Player Profile

www.perfectgame.org

Here is an almost two year old comment from his profile on PrepBaseballReport.com:

>9/16/18

5-foot-10, 155-pound right-handed hitting catcher and pitcher. Ran a 7.7 sixty at the event. Behind the plate he showed well, pop time of 2.1 and threw 78 mph down to second base. The transfer and feet can continue to improve behind the dish as he matures. The receiving is trending upward and he shows the ability to handle the glove. The bat has a tee exit velocity of 80 mph. The setup is even in base, the front foot takes a small step to the ball. The path is long, however, the hands work freely. The frame needs additional strength added to it to aid the development of the bat. On the mound, the the fastball sat 81-83 mph, minimal arm side run to the pitch. The spin pitch is 65-68 mph, good shape to it. The changeup is a developing pitch. The delivery is online with his feet, above ¾ in slot. The glove comes across the hitters face, adding deception. The lift is repeated, small head lean as the arm comes through. The arm is really quick and he showed very well at a young age.

Tee Exit Velocity- 80 mph
Catching Velocity- 78 mph
Pop Time- 2.1
60 Time- 7.7<

Brady Afthim

www.prepbaseballreport.com

Normally I would look for confirmation elsewhere as well since both these websites get these commitments wrong on occasion. Since both websites are reporting on this commitment, we'll take it.

Windham High School is about 15 minutes from me. I'll have to check out this future Husky when and if there's a 2021 season. There is some talk about flipping the seasons, moving low contact sports (e.g. baseball) to the fall, and high contact sports (e.g., football) to the spring.

 

[dbmill]

PerfectGame.org rankings of recruits sometimes become visible to those who don't pay for the premium service. Here are their rankings for various UConn recruits that the website list for next season. Calvin Ziegler had been rated at 492 the last time these rankings were visible:

346 - Adrian Siravo - RHP
350 - Calvin Ziegler - RHP

Top 500, which seems to work out more to the 500 to 999 range:

Hector Alejandro - RHP
Phoenix Billings - 3B
Bobby McBride - RHP
Brendan O'Donnell - LHP
Bryan Padilla - SS
Leo Socci - RHP
Joe Wozny - RHP

Top 1000 - which seems to be over 1000:

Mitchell Pascarella - RHP

University of Connecticut - Perfect Game Baseball Player College Commitments

Perfect Game

www.perfectgame.org

 

[Fairfield_1st]

There is some talk about flipping the seasons, moving low contact sports (e.g. baseball) to the fall, and high contact sports (e.g., football) to the spring.

Makes sense. Surprised I hadn't heard this here too.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Makes sense. Surprised I hadn't heard this here too.

That idea has been batted around by the NJ High School association, though seems to be unlikely at this time.

 

[dbmill]

UConn baseball seems to be expanding its recruiting footprint a bit. Ramsey Collins is a RHP, high school class of 2021, James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia.

 

[dbmill]

From the Comments section of Noah Sorensen's profile on Prepbaseballreport.com

>6/25/19
An athletic lean build at 6-foot-0, 160 pounds. Ran a 7.31 in the 60 yard dash. Offensively- Stands in the box with a slight bend in the knees. Loose hands. Simple load actions. Takes a short stride towards the pitcher before attacking the baseball. Quick direct path to the baseball. Gets good full extension after the point of contact. Gets good use of the lower half. Top exit velocity was 82 MPH. Defensively- Showed active footwork. Showed above average funnel actions. Moves well side to side. Shows a smooth transition and throws from a high ¾ arm slot. Top throwing velocity was 75 MPH. The 2022 graduate is a must follow.<

Noah Sorensen

www.prepbaseballreport.com

 

[Tmill15]

Noah Sorensen Class of 2022 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA

 

[dbmill]

Adrian Siravo is no longer a UConn baseball recruit according to this tweet from him. Instead, Siravo is going to a junior college in Texas.

 

[huskymedic]

Adrian Siravo is no longer a UConn baseball recruit according to this tweet from him. Instead, Siravo is going to a junior college in Texas.

Well... since it’s JUCO, maybe he’ll be back (c’mon, doesn’t hurt to be an optimist @ heart).

 

[Tmill15]

With Adrian Siravo’s de-commitment from UConn, this is our class of 2020 update... this also includes incoming transfers.

 

[Tmill15]

I personally liked Siravo. I wonder what the main reason was that he had to de-commit but nonetheless, he’s a top 500 guy according to perfect game and the top guy out of NH. Could always potentially come back

 

[UConNick]

I wonder if he was anticipating getting drafted and going pro (of course, that went off the rails w/ 5 rounds instead of 40) and is now going JuCo to get another shot as quickly as possible.

Or, it could be academic. Or literally anything. Whatever it is, I'm a little sad as he was a highly-regarded recruit, but wish him nothing but the best. I'm sure Penders will have a good gameplan regardless.

 

[dbmill]

I wonder if he was anticipating getting drafted and going pro (of course, that went off the rails w/ 5 rounds instead of 40) and is now going JuCo to get another shot as quickly as possible.

Or, it could be academic. Or literally anything. Whatever it is, I'm a little sad as he was a highly-regarded recruit, but wish him nothing but the best. I'm sure Penders will have a good gameplan regardless.

I would think Adrian Siravo wants to keep his options to go pro open. If he came to UConn, he would have to wait until after his Junior year to go pro. JUCO players can pretty much go pro after each JUCO season.

Obviously it would have been better with Siravo, but it looks like to me UConn has plenty of quality depth on its pitching staff for the coming season. At this point UConn has only lost Krauth to the pros, and they had plenty of good looking arms to play around with before this past season ended prematurely. Plus Ben Casparius is now eligible to play.

 

[Tmill15]

In regards to my class of 2020 update, I made a mistake as Joe Wozny is a class of 2021. He may have reclassified to 2021 as he is listed on Prep Baseball Report as a 2020 and a 2021 on Perfect Game. We now have 10 incoming freshman. His Instagram shows he is a 2021 high school grad

 

[dbmill]

 

[UConNick]

Playing at McMahon (Daniello's alma mater), nice! Site of my first home run on the normal-sized field.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

Maddix Dalena, 1B/3B, Class of 2022, from Montoursville High School in Pennsylvania.

From the comments section of his profile on PrepBaseballreport.com

>2/29/20
Physical: 6-foot-3, 225-pounds. Long, physical frame. 7.62 runner in the 60; 4.43 home-to-1B.
Offensively: LHH. Tall, upright, slightly open stance with an even base, bat rests on his back shoulder, uses a small bat waggle on load along with a small stride for timing Fast hands, barrel clears the zone quickly, barrel plane is flat to the hitting zone and works uphill at finish. Hard contact up the middle to his pull side. 96 MPH raw exit velocity.
Defensively: Smooth footwork, fields the ball off-center on his glove foot, light on his feet. Short arm swing with a low 3/4 arm slot. INF - 76 MPH.

2/16/19
6-foot-3, 220-pound left-handed hitter took one of the more impressive rounds of batting practice over the two days of the event, showcasing present power to the pull side and the ability to stay in the zone for long periods of time. He starts from a slightly open stance and utilizes a leg-hang stride to begin his swing. Showed rhythm and balance with a solid feel for the barrel. Registered a 91 mph bat exit velocity and ran a 7.86 60-yard dash. Displayed capable feet and glove work around the bag at first base with accurate 76 mph arm strength across the diamond. Definite power bat to follow in this class.<

Maddix Dalena

www.prepbaseballreport.com

 

[Tmill15]

This guy is very similar to CCSU’s post draft signee TT Bowens. I love this kids size and sheer power. The 96mph exit velocity is massive considering he is only going to be a junior in the fall.

 

[uconnbaseball]

This guy is very similar to CCSU’s post draft signee TT Bowens. I love this kids size and sheer power. The 96mph exit velocity is massive considering he is only going to be a junior in the fall.

Yep - with that size and raw power, he reminds me of those of those Oklahoma State dudes we saw a couple years ago. Hopefully he doesn't strike out as much

 

[uconnbaseball]

 

[kris1]