CLICK HERE to sign up for National Scouting Report–the nation’s No. 1 scouting agency. If you are a talented player that is serious about playing at the next level, they will land you a scholarship.
It was not long ago that Keith Couch was a young hurler walking onto the Adelphi baseball field for the first time as a big-time recruit from Holy Trinity high school.
Couch became a mainstay in the Adelphi rotation for three years. He ended up compiling a 2.24 ERA over 76 innings in his junior year for the Panthers with 83 K’s. The Boston Red Sox saw enough value in him to select him with their 13th round pick in 2010.
Now having six years of professional experience under his belt, he is working on his own project and it involves developing another Holy Trinity right handed pitcher that is playing for his college alma mater.
Danny Taggart, coming off a four-win season in his senior year, is a part of a tremendous class of freshman for the Panthers that has the team feeling confident they can compete with the likes of Franklin Pierce and Stonehill.
“All of the freshman believe that we can compete right away. Our team has really gelled together and I believe that we have the talent to win the NE-10 title and hopefully make some noise in the NCAA tournament this year. The level of competition at practice has been through the roof since I got here and I can’t wait to see what we can do during the spring season.
The group also consists of Mike Demarest, Brandon Morse, Thomas Colombo, Jordan Milo, Ed Baram and Brett Malm. They have a chance to be a special group. Adelphi has not had a class like this in close to a decade. Taggart noted that this factored into his decision to attend Adelphi.
If the Panthers can get Taggart to turn into his mentor, they will really have something. The two have a close relationship, and Taggart stated he is “somebody that I look up to.”
He went on to add that “I only hope that with hard work and dedication I can follow in his footsteps and get drafted.”
Adelphi does have a track record of getting their top players drafted. In 2014, outfielder Cliff Brantley was selected in the 19th round by the Toronto Blue Jays after hitting .405 in his only season as a Panther.
The previous year, closer Dillon McNamara was selected by the New York Yankees in the 27th round after allowing just one run over 32 innings with 43 strikeouts.
The list goes on, but the point is that if you can dominate the Northeast-10, scouts will be there and will be looking to draft you.
With this type of freshman class, there may be a herd of scouts behind home plate at William J. Bonomo field in Spring ’18.