CCBL enjoying an influx of talent

The Connecticut Collegiate Baseball League is underway and the competition looks better than ever.

With the Cape Cod League and New England Collegiate Baseball League canceling their 2020 seasons, the CCBL has benefited with an influx of local talent and Division I players.

“We’ve got eight UConn kids, we’ve got five University of Hartford, and nine guys from Central,” CCBL Commissioner Tim Vincent said. “We are typically a Division II and Division III league, this year we have probably 15-20 percent of our players being D-I.”

Across the league’s 10 teams, some of the best Connecticut high school baseball players from the past five years will square off with and against each other yet again.

“I started with a handful of D-II and D-III guys who worked out at the facility,” Hamden Miners GM Tim Binkoski said. “We started making contact with teammates of theirs and the roster started to build. Once COVID came in to play it started to take out the Cape and NECBL because of host families and kids out of state. Our league wound up growing because of how many kids needed a place to play for the summer.”

The CCBL consists of players who are currently in college and incoming college freshmen who graduated high school in 2020.

“I think each team has two or three graduating seniors like Phoenix Billings, who is committed to UConn,” Vincent said. “(Simsbury has) Luke Benneche, who is committed to Lafayette, and they are holding their own in this league.”

The list also includes 2019 Staples graduate Chad Knight, who attended Duke and had planned to play in Cape Cod this summer, but is now a member of the Manchester Eagles.

“The competitiveness is pretty good,” Binkoski said. “We scrimmaged the New Britain Bees (of the Futures League) a few times, and granted it was their first time out in a couple of months, but we held our own against their arms so we have a feeling we will be pretty competitive.”

In the early going this season, the Manchester Meagles lead the pack with a 6-0 record. The Meagles roster is headed by a member of Virginia (ranked No. 25 this past season) and the top rated prep player in Connecticut for the class of 2020.

The Manchester Eagles follow them with a 5-1 record and roster three 2019 MLB draft picks, all of which choose college over affiliated ball.

If you are planning to follow along but do not know where to start, here are 25 of the top players to watch this summer in the CCBL.

BRASS CITY BOMBERS

Luke Shliger (C/IF): The top rated high school catcher in CT and 6th ranked player, the 2020 Trinity Pawling grad out of Danbury will attend Maryland in the fall.

Nick Lorusso (IF/P): The Villanova sophomore was the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2019. Was a 2018 CHSCA Class L AllState selection out of Masuk.

Ben Fero (P): The Stony Brook sophomore earned America East All-Rookie Team honors in 2019 posting a 2.19 ERA in 14 appearances. Was a 2018 CHSCA Class LL All-State selection out of Trumbull.

GLASTONBURY

Tim Pfaffenbichler (P): A redshirt freshman at UConn, Pfaffenbichler missed his senior year at Windsor Locks due to Tommy John surgery, but was named to the 2017 CHSCA Class S All-State Team as a junior.

HAMDEN MINERS

Matt Solomon (IF): Appeared in all 12 games as a freshman for UAlbany at 2B. Solomon hit .450 his senior year at North Haven. Was the 5th ranked shortstop in CT for the class of 2019 according to Perfect Game.

Phoenix Billings (IF): A UConn commit out of Daniel Hand, Billings was the #1 3B in CT and ranked eighth overall for the class of 2020 per Perfect Game.

MANCHESTER EAGLES

Chad Knight (C): The 2019 CT Gatorade player of the year and 31st round draft pick out of Staples homered in his fourth at bat at Duke as a freshman this year before the season was cut short. He was a GametTimeCT 1st Team All-State selection as a two-way player.

Ken Turner (P): Pitched three games for Hartford early in the 2020 season as a freshman after being a GameTimeCT 1st Team All-State selection in 2019. Turner was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 20th round of the 2020 draft out of Ledyard.

Bobby Smarzlak (OF): Was drafted in the 40th round in 2019 out of Westhill. Started in seven games as a freshman at Maryland and hit two home runs in a game against Bryant.

Dave Matthews (IF/ OF): Former Newtown All-State selection, Matthews is a senior at CCSU where he was a 2nd team All-NEC selection in 2019 after slashing .303/.405/ .508 with 7 HRs.

Anthony Mozzicato (P): Started three games as a freshman for CCSU earning NEC Rookie of the Week and was a two-time CHSCA Class M All-State Team honoree for East Catholic.

Kevin Ferrer (OF): Got his first career hit for UConn against No. 1 Michigan as a redshirt freshman in 2020. Was a 2018 GameTimeCT 2nd team All-State selection.

MANCHESTER MAVERICKS

Jack Carraturo (P): Appeared in four games for CCSU as a freshman in the shortened 2020 season. Was a 2019 GameTimeCT 1st team All-State Selection after going 5-2 with a 1.35 ERA and 102Ks in 62 IP for Bethel.

Trystan Levesque (P): A freshman at URI in 2020, Levesque was selected to the 2019 CHSCA Class L All-State Team for East Lyme.

Leo Socci (RHP/MI): Ranked the 12th best high school player in CT by Perfect Game, Socci will attend UConn in the fall after a strong career for Brunswick.

MANCHESTER MEAGLES

Jake DeLeo (OF): The top high school (Avon Old Farms) player in the state and 11th best outfielder in his class according to Perfect Game, the Norwalk native was draft eligible in 2020 but made it clear he would be honoring his commitment to Georgia Tech.

Jimmy Sullivan (OF): A sophomore at Virginia, Sullivan homered four times in 10 games in 2020. Was a 2018 GameTimeCT All-State selection and led Wethersfield to its first state championship.

Will Nowak (P): A 2019 America East All-Rookie Team selection for Hartford. Has a career 1.96 ERA in 46 IP. Nowak was named to the 2018 GameTimeCT All-State Team out of South Windsor.

Will Gersky (IF): Was a 2019 Under Armour PreSeason All-American selection out of Avon Old Farms. Gersky was a freshman at Georgetown in the shortened 2020 season.

Will Lucas (P): Made the switch to the mound as a sophomore for UConn in 2020 against Vanderbilt with 2 scoreless innings. Lucas also earned the win and K’d six in 2.1 innings against No. 1 Michigan before COVID. Was a 2017 and 2018 CHSCA All-State Selection for Fairfield Prep.

SIMSBURY SABERCATS

Nolan Morr (P): A fouryear starter at Avon Old Farms, Morr was named to the 2018 Founders League All-League Team. Had his college debut for Lafayette recording 4Ks in 2.1 IP against Towson.

Luke Benneche (P/OF): A 2020 graduate out of Simsbury, Benneche is Committed to Lafayette and is ranked the 12th RHP in Connecticut.

Lucas LaTrenta (C): Slashed .333/.429/.595 with 3 HRs in 12 games as a freshman at Villanova and was named a 2020 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. Broke George Springer’s walk record at Avon Old Farms and hit 5 HRs in 20 games his senior year.

SOUTHINGTON SHOCK

John Mikosz (P): The Wheaton junior started 11 games in 2019 with a 3.12 ERA and was named to the NEWMAC 1st Team AllConference list. 2017 CHSCA Class LL All-State selection for Southington.

TOBACCO VALLEY RENEGADES

Parker Hansen (P): Made three appearances out of the pen for Bryant in 2020 as a freshman. Was a 2019 GameTimeCT 2nd team All-State selection for Granby Memorial.