Melillo will be returning to the City by the Sea for his second stint with the Gulls this summer. Melillo, the Gulls primary catcher last summer, appeared in 32 games, starting 29 of them, and batted .283 (30-for-106) with 10 runs scored, six doubles, one triple, one home run, 13 RBI and one stolen base.

Melillo is coming off a standout junior campaign at Rutgers, in which he was one of 12 catchers to be named to the official watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, which honors the top catcher in Division I college baseball. Melillo appeared in 49 games, starting 47 of them behind the plate, and established new career-highs in every offensive category. Melillo batted .322 (57-for-177) with 35 runs scored, 10 doubles, four home runs and 30  RBI as a junior.

Melillo’s brother, Mike, played two seasons with the Newport Gulls from 2008-09. Mike was the MVP of the 2008 NECBL All-Star Game and helped lead the Gulls to their fourth NECBL title in 2009. Melillo’s father, Gerry, was a teammate of Gulls owners Chuck Paiva and Ron Westmoreland at Eckerd College. Gerry was also a teammate of Gulls owner Chris Patsos with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.