For Immediate Release                                                                                                                  Contact: Chuck Paiva 

April, 5th 2024                                                                                                                                President & General Manager

                                                                                                                                                      401-845-6832// gm@newportgulls.com 

NEWPORT, R.I. - The 2024 season is quickly approaching and the Newport Gulls are getting ready to defend the NECBL title. Last season’s championship marked a league-leading seventh Fay Vincent Sr. Cup. With Opening Day just a few months away, Newport’s roster is taking shape. The Gulls currently have 32 players signed for the upcoming summer. That includes a plethora of new names, a few familiar faces returning to Newport for a second season, and one for his third stint in the white, blue, and orange.

Five players from last year’s championship squad are returning for another summer while 27 new players are set to join Newport. Gulls fans will be happy to hear that Tyler Hare (Wofford) is returning after he led the NECBL with 10 home runs in the regular season last year and added two more in the postseason. The outfielder’s impressive campaign earned him an All-NECBL Second-Team selection. The two returning pitchers are Adam Maher (UMass Dartmouth) and Kade Shatwell (Oklahoma City). Maher appeared in eight games last season and posted an impressive 5-0 record and 1.43 ERA in the regular season. Shatwell was also utilized regularly last year for Newport and wrapped up the season with a 3.79 ERA in 11 appearances, primarily out of the bullpen. Catcher Jacob Burley (Wake Forest) will return for a third summer, and outfielder Niko Brini (UConn) will return for another season.

Newport’s 2024 roster comprises players from 27 different colleges across all three divisions. 28 of the 32 players come from Division I programs while Drew DeLucia plays for Division II Franklin Pierce and returner Adam Maher (UMass Dartmouth) and Jackson Teer (Trinity) are the two Division III players on this year’s team. After playing at Oklahoma State last year, Kade Shatwell now plays for NAIA Oklahoma City University. All four players are pitchers with DeLucia mainly coming out of the bullpen while Maher, Teer, and Shatwell start for their college teams.

Maher and Teer are among the nation’s top division three pitchers, respectfully ranking in the Top 10 of most pitching categories in the entire country. Maher has made four starts for UMass Dartmouth this season. His most recent performance came on March 22 when he hurled a
complete game shutout, striking out 14 opposing hitters. This was one more strikeout than his 13-strikeout outing in his season debut; but only needed five innings on opening day. Teer has similarly kicked off his junior campaign with Trinity putting up incredible stats. In five starts, the right-hander has given up just two earned runs and has struck out 54 batters. That includes a complete game against Wisconsin-Whitewater in which he recorded 20 strikeouts, tying a school record set back in 1965.

Mississippi State and Louisville are the most represented colleges with three players coming to Newport from each school. All three from the Bulldogs are currently freshmen including Nolan Stevens, who was ranked No. 69 in his recruiting class by Perfect Game. All three from the Cardinals are also currently freshmen. The only other college represented by more than one player this summer on the Gulls is the University of Southern California. The two Trojans on the roster are RHP Josh Blum and Catcher Jacob Galloway. Blum has already appeared twelve times out of the bullpen for USC this spring. The junior has recorded 24 strikeouts while walking just five batters this season. Behind the plate doing the catching for Blum is Galloway. The left-hand hitting sophomore leads his team in batting average (.353), home runs (5), and RBI (27)this season after finishing last year with a .365 batting average. A month into the college baseball season, four colleges represented on the Gulls are currently ranked top 25 in the country. Those institutions include Florida State, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State.

In total, Newport’s roster is composed of players from 13 different states. While no players from Rhode Island have been signed, neighboring Massachusetts is the state represented the most with six players coming from The Bay State. The roster is filled with players from coast to coast as California is the second-most represented state. Four players on this summer’s team are from The Golden State.

Newport will have a good mix of younger players and a veteran presence. The Gulls will begin highlighting all the players on the incoming roster individually while the countdown to opening day continues. The “Solar Signings” are Presented by the Solar Division of A1 Roofing and
Construction.

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