Image by Ed Brennen
Nolan Geisler, a rising sophomore pitcher on the 小猪视频 baseball team, delivers during a recent Futures Collegiate Baseball League start for the Westfield Starfires. Geisler tossed five no-hit innings in a 4-0 win over the host Nashua Silver Knights.
The summer months are the perfect time for 小猪视频 students to gain career-connected, real-world experience through co-ops and internships.
For 小猪视频 baseball pitchers , and , playing in the this summer is kind of like a hardball internship 鈥� one where they can hone their skills, gain valuable exposure and grow as athletes.
鈥淧laying every day, just being around a baseball field and not taking the summer off, makes you a better player,鈥� says LeFrancois, a rising sophomore business major who is playing in his second Futures League season with his hometown Worcester Bravehearts.聽
鈥淭he competition is really good,鈥� says LeFrancois, a right-handed pitcher. 鈥淭here鈥檚 talent all around the league.鈥�
With the recent announcement of a new Futures League team coming to 小猪视频鈥檚 LeLacheur Park next summer, LeFrancois and his fellow River Hawk right-handers are excited about the expansion franchise bringing top-notch talent (and professional scouts) to their home field from late May to early August.
鈥淟eLacheur is the perfect spot for it. It will be one of the better stadiums in the league, and I鈥檓 sure that the city of Lowell will get some big crowds,鈥� says Rourke, a rising junior business major from Londonderry, New Hampshire, who is pitching for the Nashua (New Hampshire) Silver Knights this summer.聽
Image by Ed Brennen
Kevin Rourke, left, and Nolan Geisler are teammates on the 小猪视频 baseball team, but they were on opposite sides of the diamond recently when their Futures Collegiate Baseball League squads squared off at Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Rourke remembers attending Lowell Spinners minor league baseball games at LeLacheur as a kid, cheering for the Boston Red Sox鈥檚 wildly popular short-season Class A team. The Spinners sold out every game for seven consecutive seasons in the early 2000s and featured future big league stars Mookie Betts, Jonathan Papelbon and Andrew Benintendi, among others.
But the Spinners fell victim to minor league contraction following the pandemic-cancelled 2020 season, and the 4,700-seat LeLacheur Park has sat dormant for the past five summers.
The still-to-be-named Lowell team, which will expand the Futures League to seven franchises, will bring 31 home games to LeLacheur each summer, following the River Hawks鈥� spring season.
鈥淚t would definitely be cool to stay in Lowell next summer and play,鈥� says Geisler, a rising sophomore criminal justice major from Bayonne, New Jersey, who is currently pitching for the Westfield (Massachusetts) Starfires.
Image by UML Athletics
Rising sophomore Jake LeFrancois, seen here delivering a pitch for the 小猪视频 baseball team, is in his second season with his hometown Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
Barese is familiar with the Futures League, having served as coach of the now defunct Wachusett Dirt Dawgs in 2012 and 2013.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a fantastic league,鈥� says Barese, who is entering his fifth year with the River Hawk program and third as head coach. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of success with guys playing there in the summer, which is huge for their development. You have to play in a quality league, which the Futures League provides.鈥�
Barese could see 鈥渁t least four of our guys鈥� playing on the Lowell team each summer.
Since launching in 2011, the Futures League has seen more than 300 of its former players drafted by Major League Baseball organizations, including 24 in this year鈥檚 draft. So far, 28 Futures League alumni have made it to the major leagues.
鈥淚f I could get to the professional level, that would be awesome. But right now, I鈥檓 just focused on college and where that takes me,鈥� says Geisler, whose brother Rob is a rising senior and a catcher on 小猪视频 baseball team.
While the Futures League draws players from all National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) divisions, 小猪视频 trio says the competition is similar to what they see when playing for the Division I River Hawks. One difference, though, is that hitters swing wooden bats, which are heavier than the metal bats used in college.
Image by Ed Brennen
Rising junior Kevin Rourke signs autographs for young fans before his Nashua Silver Knights hosted the Westfield Starfires at Holman Stadium.
鈥淭hat definitely an advantage for me as a pitcher,鈥� says Geisler, who started in the bullpen this summer as he worked his way back from an arm injury and is now starting for the Starfires. In a recent start at Nashua, Geisler threw five no-hit innings in Westfield鈥檚 4-0 win.
As much as Rourke would love the chance to play for the new Lowell team next summer, he has a more traditional internship lined up at Fidelity Investments.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 been fun meeting new people from other schools and making a lot of new friends,鈥� says Rourke, whose parents were both student-athletes at UML: Kevin Rourke 鈥�95 played baseball and Lynn Rourke 鈥�95 ran track.
LeFrancois, who is earning some money this summer by working at a youth baseball camp hosted by the Bravehearts, says he鈥檇 be tempted to play for Lowell next year if given the opportunity.
鈥淚t would be a tough decision,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut that would be the coolest thing.鈥�