Club Baseball at SU Brings a Special Opportunity to Students Club Baseball at SU Brings a Special Opportunity to Students

The #3 ranked Orange begin their season on April 1st.

SYRACUSE, NY — Syracuse University is the only school in the Atlantic Coast Conference that does not have a Division 1 baseball team.
 
As a school that is well known for sending people into the Sports industry, thanks to the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, there are many students that played baseball in their youth that stopped in order to attend Syracuse University and work in the sport instead of continuing to play.
 
However, for a handful of SU students, heading to campus is not the end of their baseball careers. SU offers a great way for students to continue playing, with the club baseball team.
 
Junior Will Giffin is the perfect example. His senior year of high school was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Giffin said that he never really got the closure that he needed from the game.
 
He tried out for club baseball his freshman year at SU, and it has been a great opportunity for him to continue his love for the game, as well as build relationships that he will have forever.
 
“It’s just a great way to have another social scene, hang out but still play the game you love. I’ve loved every second of it,” Giffin said.
The Club Baseball team has a nearly full roster of almost 25 players, and plays against schools from all over the country of all different sizes. (Credit: Matt Zumbolo)
Senior MP Geiss said that he expected to find himself on a collegiate baseball roster. He says he has loved the game for years and would often be the kid playing with a baseball in class.
 
Since Geiss joined SU club baseball freshman year, he has seen it grow into a top five team.
 
“Now we’re really good… We’re top 10 nationally. So now it’s exciting because we have alumni who come back and say ‘Hey, I played for SU baseball like 30-40 years ago. You guys are now good again, like, what’s going on let’s bring this program back to life again,'” Geiss said.
The players love Club Baseball because they are able to just relax and have fun at practice and enjoy the game that they all have grown up playing. (Credit: Matt Zumbolo)
SU Club Baseball is currently ranked 3rd in Division II of its league, the National Collegiate Baseball Association.
 
Senior first baseman and pitcher Lewis DeAngelis says that it was an exhilarating feeling to see that number three ranking.
 
“We don’t really get much recognition here, it’s a cold school, we don’t have a varsity team here, and just seeing that ranking, knowing that all the hard work we put in, it was great to see,” DeAngelis said.
 
The Orange start their spring campaign on April 1, with a weekend Series at SUNY Cortland, the first stop on their journey to the NCBA World Series.

LEWIS DEANGELIS – We don’t really get much recognition here. Its a cold school, we don’t have a varsity team here. Just seeing that ranking, knowing that all the hard work we put it, it was great to see.

WILL GIFFEN – Its been pretty big. My senior year of high school was the COVID one so I didn’t really have the closure with the game per say. A bunch of the guys I met freshman year, we all decided we wanted to try out together. Worked out great, we all made it and I’ve made a bunch of my best friends through that. Just a great way to have another social scene, hang out, but also play the game you love.

MP GEISS – And now were really good we’re like top 10 nationally. So now its exciting because we have alumni that come back and say hey, I played for SU Baseball like 30-40 years ago, you guys are now good like what’s going on lets bring this program back to life again.

WILL GIFFEN – I mean we were fired up. Its our first year back in NCBA so there’s a lot of expectations. We had a decent year last year kinda fell through in some areas in tournaments but we were excited about this year, great freshman class and we knew we were gonna be good and we kinda proved it to start the year. Hopefully the ranking is only going to go up. Big series against Cortland, we gotta win those and go to the playoffs and keep proving it.

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