BOSTON - Suffolk baseball rising junior Brady Chant has a signed a temporary 15-day contract with the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) for the summer of 2016.
Chant was a first-team selection ABCA/Rawlings All-Region selection by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) for his 2016 campaign. The centerfielder finished the season with 99 total bases and is third among all NCAA Division III players with nine triples on the season, which also led the New England region. Chant was a first-team all-conference selection by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) and also earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors following a four-game stretch during the championship run as he hit at a .588 (10-for-17) clip with eight runs scored, four doubles and also hit a go-ahead two run homer in Suffolk's 7-4 semifinals victory over Lasell. Chant was 7-for-9 in Sunday's two championship games going 5-for-5 in game one with a pair of RBI and also two runs scored. He was 2-for-4 in the clincher with his third double of the day and scored three times in the win. He led Suffolk in both hits (65) and runs scored (49), which were also both conference highs, while slugging at a .556 clip. His 21 stolen bases on the year are also a team-high as Suffolk set a program record with 95 total during the season. His 65 hits on the season were the seventh most by a player in Suffolk's 69-year program history. Chant, a gold glove selection by the GNAC, also led all outfielders in New England with 127 putouts on the season.
He will report to Wachusett on Sunday, May 29 as the Dirt Dawgs open up their 56-game regular season on Wednesday, June 1 when they host the Bristol Blues at Doyle Field in Leominster.
Founded in 2011, the FCBL is a wood-bat summer collegiate league comprised of 10 franchises in the New England region.
Chant is the third Suffolk player to join a FCBL franchise joining Josh Desai who helped lead the Worcester Bravehearts to a league title in the summer of 2014, and Jhonneris Mendez who pitched with the North Shore Navigators along with Desai in the summer of 2012. Other Suffolk players to appear in NCAA-affiliated wood-bat summer collegiate leagues include: Jon Lapolla (Olean Oilers/NYCBL - 2015), Josh Desai (Winchester Royals/Valley League – 2013), Jake Cintolo (Syracuse Salt Cats/NYCBL -2012, Winchester Royals/Valley League – 2013), Jhonneris Mendez (Holyoke Blue Sox/NECBL – 2012), Devan Jones (Oneonta Outlaws/NYCBL – 2011, Harwich Mariners/Cape Cod Baseball League -2012), Reid Jackson (Bennington Bombers/NYCBL – 2007), Greg DiMarco (New Bern River Bats/Coast Plains -2007), Steve Durant (Columbus All-Americans/Great Lakes – 2006,2007), Nick Martinho (Columbus All-Americans/Great Lakes -2006), Rony Mercado (Lima Locos/Great Lakes – 2005), Anthony Del Prete (Orleans Cardinals/Cape Cod -2002, Columbus All-Americans/Great Lakes – 2003).
Suffolk finished the season with a 33-13 overall record, the second highest win total among New England teams and were ranked sixth in the final NEIBA regional poll. Suffolk captured the program's sixth GNAC Conference Championship and also appeared the NCAA Division New England Regional Tournament for a sixth time making their first-ever consecutive appearance.