Boston College baseball was active at National Signing Day on Tuesday, signing eight players to its 2021 recruiting class.
Five of the eight players are pitchers, a promising sign for BC given the team’s recent pitching struggles. The Eagles compiled a team ERA of 5.77 in their 15 games last season, a mark that ranked 224th among all Division I baseball programs. BC was not much better in the years prior, with a 5.30 team ERA in 2019 and a 5.21 mark in 2018.
All eight players hail from the Northeast. Four are from New Jersey, three from Massachusetts, and one from Connecticut.
The five pitchers are Luke Delongchamp (Holden, Mass.), Matt Nunan (Ocean City, N.J.), Eric Schroeder (Ridgewood, N.J.), and Julian Tonghini (New Canaan, Conn.).
While the baseball recruiting website Perfect Game ranks BC’s class 84th in the nation, a lower mark than the Eagles earned for their 2018 to 2020 classes, the low ranking is primarily a result of the relatively small class size. BC brought in over 10 players in each of the three previous recruiting classes.
Perfect Game ranks all recruits on a 15-point scale that assigns players points based on their national ranking. Players ranked between 401st and 450th in the nation earn four points, and BC’s recruits averaged 3.88 points. The 2021 class’s average is higher than that of any Eagles’ classes since 2011.
For context, Vanderbilt’s 2021 class ranked first in the nation with an average score of 9.86 points.
Apart from the five pitchers, BC also signed three infielders: Aidan Harrington (Millis, Mass.), Chris Markovich (Lebanon, N.J), and Sam McNulty (Cambridge, Mass.).
Florida State has the fourth ranked class in the nation, the highest of any Atlantic Coast program. Louisville, Clemson, and Miami also signed top-15 classes.
BC’s class ranked last among all ACC teams and over 50 spots behind every program except Pittsburgh, a sign of how large the gap is between the Eagles and their conference opponents.
Despite their continued mediocrity on the recruiting trail, this fall has been an exciting one for Birdball, as the Eagles returned to the field after their spring season was cut short due to COVID-19. The Pete Frates Center, a 31,000-square foot facility which just opened, will be critical for the program during the winter months.
Featured Image by Ikram Ali / Heights Editor
