Maryland RBI Baseball coaches lead summer collegiate team in Europe

Cummings, Graham to direct Spain’s Sant Boi Falcons in CBLE

DUNKIRK, Md. – Maryland RBI Baseball coaches Mike Graham and Chris Cummings will serve as the coaches for the Sant Boi Barcelona Falcons in the Collegiate Baseball League Europe (CBLE), the organization announced Jan. 20 when it named the coaching staff for its collegiate squads that will compete internationally throughout Europe this summer.

            La Sant Boi de Llobregat is a town of 83,000 people in the Barcelona province in Spain.

            Cummings and Graham—veteran Maryland youth baseball coaches of over 20 years—lead the Maryland RBI Baseball advanced skills development team, which they established in 2009.

            They are entering their 7th year at Maryland RBI, which they manage and coach along with colleagues former pro Jim Hoyer, former college player Jerry Gamblin, and assistant manager Ray Albaugh. Together the coaching staff has achieved a sustained remarkable level of success with Maryland RBI with a record of 219-125 (.637) since 2010, including 34-12 (.739) in 2015.

            In that time, Maryland RBI made 28 tournament appearances, including three Maryland AAU (MD/AAU) State Championships, a Mid-Atlantic regional championship, eight wood bat tournament championships, and six second-place and five final four finishes.

            They received an MD/AAU record-setting number of five consecutive AAU National Championships invitation-only or automatic bids. Maryland RBI advanced to the AAU Super Showcase/Nationals (2013) and underclassmen No. 5 final ranking, and played in three Mid-Atlantic regional championship games in the last six years.

            The quintet for the first time ever was named Maryland AAU Baseball Coaching Staff of the Year this past year. In addition, Cummings was named Maryland AAU Baseball Coach of the Year and Graham nominated for the hall of fame.

            Five of their former Maryland RBI players are currently active on college level rosters, and they have seen a dozen current or former athletes under their leadership sign or commit. Many of their players have been selected to participate in various national, international and collegiate competitions, and received MLB tryout invitations.

            About CBLE

            The Sant Boi Falcons are a member of the CBLE, which was founded by Jan Maarten Kops in 2012 in Oosterhout the Netherlands. The 2015 season featured five teams representing cities in Spain (Barcelona), France (La Rochelle), the Netherlands (Amsterdam and Oosterhout), Austria (Vienna) and Czech Republic (Prague). Rosters include players from all over the world ages 18-24.

            As the only collegiate summer league in "the Old World," CBLE offers collegiate players a high-level baseball experience and cultural exposure to Europe at the same time. CBLE is affiliated with the Northwoods League, one of America’s premier summer collegiate baseball leagues comprising teams of top college players from the Midwestern United States and Southern Canada.