Nine Maryland RBI/alums selected for international summer collegiate league

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With the 2016 college and high school baseball season underway, Maryland RBI manager Mike Graham is excited to announce the commitments of nine Maryland RBI baseball players and alumni for the European summer collegiate league team that coaches Chris Cummings, Jim Hoyer and Graham will lead.

The Sant Boi Barcelona Falcons team of the Collegiate Baseball League Europe (CBLE) will have a strong Maryland RBI connection, along with recruits from Georgia, Missouri, California, and European national and club teams, that make up the 18-man collegiate roster.

The list of current and former Maryland RBI players playing in college or 2016 commits includes Brandon Snow (SUNY Farmingdale State College), Dominic Stanbery (Anne Arundel Community College), Brandyn Vogtsberger (Salisbury State University), Connor Graham (Virginia Wesleyan College), CJ Cummings (University of Mary Washington club), Mac McGrath (Eastern University), Jake Hoyer (Towson University club), Jimmie Gentry (Albright College), and Jake Fedorczyk (Anne Arundel Community College).

The remainder of the team will be provided by two European regional or national prospects that host cities may add to each team roster.

"This is a great group of young men," said Graham. "We expect they will do well at the international level. There is always high expectation for Maryland RBI men and playing vs European national and top club players is no different. Each of them are very good at this game and have earned college baseball opportunities and I'm looking forward to working with them in the UK, France, Spain, and the Netherlands this summer."

The CBLE is recognized as a premier international summer collegiate league by college coaches and professional baseball scouts. Teams are made up of players who play college baseball in the United States and Canada or who play for national and club teams in the top leagues across Europe, the Caribbean and Australia. Players from across the world and the USA representing all college divisions are recruited to play in the 6-team loop with teams based in England, France, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Snow (MI/3B, 5-9, 150) plays SS/3B for SUNY Farmingdale State College. He put up impressive numbers as a Northern HS (Owings, Md.) senior in 2015, hitting .508, collecting 32 hits, scoring 21 runs, and had 10 RBI's. He was named Maryland All-District 4, All-Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC), Calvert County (Md.) Athlete of the Year, All-County, Northern HS Baseball MVP, and was a preseason All-State nominee. Snow was named to the 2014 Perfect Game/WWBA 18U National Championship All-Tournament Team with the Demarini Stars Blue team and was the 2012 Maryland AAU Baseball Player of the Year with Maryland RBI.

Stanbery (5-10, 165) went 2-1 as a junior for Northern, throwing 17 1/3 IP for the Patriots. He struck out 7 batters while allowing opposing hitters to hit .307. Stanbery averaged 15.7 pitches per inning, allowed 9.41 hits per seven innings and WHIP (1.63), while making eight appearances. He received Academic All-SMAC second team honors. Stanbery was named Maryland RBI Top Gun/Pitcher of the Year, while also earning Maryland AAU Baseball All-District first team accolades. He was selected for AAU National Underclassmen All-America Honorable Mention in 2013.

Vogtsberger (6-3, 175), Huntingtown HS (Md.) senior RHP, was selected for the Team Maryland Futures Classic and the Mid-Atlantic High School All-Star Game in 2015. He played with the Maryland Monarchs 18U team last year, before that with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Baltimore Orioles scout development team, and was selected 2013 AAU National Underclassmen All-America with Maryland RBI.

As a junior outfielder in 2015, McGrath (6-0, 200) hit .300 with 3 RBIs, 2 runs scored and a double for Northern. He was named first team Academic All-SMAC. Playing OF, catcher and utility infielder in AAU Baseball for Maryland RBI, his line included .346 batting average and 4 doubles, a home run and 8 RBIs. He also played with MVP Baseball (2012-2013) out of Santa Barbara, Calif., which counts MLB’s Carson Fulmer (Chicago White Sox), Ryan Madson (Oakland A’s), CJ Wilson (Anaheim Angels), other pros and NFL quarterback Drew Henson as alumni. McGrath is a 2016 Maryland Division II Unified Weightlifting State Champion.

Graham (OF/MI, 5-10, 150) hit .339 for Northern as a junior outfielder, with 18 RBIs and 18 runs, and led the Patriots in doubles (5) and stolen bases (10) with a .431 OBP. He was named first team All-County, first team Academic All-SMAC and preseason All-State nominee. Graham was selected 2015 Maryland AAU Male Athlete of the Year and Baseball Player of the Year with Maryland RBI playing AAU and in the MLB Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy-centered DC Metro League. He was named AAU National Underclassmen All-America in 2013 and played with MVP Baseball (2012-2014).

Cummings plays 3B/C/RHP for the University of Mary Washington club team. He hit .273 as a senior at Northern with a .304 OBP, and was named first team Academic All-SMAC. He received the Maryland AAU Baseball Outstanding Leadership Award in 2015, while also earning AAU All-District first team accolades.

Hoyer (5-10, 170) pitches and plays OF/1B/LHP for Towson’s intercollegiate club team. He batted .307 as a senior at Broadneck HS with a .417 OBP. He received the Maryland AAU Baseball Outstanding Sportsmanship Award in 2015 and AAU All-District first team honors.

Gentry (5-9, 150) hit .311 last year for Northern. He had 4 doubles, 19 hits in 61 at bats along with 11 RBIs. Gentry was walked 3 times, scored 11 runs and had an on base percentage of .338. He played with the Maryland Monarchs last year and before that with the Arena Starz South, and was a member of the Maryland RBI 19U team that won a third consecutive Maryland AAU State Championship in 2014. He was selected to the 2015 NABF World Series All-Tournament Team.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Fedorczyk (C/IF) put up big numbers for Northern and the Maryland RBI advanced skills development teams in scholastic, AAU Baseball and the MLB Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy-centered DC Metro League posting a slash line of .327/.533/.405 over 67 games, including 10 2B, 3 3B, and 2 HR with 35 RBI and 17 R. He was named Maryland AAU First Team All-District and received the Outstanding Player Award last season after helping lead Maryland RBI to a 34-12 record and MD/AAU wood bat league title. He is a 2016 Maryland Division II Unified Weightlifting State Champion.

Europe doesn’t have college baseball. European prospects play for their national and club teams during the regular season. Like other summer collegiate baseball leagues, the CBLE is dedicated and designed to provide high level competition for 18-26 year old college players that wish to continue into professional baseball.

Notable foreign alumni include Jesse Aussems (Netherlands National Team), Stijn van der Meer (Netherlands National Team), Owen Ozanich (French National Team), Mathew Smith (Adelaide Bite, Australian Baseball League), Quentin Becquey (French National Team), Oscar Combes (French National Team), and Daniel Schmidt (Perth Heat, Australian Baseball League).

The CBLE operates in a similar manner to Minor League Baseball (MiLB) professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below MLB: playing daily in stadiums before fans, using wood bats and MiLB specification equipment, and experiencing road trips between games. Like all other summer collegiate players, they are unpaid and live with host families or other accommodations in largely the same manner as MiLB Class Single-A and Independent League players.

While serving as a crucial international player development tool for the European national teams and clubs, the CBLE also provides expanded opportunities for players from around the world to play summer collegiate baseball in the “Old World.” More information on the CBLE can be found at www.cble.org.