Monmouth Baseball announced they have signed eight ballplayers to National Letters of Intent this past Friday, Nov. 13. Monmouth added Jay Bant, Nick Burg, Nick Czarnecki, JD Greeley, Reed Interdonato, Jonathan Peterson, Andew Schmid and Aidan Watson through NLIs.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome this group of fine young men to our program,” said head coach Dean Ehehalt. “They are all outstanding students and of high character. This class will make an immediate impact on the field as well.”
Jay Bant is an infielder from Wall, NJ. He currently plays for Wall High School under the realm of coach James Rochford. In his sophomore season in 2019, Bant hit .341 with two long balls and 27 RBIs. The left-handed hitter also had a slugging percentage of .477.
He led his team to a 27-4 record and helped them win a state championship. Bant also received Shore Conference All-B North Team for his contributions and was also named Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All American in both 2019 and 2020.
Monmouth baseball also inked Nick Burg, a right-handed pitcher from Marlton, NJ. Burg played at Cherokee High School under Marc Petragnani while also playing club ball for the East Coast Lumberjacks.
He won a WWBA Perfect Game 18U Northeast Fall World Series title and was also named to an All-Tournament team in 2017. Just this year, Burg pitched at the Last Dance High School Baseball Tournament where he recorded four strikeouts in three innings to help his team win. He was also named a Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All American in both 2019 and 2020.
Nick Czarnecki played his ball at Hunterdon Central under head coach Kevin Couzzi and competed in club ball with the NJ Diamond Jacks. Czarnecki patrols the outfield and hit .357 in 2018 and improved to .377 in 2019 with seven extra base hits.
After playing four years of varsity ball, Czarenecki earned First-Team All-Conference and First Team All-Area as only a sophomore and helped his team go 44-9 between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, while also clinching a NJ Group Four state title.
JD Greeley was a two-way player who both pitched and played the infield for Pocono Mountain West in Pennsylvania. Under head coach Steve Mason, Greeley hit .442 in his first two seasons while striking out only four times. Greeley is also dangerous on the base paths as he stole 18 bases in 19 attempts.
For his efforts, Greeley was named to the All-Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Third Team and was a Perfect Game Preseason All-American honorable mention.
Reed Interdonato is a right-handed pitcher from Scottsdale, Arizona. He competed at Horizon High School where he played under the coaching of Beau Polvorosa. He also played at the club level for the Scottsdale Firebirds. Interdonato helped his club win a 5A Arizona State Title in 2019 and was a 2020 Preseason Perfect Game Underclassmen All American.
Monmouth will also inked left-handed pitcher Jonathan Peterson from Florham Park, New Jersey. He pitched under Douglas Wear at Hanover Park High School. He was named to Perfect Game All-Tournament Teams twice including at the 17U Mid-Atlantic Elite Championship.
Andrew Schmid is an infielder that played high school ball at Rumson Fair Haven. The Fair Haven native plays ball under former Hawk, Owen Stewart and played club baseball for the 9ers. In 2018, Schmid hit .292 but made a huge jump in 2019 when he hit .385 and launched two home runs balls as well.
Schmid earned a PG Preseason Underclassmen All American, PBR Futures Game choice and a Garden State Games selection.
Aidan Watson is from Morristown, New Jersey and plays for Morristown High School where his head coach is Ed Collins. He also plays at the club level for the Locked In Expos. Watson helped his team to 14 wins as a sophomore and was a Garden State Games selection.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
