Less than a year ago, Eddie Emerson’s best prospects for playing college baseball were at the Division III level.
On Wednesday, the former Lewiston High School pitcher made a verbal commitment to accept a partial scholarship from the University of Maine.
It will be a welcome homecoming for the 6-foot-3, 180-pound left-hander, who is attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
“Being in Florida, I kind of miss it,” Emerson said of Maine. “I’ve always been a huge Maine hockey fan, a Black Bear fan in general.”
UMaine head coach Steve Trimper is prohibited by NCAA rules from talking about a recruit until the university has received his signed National Letter of Intent. The late signing period begins April 15.
Emerson appears to be a bit of a late bloomer as a pitcher. His development stems from his commitment to concentrating solely on baseball and playing at a higher level.
Rather than play American Legion baseball last summer, he joined the Zone Selects team based in Massachusetts and also did some Perfect Game events. It was then he caught the attention of the UMaine coaching staff.
Sensing that a full-time commitment to baseball might enhance his college opportunities, Emerson enrolled last year at IMG Academy, which has a postgraduate price tag for baseball of $65,500. The school combines academics and a highly developed athletic experience.
The baseball competition has been an an eye-opener for Emerson.
“You’re thrown into the fire pretty quickly. The whole fall schedule is playing junior colleges in Florida,” he explained. “You’ve really got to learn to keep the ball down and you’re pitching to full lineups,” rather than high school teams that usually have less punch near the bottom of the batting order.
Emerson said he has seen a significant improvement in his pitching, having boosted his fastball by 4-5 mph to get up into the upper 80s.
“I think my stuff’s getting better,” he said. “I think my curveball’s still my best pitch and they [UMaine coaches] like that a lot.”
His IMG Academy team is scheduled to play 55 games this spring, but Emerson has been shut down of late due to some tendinitis. He said a magnetic resonance imaging test did not reveal any serious issues.
Emerson, who was a quarterback, an all-conference punter and an all-academic selection at Lewiston High, also was a defenseman on the Blue Devils’ hockey squad. This summer, he plans to play for Northeast Baseball, a team based in the Boston area that competes against other ballclubs dotted with players who have committed to Division I programs.
Emerson’s participation at UMaine is contingent upon his acceptance by the school and compliance with NCAA initial-eligibility guidelines.
UMaine names new assistant track coach
Former Bowdoin assistant coach Christopher Flynn has been hired as an assistant track and field coach at the University of Maine, head coach Mark Lech announced Friday.
Flynn was responsible for recruiting student-athletes and coordinating the training of sprinters and jumpers for both the men’s and women’s programs at Bowdoin. He was also responsible for the strength and conditioning of the sprinters and jumpers. He assisted in meet management for all home track and cross country meets.
Flynn was at Bowdoin for a year and a half and also served as an assistant coach at Springfield (Mass.) College for two years. He was a four-year student-athlete at Westfield (Mass.) State College.
UMaine softball games cancelled
The University of Maine softball series at Quinnipiac at noon Sunday has been canceled.
The Black Bears will hold a scrimmage at 10 a.m. Saturday against Husson inside the Mahaney Dome in Orono.