A Thesis Could Be Written on Haverford College’s Influence in Baseball (New York Times)

Former Haverford baseball players have enjoyed much success in various careers, and many of them have gone on to prominent careers in baseball, including...

Haverford Alumni Working in Major League Baseball

• Ron Shapiro ’64 (Attorney, Sports Agent, Best-Selling Author)
• Tony Petitti ’83 (Commissioner, Big Ten Conference; former Chief Operating Officer, Major League Baseball; former President/CEO, MLB Network)
• Josh Byrnes ’92 (Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations, Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Jon Fetterolf ’93 (Attorney & Sports Agent, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP)
• Thad Levine ’94 (Senior Vice President & General Manager, Minnesota Twins)
• Tal Alter ’98 (CEO, Washington Nationals Foundation and Youth Baseball Academy)
• Ryan Isaac ’98 (Former Director of Baseball Operations, Arizona Diamondbacks)
• John Bramlette ’00 (Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Washington Nationals)
• Eric Lee ’04 (Former Senior Director of Player Development, Cincinnati Reds)
• Nick Chanock ’05 (Sports Agent, Wasserman Media Group)
• Jeff Graupe ’06 (Vice President of Player Personnel, Cincinnati Reds)
• Tim McLean ’06 (Baseball Relations Specialist, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP)
• Nat Ballenberg ’07 (Assistant Pitching Coordinator, Minnesota Twins)
• Jamie Hollowell ’09 (Former Manager of Baseball Research & Development, Colorado Rockies)
• Jeremy Zoll ’12 (Assistant General Manager, Minnesota Twins)
• Jake Chaplin ’12 (Minor League Mental Skills Coordinator, Boston Red Sox)
• Josh Studnitzer ’14 (Manager, Major League Hitting Strategy & Analysis, Philadelphia Phillies)
• Tommy Bergjans ’15 (Coordinator, Player Development, Minnesota Twins)
• Stephen Ridings ’17 (Former Pitcher, New York Yankees)
• Patrick O’Shea ’18 (Game Planning Analyst & Advance Scout, Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Nick Perez '19 (Coordinator, Baseball Operations & Player Development, Cincinnati Reds)
• Nathan Bass '21 (Minor League Video Intern, Chicago Cubs)

Haverford Baseball Draft Picks

• Chaon Garland ’91 (Athletics; third round, 99th overall pick)
• Dean Laganosky ’09 (Indians; 45th round, 1,368th pick overall)
• Tommy Bergjans ’15 (Dodgers; eighth round, 252nd overall pick)
• Stephen Ridings ’17 (Cubs; eight round, 254th overall pick)

Stephen Ridings ’17, became the first player in Haverford and Centennial Conference history to reach the majors, as he made his major league debut with the New York Yankees during the 2021 season after stints in the Cubs and Royals organizations. Ridings toed the mound on August 3, 2021, striking out the side in an electrifying inning of work against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Ridings appeared in five major league contests during the course of the 2021 season, logging seven strikeouts in five innings and registering a 1.80 ERA. Following the 2021 campaign, Ridings earned a spot on the Yankees 40-man roster entering 2022 spring training. 

Chaon Garland ’91 was a third round draft pick of the Oakland A's who progressed to Double-A before an injury curtailed his professional career. Jake Chaplin ’12 became the second Ford to don a Major League uniform when he signed a contract in the summer of 2012 to join the L.A. Dodgers' Rookie Arizona League affiliate. Dean Laganosky ’09 was a 45th round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2008, but decided to return to Haverford to complete his pre-med studies and his collegiate baseball career. Tal Alter ’98 (The Netherlands), Mark Welles ’01 (Belgium), Tim McLean ’06 (Belgium), Nat Ballenberg ’07 (Israel), Ben Field ’07 (Israel) and Travis Zier ’07 (Israel) played professional baseball overseas after graduating from Haverford. Hunter Rawlings ’66 had tryouts with Major League Baseball organizations before becoming the President at the University of Iowa and at Cornell University.

Tommy Bergjans ’15 became the first player in program history to be named Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year as he earned those honors during the 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons. The right-hander also garnered All-American accolades during those three seasons in which he rewrote the Haverford pitching record books. Bergjans, an eighth round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies as a part of the Carlos Ruiz trade where he was assigned to the Clearwater Threshers in the Advanced-A league to finish out the 2016 season. He advanced to AAA Lehigh Valley before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds during the 2018 season.

Various versions of baseball have been played at Haverford since its founding in 1833. In the 1880s, teams began to play a couple of games a year against outside opposition and once defeated Villa Nova College, as Haverford's Main Line neighbor was then called. During this period, Haverford's only full-fledged major-leaguer, Bill Lindsay 1906, graduated and went on to play for the Cleveland Naps, precursors of the Indians. Not until after World War I did American's National Pastime become a full-fledged varsity sport at Haverford, its formal recognition delayed by the great focus on cricket at Haverford and in Philadelphia long after most places had abandoned it.

Greg Kannerstein ’63 took over as head coach in 1977 for 15 seasons. The teams of the early 1980s, featuring pitcher Rich Pressler ’81, who beat Swarthmore four straight years, and outfielder Matt Sekelick ’81, were quite strong. Haverford continued to play consistent baseball into the early '90s when All-America catcher John Loughnane ’87 and pitcher Chaon Garland ’91 led surges in the baseball program.

Since taking over as the head prior to the 2001 season, current head coach Dave Beccaria has led the Fords to unprecedented heights. His team hit the pinnacle during the 2012 season when it captured the first Centennial Conference championship in program history. Two years later, the Fords repeated that feat by claiming the 2014 Centennial Conference title. Beccaria led the squad to a third Centennial Conference title in 2016. In each season that the Fords have won the conference championship, Beccaria’s team has gone on to win a game at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. In addition, Beccaria’s squads achieved national rankings during the 2011 and 2013 seasons, rising to as high as No. 13 in the NCAA during the 2013 season.

Individual award winners under Beccaria’s watch are currently highlighted by Charlie Carluccio ’11 and Tommy Bergjans ’15. Carluccio became the first Centennial Conference Player of the Year recipient in program history before going on to earn first-team All-American accolades as well following his senior campaign.