Plymouth North 2022 Graduate Goes D1

Conner Vercollone has made his dream of division 1 baseball a reality

By Jordan Melville

Conner Vercollone, a Plymouth North Graduate of the class of 2022 has recently committed to play division 1 baseball at St Bonaventure University for the spring of 2023 season

Since the age of 5, Vercollone has had a special interest in the famous American pastime of baseball

He took this interest to recreation leagues in his home town of Plymouth where he played from the age of 5 until he graduated the program and moved onto the next

Vercollone found success in club baseball, which increased both the level of competition and his commitment to the sport. However, like everyone else, athletes face setbacks

When Vercollone was

10 he was cut from the ‘majors,’ a higher level club team that many of his friends made

This was heartbreaking for Vercollone however, instead of giving up, he used the setback as encouragement Vercollone credits his ‘minors’ club coach for reinstating his belief in himself which he says ‘got him a long way

His perseverance, commitment to the sport and work ethic did not end here though, Vercellone continued to display these qualities as he pursued baseball in middle and high school.

“The thing that made Conner stand out so much was his work ethic and love for the sport I remember almost everyday he would stay after practice and hit batting practice to better himself,” said junior teammate Mark McKay

Despite his sophomore season being canceled due to the COVID-19 shut down, Vercellone was still a two year varsity player “Conner began displaying his immense baseball talents as a sophomore and made All League as a Junior so I knew he was going to be successful at the next level,” said Plymouth North’s head coach, Dwayne Follette

On and off the field, Vercellone is an incredible player; he is incredibly determined not only to better himself but he's also dedicated to the betterment of the team

“He’s shown that where there’s a will there’s a way and if you keep working hard you can get what you deserve,” said McKay

As a junior, Vercollone was talking to a few schools about recruitment but mainly the University of Rhode Island whom he developed a relationship with for over a year However, the school ended up offering the position to someone else instead

“They didn’t need me anymore which was really heartbreaking because I thought I finally was going to get the opportunity I worked so hard for,” said Vercollone

Unfortunately, by the time he was informed he would not be on URI’s spring roster, he was out of options because other schools had already solidified their team’s rosters

“I knew at that point there wasn’t a lot of room for my high school class in division one baseball,” said Vercollone Again, in the face of hardship, Vercollone did not give up, he instead decided to take a post grad year which is fairly common for athletes hoping to play at such an advanced level

For most athletes a postgraduate year is done at a preparatory school that accepts fifth year seniors, such as Phillips Exeter Academy or Deerfield Academy Less commonly, it can also be achieved by spending the year with a club that specializes in the desired sport that way the athlete can receive personalized training from their club's coaches Both options help athletes solidify their skills before the collegiate level making them a more ideal athlete to colleges when recruitment begins the following year.

Vercollone opted for the latter, however in his case, he only needed to train for a few short months before being offered a spot on the spring of 2023 roster at St Bonaventure University Due to making the roster in 2023, he is still on track to graduate in 2026, just as he would have without the postgraduate year

Vercollone trained with Combine Academy Baseball in Lincolnton, North Carolina

During his time with the program, he says he benefited from the extra year of physical and skill specific training to help develop his abilities Additionally, in the past year, Vercollone put on ten pounds of muscle

“I decided to do a postgrad year and I’m really happy I did because I had the opportunity this fall to show what I could do at a camp at St Bonaventure in the fall and I played pretty well and was able to stand out enough and I got a spot on this spring’s roster,” said Vercollone

The young Plymothian took his passion for baseball to the next level with his recent commitment to play division 1 at St Bonaventure University for the spring of 2023 season

Surrounded by family and friends, Vercollone officially signed his NLI at Plymouth North in November, a huge milestone in his unconventional path to success