• University of Tennessee beats Texas A&M (P Ryan Prager, C Max Kaufer) by score of 4-1 in Game 2 of College World Series finals. Game 3, which will determine which team becomes National Championship, takes place June 24 at 6:00pm ET today on ESPN (6/23/2024)
  • Texas A&M and starting pitcher Ryan Prager defeat #1 seed University of Tennessee 9-5 in Game 1 of College World Series finals. Prager, who discusses performance in post-game interview, yields 2 earned runs over 4 innings on 8 hits, zero walks, and 6 strikeouts. Outing could be last in Aggies uniform for Prager, who is expected to be selected within first 5 rounds of July’s MLB draft. Teammate Max Kaufer, a sophomore catcher, has not appeared in playoffs. Game 2 of three-game series takes place at 2:00pm ET today on ABC. National championship would be Texas A&M’s first (6/22/2024)
  • OF Ellis Schwartz, a graduate student at George Washington University, is latest addition to our list of D-1 players. Schwartz made GW debut this season after playing for SUNY-Stony Brook (D-1) and Emory University (D-3). The 23-year-old led team with .356 batting average, hit 5 HRs (#2), drove in 43 runs (#1), stole 23 bases (#3), reached base 46.1% of the time (#4), and assembled .961 OPS (#3). In 2023, Schwartz became first player in Emory history to hit 3 HRs in single game, going 3-for-3 with walk and 8 RBIs in 13-2 win. Now pursuing a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Business Studies, Schwartz will play again for GW in 2025 (6/21/2024)
  • Three Jewish players are heading to Omaha for quarterfinals of College World Series. University of Virginia (2B Henry Godbout) will face University of North Carolina on June 14 at 2pm ET, on ESPN. Meanwhile, Texas A&M (LHP Ryan Prager, C Max Kaufer) will meet University of Florida on June 15 at 7pm ET, also on ESPN (6/10/2024)
  • North Carolina State beats University of Georgia (RHP Brian Zeldin, LHP Charlie Goldstein) 8-5 in Game 3 of Super Regional to eliminate Georgia and advance to College World Series quarterfinals. Zeldin yields 2 earned runs over 2.2 innings (6/10/2024)
  • Update on NCAA Division 1 championship tournament:
    • University of Georgia (RHP Brian Zeldin, LHP Charlie Goldstein) beats North Carolina State 11-2 on June 9 to even Super Regional series at 1-1. Zeldin yields one earned run over 2.1 innings of relief on a hit, walk, and strikeout. Game 3, which will decide who advances to College World Series, takes place tonight on ESPN (6/10/2024)
    • University of Virginia (2B Henry Godbout) beats sKansas State University (LHP Adam Arther) 10-4 in Game 2 of Super Regional to advance to College World Series in Omaha, NE. Quarterfinals of tourney begin June 14 (6/8/2024)
    • Texas A&M (LHP Ryan Prager, C Max Kaufer) advances to College World Series with 15-9 win over University of Oregon (6/9/2024)
  • At least six Jewish collegians are on teams that have reached the Super Regional stage of the NCAA’s College World Series. The players and their schedules are:
    • LHP Adam Arther (Kansas State University). Series against University of Virginia begins June 7 on ESPNU
    • INF Henry Godbout (University of Virginia). Series against Kansas State University begins June 7 on ESPNU
    • LHP Charlie Goldstein (University of Georgia). Series against N.C. State University begins June 8 on ESPNU
    • C Max Kaufer (Texas A&M University). Series against University of Oregon begins June 8 on ESPN2
    • LHP Ryan Prager (Texas A&M University). Series against University of Oregon begins June 8 on ESPN2
    • RHP Brian Zeldin (University of Georgia). Series against N.C. State begins June 8 on ESPNU
  • 1B Michael Snyder (U. of Oklahoma) reaches base all 4 times, going 3-for-3 with walk, but 7-1 loss to U. of Connecticut marks team’s elimination from College World Series (6/3/2024)
  • Warm welcome to freshman P Adam Arther of Kansas State University. He is the 16th known Jewish player on a College World Series team this season (6/4/2024)
  • P Charlie Beilenson (Duke U.) ranks #2 among all D-1 pitchers in ERA, at 2.01 (6/3/2024)
  • P Evan Michelson, whose college career ended at U. of North Carolina-Charlotte in 2023, served as pitching coach at Florida Southwestern State in 2024 season (6/4/2024)
  • At least 16 Jewish athletes are known to be on the roster of a Top 64 team competing in this year’s College World Series. Three days into the tournament, all but 7 players are on teams that have been eliminated. Following are highlights so far:
    • IF Henry Godbout (U. of Virginia) opened scoring with 3-run HR on May 31, giving Cavaliers all the runs needed for 4-2 win over U. of Pennsylvania. Virginia won Regional tournament and advances to Super Regional, where it will face Kansas State University
    • 3B Michael Snyder (U. of Oklahoma) has played in four Regional games so far. Most recent game, a 6-4 win over U. of Connecticut on June 2, saw Snyder — batting cleanup — go 1-for-5 with 2-run, game-tying HR in 3rd inning. Oklahoma takes on Connecticut again today for Regional title (6/3/2024)
    • P Ryan Prager (Texas A&M) tossed 6.1 innings in 11-inning, 4-2 win over U. of Texas on June 1, yielding 2 earned runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 7. Prager’s outing included an “immaculate” 4th inning, where he struck out the side on the minimum possible 9 pitches. Check out Prager’s post-game interview and video highlights. A&M wins Regional and advances to Super Regional, where it will face U. of Oregon
    • P Eric Orloff (U. of Arizona) pitched one scoreless inning of relief in 9-4 loss to Grand Canyon on May 31, yielding a walk and a hit while striking out one. Arizona has been eliminated from tournament
    • P Charlie Beilenson (Duke U.) played in 2 games before team was eliminated, including in 4-3 loss to U. of Oklahoma and 3B Michael Snyder on June 2. Beilenson gave up one earned run on 3 hits over 2.2 innings while striking out 4. Snyder went 1-for-4 with RBI single off a different Duke pitcher
    • P Austin Wainer (Bryant U.) gave up 7 earned runs over 5.1 innings in 9-2 loss on June 1 to N.C. Carolina State. Bryant has been eliminated from tournament
    • P Brian Zeldin (U. of Georgia) threw 4 innings of relief in 9-8 win over Army on May 31, yielding 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4. Georgia won Region and will face North Carolina State in Super Regional
    • P Charlie Goldstein (U. of Georgia) faced one batter in 10-inning, 8-6 win over Georgia Tech on June 2, walking him. Georgia won regional title and will face North Carolina State in Game 1 of Super Regional
  • Towson U., a D-1 public university in Maryland with 15-39 record, is one of only two colleges we know of — the other being U. of Pennsylvania — that boast three Jewish players on roster. OF Brady Nathison, a freshman from North Carolina who played high-school football and baseball and majors in computational physics, is hitting .241 (14-for-58) with .323 OBP. OF Steven Vrolijk, a sophomore from Georgia who twice was named MVP of high-school team and majors in environmental science, is hitting .107 (3-for-28) in first season with Towson. C Josh Janove, a sophomore from New Jersey who, too, was twice named MVP of high-school team, is hitting .180 (14-for-78) with .258 OBP (5/18/2024)
  • P Nelson Berkwich, a senior transfer at SUNY-Binghamton, is a new addition to JBN’s list of D-1 players. Now enjoying his first season as a starter, the Florida native is 2-4 with 5.77 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 8.86 strikeouts per 9 innings. A former ballplayer at U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt U., Berkwich won a gold medal with USA Baseball’s 15-and-under team at the 2017 Pan-Am Games (4/17/2024)
  • IF Jake Rainess, a senior transfer playing his first season at U. of Houston, is a new addition to JBN’s list of D-1 players. The Maryland native is hitting .237 (22-for-93) with 3 HRs, 15 RBIs, 8 stolen bases, and a .321 OBP. As a redshirt junior at U. of Maine, Rainess was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which honors the country’s top college shortstop. That year, Rainess hit .321 with 16 HRs, 47 RBIs, 38 SBs, a .448 OPB, and 1.071 OPS (4/17/2024)
  • P Eric Orloff, a junior reliever at #21-ranked U. of Arizona, is 1-2 with a 4.02 ERA, slim 1.15 WHIP, and 9.77 strikeouts per 9 innings. During his senior year of high school, Perfect Game named Orloff the #1 prospect in Illinois among left-handed pitchers in his class. The 6’3″ southpaw majors in literacy learning and leadership with an emphasis on community education (4/15/2024)
  • IF Michael Snyder, a 6’4″ redshirt senior who transferred from U. of Washington to U. of Oklahoma after 2023 season, is hitting .316 with 6 HRs, a team-leading 12 doubles, OBP of .424, and 1.030 OPS. Snyder’s 37 RBIs are #1 both among his teammates and among all Jewish players at D1 colleges (4/12/2024)
  • P Charlie Beilenson, a second-year grad student at Duke U., is his team’s closer. The 24-year-old is 2-2 this season with a 2.70 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 12.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. Meanwhile, his 8 saves are tied for #3 among all Division 1 pitchers. Beilenson played for Brown U. as an undergrad, and in 2023, his first season at Duke, he broke the school record for appearances with 39 (4/11/2024)
  • C Ethan Swidler, a sophomore at Lafayette College, is hitting .295 (28-for-95) with 5 HRs (tied for #1 on team), 21 RBIs (#2), 33 walks (#1), strikeout-to-walk ratio of 0.61 (#1), OBP of .473 (#1), and 1.010 OPS (#1). In 4/7/2024 win over Navy, Swidler went 1-for-1 with 4 walks and an RBI, while teammate Corey Savedoff tossed perfect inning of relief. A native of San Diego, Swidler is majoring in economics (4/11/2024)
  • P Josh Blum, a junior at U. of Southern California, is 2-0 with 2 saves, a 3.38 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and average of 14.16 strikeouts per 9 innings. Blum’s best game so far this season came in March 1 loss to Texas Christian U., when he struck out 5 batters over 2 perfect innings. A native of Belleaire (TX) who was All-District in high-school football, Blum is majoring in real-estate development (4/9/2024)
  • OF Dylan Drumke, a redshirt junior at Eastern Illinois U., is hitting .329 (27-for-82) and leads Panthers in multiple categories, including 9 HRs, 30 RBIs, a .450 OBP, and 1.170 OPS. Drumke’s best game of the season came in March 19 win over Lindenwood U., when he went 2-for-3 with HR, walk, and 6 RBIs. A native of Libertyville (IL), Drumke is majoring in sports management (4/8/2024)
  • IF Justin Rubin, a junior at Pepperdine U. who transferred this year from U. of Virginia, is hitting .471 (16-for-34) with 3 doubles, 3 RBIs, a .524 OBP, and 1.083 OPS. Rubin was out for a month with shoulder injury but returned to action on April 5, going 2-for-1 with 3 walks in 5-4, walk-off win over U. of San Francisco (4/5/2024)
  • Two Jewish grad students are playing outsized role on U. of Georgia’s baseball team (23-6), which is ranked #24 in nation by USA Today’s Baseball Coaches Poll. Charlie Goldstein, a 23-year-old starter, is 4-0 with 4.08 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Atlanta native Brian Zeldin, a 24-year-old transfer from U. of Pennsylvania, leads Georgia’s bullpen with 2-0 record, 4 saves, 1.23 ERA, and 1.02 WHIP. Goldstein is pursuing a degree in risk management and insurance, while Zeldin chases graduate certificate in entrepreneurship (4/4/2024)
  • P Justin Rosner, a senior at SUNY-Binghamton, is 0-0 with a save, 3.37 ERA, and 1.03 WHIP in 6 appearances this season. The 21-year-old righthander has shown remarkable control, striking out 16 batters over 10.2 innings while walking just one (4/2/2024)
  • Redshirt junior OF Sam Biller (Loyola Marymount U.) is hitting .308 (33-for-107) with 26 RBIs. He leads Lions in multiple categories, including HRs (9), ABs per HR (11.89), stolen bases (14), OBP (.441), slugging (.598), and OPS (1.039). Biller attended Harvard-Westlake H.S. (Los Angeles, CA), whose MLB alums include P Max Fried (Braves) and retired 1B/3B Josh Satin (4/2/2024)
  • Sophomore 2B Henry Godbout (U. of Virginia) is hitting .380 (35-for-92) with 3 HRs, team-leading 13 doubles, 26 RBIs, .478 OBP, and 1.120 OPS for #15-ranked Cavaliers. Godbout hit .286 as freshman and was ranked #46 on D1Baseball’s 2024 preseason list of Top 50 Second Basemen (4/1/2024)
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