Baseball | 8/28/2023 10:00:00 AM
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Head coach Brett Young and the Buccaneer staff has a fresh cadre of transfer players joining the team this fall.
The group includes a catcher, an outfielder, two infielders and four pitchers. Six are juniors and two enter as seniors.
Jimmy Bruno (5-9, 150, R/R, Haddon Heights, N.J.) comes in from Rowan-Gloucester, which won the NJCAA D-III World Series in the spring. Bruno, an infielder, was named the most outstanding defensive player at the World Series. In two seasons with the Roadrunners, he batted .362 with 133 runs scored, 25 stolen bases and 78 RBI. He walked 68 times for a .455 on-base percentage and slugged .486 with 18 doubles, six triples and five homers.
"Jimmy is an athletic, plus defender in the middle infield," Young, who coached Bruno in high school at St. Paul VI in New Jersey, said. "He will be a top of the lineup type hitter and a weapon on the base paths."
"I chose Barry because of the very welcoming coaching staff, beautiful Florida weather and the competitive baseball," Bruno said.
Bruno is joined from the Roadrunners by Felix Diaz (5-10, 200, R/R, North Brunswick, N.J.) Diaz was a Second-Team NJCAA All-American on the infield for Rowan-Gloucester in 2022 and a two-time All-Region pick. In two seasons, he batted .412 with 143 runs scored and 139 RBI. He drew 76 walks for a .517 on-base percentage and clubbed 37 doubles, seven triples and 16 homers in 109 games for a .672 slugging percentage.
"Felix is a corner infielder who brings a big time bat to Barry," Young said.
"Choosing Barry was easy because it seemed like the right place for me," Diaz said, "in terms of location, weather, competition, and team chemistry."
Albert Espinosa (6-0, 195, S/R, Miami, Fla.) is a switch-hitting catcher who joins the Bucs from NCAA Division I Bethune-Cookman, although he saw limited action with the Wildcats. He was much more productive at Palm Beach State College, leading the Panthers to a 61-31 mark in two seasons. He batted .303 with 46 runs and 35 RBI in 65 games. He drew 28 walks for a .424 on-base percentage and smashed 12 doubles, three triples and six homers to slug .495. He spent the 2020 CoVID season at Alabama-Birmingham, but did not play with the Blazers.
"Albert is a veteran catcher coming from NCAA Division I," Young said. "He is a switch hitter and will push for innings behind the plate."
"I chose Barry because it is a great opportunity to get better, compete, and win at a high level both on and off the field," Espinosa said.
Chase Muir (6-4, 205, R/R, Richmond, Va.) is a right-handed pitcher who has also been a several schools, including NCAA Division I New Orleans, Bryant & Stratton and Fort Lauderdale. At Fort Lauderdale, he helped lead the Eagles to a 35-23 record in 2023. He went 4-3 on the mound with a 4.65 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 50.1 innings. He walks just 29 and held the opponents to a .201 average.
"Chase is a veteran right-hander who will compete to be a starting pitcher in our rotation," Young said. "He had a really good year last spring and also this summer in the South Florida Collegiate League." Young said.
"I chose Barry to play in South Florida and work with a good coaching staff," Muir said.
Dominic Murgo III (6-2, 210, R/R, Bradenton, Fla.) is another righty who comes from the University of West Georgia. He started his career at Post in New York, transferred during the CoVID season to Shorter before finishing up his undergraduate career at West Georgia. He tossed 28.1 innings of relief for the Wolves in two seasons, striking out 24 with a 5.08 ERA.
"Dominic is a veteran bullpen arm coming for his senior year" Young said. "Dom will be counted on out of the bullpen."
"I chose Barry for my grad year because I want to compete for a national championship as well as pursue my graduate degrees in sport management and business administration in their dual master's program," Murgo said.
Anthony Nelson (5-10, 180, L/L, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) also began his career at an NCAA Division I school at East Tennessee State, before transferring to Dyersburg College. At ETSU, he went 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 2.2 innings. At Dyersburg, He helped lead the Eagles to a 32-21 record, going 6-1 in 15 appearances with a 6.67 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 29.2 innings.
"Anthony is a very valuable lefty coming from a junior college in Tennessee," Young said. "He will Be counted on to solidify our bullpen."
"I chose Barry because of the culture that is getting built and the success the program has had," Nelson said.
Nick Toms (6-0, 185, R/R, Pennsville, N.J.) comes from Salem CC in New Jersey where he flashed both power and speed for the Mighty Oaks. Including his CoVID season, he played in 112 games, batting .436 with 115 runs scored and 80 RBI. He drew 71 walks against just 53 strikeouts for a .532 on-base percentage. He clubbed 36 doubles, 10 triples and 11 homers, including nine in 2023, for a .684 slugging percentage. On the bases, he swiped 77 bags at an 88.5 percent success rate.
"Nick has shown the ability to hit for some power along with being a major threat on the base paths," Young said. "Nick will push to start for us in the outfield."
"I chose Barry because the coaching staff took a chance on me and allowed me to continue living my dream while also receiving a quality education," Toms said.
Benito Valle-Jhanda (6-0, 180, R/R, San Francisco, Calif.) comes from Skyline College in California where he was a two-time All-Conference pitcher for the Trojans. He went 13-2 on the mound in 26 appearances, 15 starts, with a 3.71 ERA. He struck out 83 and walked 44 in 123.2 innings. This summer, he went 3-1 in four starts for the Waynesboro Generals in the Valley League, striking out 22 in 22.0 innings.
"Benito had a solid junior college career and pitched well in the Valley League this past summer. Benito is expected to compete for a weekend starting rotation spot," Young said.
Barry was an easy choice for me after playing with some of the guys over summer," Valle-Jhanda said. "Hearing about the winning culture they've built, I wanted to be a part of that and see if we can take that next step together."
