I came across this Westerly Sun article from last October about Connor Buckley and Troy Stefanski, two of the newcomers to the UConn baseball roster. Here’s an excerpt:
Connor Buckley, a 2012 Stonington graduate and UConn Avery Point player, and Troy Stefanski, a 2014 Wheeler grad, just finished playing fall baseball for UConn. Huskies coach Jim Penders said both walk-on players are candidates to make UConn’s final 35-man spring roster.
“We make it very difficult for walk-ons to stick around as we put everyone threw a variety of demanding skill and fitness tests,” Penders said. “Connor and Troy held their own and in some cases opened our eyes.”
Penders, head coach at UConn since 2004, was aware of Buckley at Stonington when the former Bears shortstop-pitcher, who batted .328 and was an All-ECC Medium pick as a senior, attended UConn baseball camps. Penders said he didn’t think Buckley was a Division I prospect in high school. But he had second thoughts after watching him the last two seasons at UConn Avery Point.
Buckley battled through injuries as a sophomore last spring to hit .292, playing third base and second base for the Pointers.
“Connor was a little hurt last spring, so we gave him the entire five-week fall season to show us something,” Penders said. “Avery Point has been an awesome and reliable source of players for us, so we gave him a long look. I don’t want to say I was pleasantly surprised, but Connor can be a nice addition. He’s a big, strong kid who did a nice job producing with a steady bat. He still has a lot of developing to do, but he could back up at third base and second base.”
Stefanski was even more of a long shot to stick around with the Huskies, coming from Class S Wheeler High and without any junior college experience like Buckley’s. An outfielder, Stefanski batted .441 and .452, respectively, as a junior and senior at Wheeler. He elevated his profile by batting .490 this summer while earning Zone MVP honors while playing with Ledyard-Pawcatuck American Legion.
“Troy has the knack of putting his bat on the ball, and he’s a quick runner,” Penders said. “He also plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, which I like.”
Penders said Stefanski is battling a numbers game in his quest to make the Huskies’ spring roster.
“Troy is one of those players in limbo now,” Penders said. “We can only keep 35 so decisions have to be made of who sticks and who doesn’t. But if Troy continues to do what he’s been doing the last five weeks, he’ll make our decision very difficult.”
http://www.thewesterlysun.com/sport...-revive-areas-baseball-pipeline-to-uconn.html
UConn's baseball roster currently lists 37 players, so it seems that two more players will have to be cut.