Mass. Maritime's Velzis Named Region 2 d3baseball.com/ABCA-Rawling Player of the Year, Headlines All-Region Honorees
Reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Brett Velzis was named ABCA/Rawling Region 2 Player of the Year along with 14 MASCAC student-athletes who have been selected to the 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Region Two Team and d3baseball.com All-Region squads.
Reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Brett Velzis was named ABCA/Rawling Region 2 Player of the Year along with 14 MASCAC student-athletes who have been selected to the 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Region Two Team and d3baseball.com All-Region squads.
Joining Velzis as a major award winner was Christopher Mondesir from Worcester State who was named the d3baseball.com Rookie of the Year accolades.
Cameron Breault, Scott Emerson, Ryan Flaherty, Kevin Lindsay and Philip Messina of Bridgewater State, Hunter Dean, Sam Huffman and Velzis of Mass. Maritime, Jake Boucher of Salem State, Dan Burnett, Nick Marshall and Sam Palmer of Westfield State and Mondesir and Ben Smith of Worcester State were all named to the d3baseball.com team. Emerson, Flaherty, Lindsay, Dean, Huffman, Velzis, Burnett, Palmer and Mondesir also earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors.
Breault has posted a 4-1 record with a 2.16 earned run average in 10 relief appearances. He struck out 12 in 16 2/3 innings and opponents are hitting .167 against him.
Emerson became the all-time leader in career hits at BSU this season and has 237 entering the postseason. This season, Emerson is hitting .400 with 64 hits in 38 games, including nine doubles, two triples and four homers. Emerson has driven in 23 runs, has a .556 slugging percentage and a .470 on-base percentage. He has gone 19-for-19 on stolen bases. Emerson ranks first in the MASCAC in hits and is tied for first in stolen bases while being fourth in batting average. In 169 career games, Emerson is hitting .360 with 31 doubles, 10 triples and seven homers while driving in 110 runs. He is the all-time leader at BSU in career at-bats (659), runs (206), singles (189), and stolen bases (101 in 108 tries).
Flaherty, in his second season at BSU after transferring from Stonehill College, has tied the Bears' record for homers in a season with 15. He is batting .307 with 46 hits in 38 games. He has driven in 55 runs and has a .653 slugging percentage. Flaherty leads the MASCAC in homers and is third in RBI and sixth in slugging percentage. Flaherty, who has made only three errors, hit .359 with six homers as a sophomore and has 102 career hits.
Lindsay is on the All-MASCAC first team for a second year in a row.In 33 games this season, Lindsay has hit .372 with 48 hits, including six doubles and a triple. He has driven in 33 runs and has a .457 on-base percentage.Lindsay is fifth in the conference in hits and ninth in average.In 193 career games, Lindsay is batting .337 with 213 hits, 29 doubles and six triples and has 101 RBI.Lindsay is the program's all-time leader with 193 games played and is second in at-bats (632), runs (163) and singles (178).
Messina moved into the starting lineup this season after starting just seven games a year ago. He is hitting .333 with 34 hits in 29 games. Messina has five doubles, a triple and six homers with 26 RBI and a .578 slugging percentage.
Velzis has played in 39 games, setting career-highs in batting average (.433), on-base percentage (.541), home runs (11), doubles (13), RBI (56), walks (28), and slugging percentage (.817). He reset the single-season home run record, which he set with nine in 2023, with the 11 home runs in 2025. He also broke the single-season program records for RBI with 56 and counting heading into the MASCAC playoffs. In his career, he has played in 155 games, compiled a program record 187 hits, a program record 42 doubles, a program record 32 home runs, a program record 164 RBI, and is tied for the program record in hit by pitch with 24.
Dean appeared in and started 10 games this season for Maritime. He finished the regular season with an 8-1 record and a 4.50 ERA. Hunter pitched 62 innings, compiled 87 strikeouts with only 19 walks, and tossed seven complete games. Dean broke the program single-season record with his 87 strikeouts and has tied the single-season wins record with six. In conference play, Dean led the MASCAC with a perfect 6-0 record and 54 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched.
Huffman was outstanding on the mound for the Buccaneers this year, earning himself a spot on the All-MASCAC second team. Huffman went 7-1 in the regular season with a 3.06 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. In those 50 innings, a career-high, he walked only 14 hitters. This was by far Sam's best season since his freshman campaign, when he posted a 4-1 record with a 2.86 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched.
Boucher compiled a .313 batting average, tying for the team lead with 45 hits and a team best 36 runs scored. Boucher also recorded a 4-1 record on the mound with four saves in 13 appearances. He had a 2.21 ERA, including a 1.88 ERA in conference games while striking out 22 batters in 24.1 innings for a 1.19 whip. Boucher finished his career as the all-time saves leader at Salem State with 19.
Burnett was named to the All-Region Region 2 first team as an outfielder after finishing first in the conference with an .856 slugging percentage and top three in the MASCAC in average (.410), home runs (14), and runs batted in (61). Also selected to the D3baseball.com All-Region First Team, he set the school record for most home runs and runs batted in for a single season. He is currently the school record holder for total bases in a season with 119 and he finished second in runs scored in a season with 51. He secured a spot within the program's .400-hit club and in doing so, earned a spot on the MASCAC All-Conference First Team for the second time in his career.
Marshall secured all-region second team honors after a productive season as the Owls designated hitter. On the year, Marshall had a slash line of .333/.448/.650 with eight home runs and 33 RBI. He was also named to the D3baseball.com All-Region First Team as a DH and claimed MASCAC First Team All-Conference honors thanks in part to a sizzling stretch to end the conference slate as he posted a .431 batting average with a .554 on-base and an even .800 slugging percentage across 20 league games.
Both Burnett and Marshall earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Region status after the conclusion of the 2023 season as well.
Palmer received a spot on the all-region team for the second straight year as an outfielder, displaying both his power and speed throughout the season by finishing top five in the conference ranks with nine home runs and 15 stolen bases. He finished second on the Owls with 51 hits and 42 RBI, batting .333 with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.040. Palmer was also named to the D3baseball.com All-Region Third Team and earned placement on the MASCAC All-Conference First Team for the third time in his collegiate career.
Mondesir was in the top 10 of the league in batting average (.379), triples (2), home runs (11), walks (22), runs scored (37), RBI (36), on-base percentage (.496) and slugging percentage (.796). His best game of the year came in the win over Bridgewater State where he broke several school records, including RBI in a game with 11 and home runs in a single game with four, including two grand slams to earn NCBWA DIII Rookie of the Week.
Smith registered a 5-2 record over 40.2 innings pitched with 62 strikeouts, a 4.20 ERA, three complete games and one shutout.
