Cole Chudoba is making his case to play a prominent role on the UConn pitching staff.
The Division 2 transfer has been nothing short of dominant in four relief appearances with the Bourne Braves in the Cape League, posting a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00 in 11 innings. He has allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out nine.
Chudoba was likely an afterthought as an option for UConn's closer role in 2022 leading into the summer. The Assumption College transfer figured to go through some growing pains in the transition to the D1 level, and UConn coach Jim Penders had set-up man Andrew Marrero (New Haven, Conn.) waiting in the wings to replace recently drafted 2021 closer Caleb Wurster (Coventry, R.I.).
However, the MLB Draft has a way of shaking things up, particularly when it comes to the UConn bullpen. Marrero's selection in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft created a vacancy in the UConn closer role after Wurster became the fifth straight UConn closer to get drafted, following in the footsteps of Patrick Ruotolo (2016), John Russell (2017), PJ Poulin (2018) and Jacob Wallace (2019).
