NCAA D1 College World Series: New England players vie for national title

Canterbury School alumnus Max Cotier (Virginia Athletics)

The 2021 College World Series field is down to eight teams in Omaha, Neb. The final eight consists of Vanderbilt, Arizona, Stanford, N.C. State, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Virginia.

The opening weekend of the College World Series is over, and a few former New England prospects have factored into their respective teams’ runs toward a national championship.

Through a double-elimination format over the next week, the field will be narrowed to two teams for the College World Series Finals starting June 28 in Omaha. The Finals will be decided by a best-of-three series.

Here are the New England players contributing in the College World Series.

Max Cotier

2B, Virginia
Hometown: New Milford, Conn.
High school: Canterbury School
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 170

Cotier is the No. 2 hitter for a Virginia team that emerged out of the Columbia Regional, only to take two of three from Dallas Baptist in a Super Regional. In Virginia’s opening game of the CWS against Tennesee on Sunday, Cotier went 2 for 5 with an RBI single.

So happy for @maxcotier and even more proud of him. Doing his thing. We’ve all seen this somewhere before. Made the trip to watch and loving it all. RBI single. @timges05 @chrisgesualdi03 @cburybaseball @NMYBBSB @BaseballUCT @CRWSMajor70 @NCAACWS pic.twitter.com/LPjoJ0P1Aa

— Paul Gesualdi (@uniformguy22) June 20, 2021

On the season, Cotier is hitting .260 with 30 runs scored and 29 RBI in 58 starts at second base.

Carson Greene

INF, Stanford
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
High school: The Taft School
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 183

Greene, who appeared in seven games in 2020 and hit .217, has yet to appear in a game in 2021.

Calvin Hewett

OF, Vanderbilt
Hometown: Greenland, N.H.
High school: Portsmouth High
Bats: Right | Throws: Left
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 205

Hewett hasn’t appeared in a game since April 19, and logged a total of seven at-bats on the season. He did have four hits and two doubles in those seven at-bats.

Dom Keegan

1B | Vanderbilt
Hometown: Methuen, Mass.
High school: Central Catholic
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 210

Keegan has followed up on a productive season by earning SEC Tournament MVP and Nashville Regional Most Outstanding Player. He kicked off Vandy’s CWS experience by going 2 for 6 with two RBI and a run scored in a 7-6 win over Arizona on June 19.

D💣M

B💣MB #VandyBoys | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/xtqTdXKTOp

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) June 7, 2021

On the season, he’s hitting .360 with 14 home runs, 55 RBI and 52 runs scored and a 1.002 OPS.

Max Meier

RHP, Stanford
Hometown: Belmont, Mass.
High school: Lawrence Academy
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 202

Meier has struggled this season to the tune of a 14.73 ERA in 7.1 innings. He has made only one appearance since April 12 and none since May 29. He had a strong freshman campaign in 2020 with a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings.

Hunter Owen

LHP, Vanderbilt
Hometown: South Portland, Maine
High school: South Portland High
Bats: Right | Throws: Left
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 240

The redshirt freshman made 13 relief appearances this season, posting an ERA of 8.04 with 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. He has yet to appear in the postseason for Vandy.

Jimmy Sullivan

OF, Virginia
Hometown: Wethersfield, Conn.
High school: Weathersfield High
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 215

Sullivan appeared as a defensive replacement in Virginia’s Super Regional game against Dallas Baptist on June 12 in the Super Regional. He logged only 17 at-bats in 12 games this season. He had just one hit.

Mike Vasil

RHP, Virginia
Hometown: Wellesley, Mass.
High school: BC High
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 225

Vasil had a tough start against Jacksonville in the Columbia Regional, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in just two innings of a 13-8 victory for the Cavaliers. He has since been relegated to the bullpen, logging one inning of scoreless relief against Dallas Baptist on June 12.

On the season, Vasil has a 7-5 record and 4.82 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 74.2 innings. Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor did not rule out giving Vasil the start for Virginia’s next game — a matchup against Mississippi State on June 22.