When James Raidt was preparing to enter his high school years back in 2019, he was looking to make his name in the baseball world. A rising talent at King School, Raidt had not quite reach the precipice of where he wanted to be. His planned rise in the sport was halted a bit due to the pandemic.
Fortunately for the Stamford, Conn., native, the opportunity to play summer ball last year was not entirely wiped out. Playing for two programs, Raidt was able to record and send out video highlights of himself to various college coaches. Another key factor was him being named to Team Connecticut as part of the PBR Northeast Futures Games, which provided him a platform for him to earn even greater exposure.
Raidt performed well during the event and eventually committed to Duke University last September.
"When I began speaking with the Duke coaches, I loved their focus on player development as well as their focus on academics,'' said Raidt. "The decision came when I visited the campus in September (of 2020). The moment I stepped on the campus, I could not see myself going anywhere else."
