A lot of athletes have sports dreams and fantasies, and sometimes they are unattainable — like pitching to a pretend catcher out in the backyard in the World Series.
Easthampton native Anthony Redfern’s baseball dream was well within reach.
The goal was to play Division 1 college baseball. On Monday, he announced that he accomplished his goal.
After Redfern finishes his baseball career at Philips Andover Academy in 2018, he will play baseball for Georgetown University.
“The feeling of accomplishing my goal is unexplainable,” Redfern said. “It was remarkable to see my dream come true.”
Redfern had offers from Penn, Columbia, Brown and St. Louis. Ultimately, after several visits, he decided play baseball for the Hoyas.
“I chose Georgetown because it was the only school that crossed off everything I desire,” Redfern said. “I wanted to continue my career at a school that had a high level of academics and baseball.”
Over the summer for the New England Ruffnecks, Redfern tossed a perfect game with 11 strikeouts.
Last season at Andover, he had a 1.91 earned-run average and 21 strikeouts in nine appearances. The 17-year old’s ability to throw four pitches caught the eyes of college scouts, and it led to numerous offers.
Another positive regarding the selection of Georgetown was his catcher at Andover, John Simourian, is currently at Georgetown as a freshman.
“He’s easily the best catcher I’ve thrown to,” Redfern said.
Redfern also liked what he heard from Georgetown coach Pete Wilk.
“He said, ‘eventually you will find a school that will grab your heart when you walk on campus, and that’s the school you want to go to,’” Redfern said, quoting Wilk. “When I toured the campus, I felt at home immediately.”
Redfern’s parents, Reggie and Angela, are also relocating to North Carolina after his high school graduation, so the move south will keep him close to his family.
Even with this announcement, Redfern still has two more seasons of baseball at Andover, and that is his main focus.
“We have our first unofficial practice on Thursday,” Redfern said. “We’ll hopefully repeat as New England Champions. Every goal I have is to win a championship. These goals will hopefully result in one personal goal, getting drafted to play professional baseball at some point.”
In other collegiate announcement news the Northampton High school athletic department recently hosted three signings of national letters of intent.
Nik Smith — The football and track star signed his NLI to run track at Boston University in the fall.
Smith was the Gazette Track & Field Player of the Year as a junior.
Lauraine Joensen — Hamp’s star center for the girls basketball team will play basketball at Canisius College.
In just her third season after moving to the U.S. from Denmark Joensen is closing in on 1,000 points with 646.
“She is a typical euro player where she is really skilled,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “She can handle and pass and shoot the three. She has a nice touch all-around the basket.”
Megan McCarthy — The three sport star signed her letter to play lacrosse at Bryant College.
In three high school seasons, McCarthy has 175 points including 134 goals for the Blue Devils.
McCarthy has 489 career points in basketball and 30 goals for the field hockey team.
