The FIBS College Pipeline in association with the Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF) has offered young players the opportunity to study and compete in the U.S.A. by awarding scholarships.
In NCAA Division I there are five Italian players competing in well-respected baseball programs. Lorenzo Morresi, who previously played for New Mexico Junior College, has transferred to the University of Texas San Antonio. Others include: Nick Davis, who recently made his Team Italy Elite debut at the 2023 European Baseball Championship, at Georgetown University; Vince Cimini, who made his Azzurri debut in the 2023 U23 European Baseball Championship, at Boston College; and infielder Jose Puig at Alabama A&M University.
The FIBS College Pipeline was created over two years ago and has proved to be instrumental in successfully facilitating a smooth transition for Alessandro Volpe, who attends NCAA Division I Lindenwood University in Missouri, and Daniel Monti, who plays at NCAA Division II Sonoma State University in California.
FIBS Director of International Special Projects Gianmarco Faraone said, “The College Pipeline is an initiative to support and strengthen the development of young Italian prospects. With the technical help of Between the Lines, which has been collaborating with us since 2022, and the financial support of the IABF, we are giving young baseball players the opportunity to gain experience and grow from an academic and sporting point of view. The latest additions, Samuele and Vincenzo Bruno, are involved in a Junior College program and our goal is to strengthen this channel to consolidate the development of Italian players."
Among the other young Italians playing at American colleges are: Jacopo Tamburini at NCAA Division III Beloit College in Wisconsin; Francesco Bonvini, who received a scholarship through the FIBS College Pipeline at Kingsborough Junior College in New York; Vincenzo Bruno at NCAA Division II University of Bridgeport and Samuele Bruno at College of the Desert in California. In addition, some former Team Italy U18 players include: Filippo Venditti and Nicholas Fancellu at Kingsborough Junior College, Jose Fernandez at Monroe Junior College in New York and Federico Tiburtini at Ventura College in California.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done to improve the Italy-USA channel and there are two other innovations in store. The first concerns the involvement of even younger players in the program. Mathieu Silva's experience, through the assistance of Barry Butera, has opened the doors of middle school, in particular Lake Castle Middle School in Madisonville, Louisiana. In addition, young Italian Matteo Gerali has also attended high school in Alabama recently.
The second concerns the extension of the FIBS College Pipeline to include softball. The first step was carried out last September in Bollate with the tryouts in conjunction with Between the Lines. There are different age groups involved among the athletes involved in colleges overseas, but the goal continues to be the same. Not only does the FIBS College Pipeline facilitate an educational experience on an academic level, but also an important opportunity to allow youth to grow as players with a view to the future, to keep the fire of passion for baseball alive and to bring enthusiasm to their clubs and national teams of the future.
Forza #Italia!
by Kevin Senatore and Roberto Angotti
