Baseball Program Overview

Avon Old Farms School possesses a rich tradition of enthusiasm and success in baseball. The many wins, league championships, and college players (and a few professionals) illustrate some of the accomplishments of the program. Equally important however, is that Avon players develop their physical and mental skills, learn how to play on a team, compete, and have fun.  Avon players respect the game, play it at a high level, and maximize their personal potential and future baseball opportunities.

While the varsity team is historically recognized as one of the top prep teams each year, Avon boasts competitive teams at the junior varsity and thirds levels as well.  The school provides at least two coaches at each level of baseball, and the program is designed to provide an enriching baseball opportunity for all grades and skill levels to enjoy.  The program is proud to mention that most varsity players at Avon have worked their way up from the lower level teams in earlier years. 

Facilities/Fields: Carpenter Field, constructed in 1998, is one of the finest fields in all of New England. Complete with dugouts, bullpens, spectator area, batting tunnel, scoreboard, and scenic views of Avon Mountain, it is truly a spectacular place to play and watch baseball.  While the varsity team calls Carpenter Field home for practices and home games, each team at Avon has its own regulation field and batting tunnel. 

Avon Baseball has a spacious “club house” style locker room for the varsity, has a permanent facility (complete with batting tunnel and two pitching mounds) set up in the hockey rink during the season, and use of the school’s massive indoor fieldhouse.  In addition, the school’s fitness center was constructed in 2006, and offers Avon athletes the opportunity to focus on strength and conditioning both during the season and in the off-season. 

Schedule/League Competition: After being a top team in the Connatonic League from the early 1970s to 1995, Avon competed in the Colonial/Founders League from 1996 to 2020, winning 16 league titles. Beginning with the spring of 2022, The Founders League adopted a playoff system to determine the league champion where the top four teams play a single elimination tournament in May. The Founders League includes Avon, Choate, Hotchkiss, Kent, Kingswood-Oxford, Loomis Chaffee,Taft, Trinity-Pawling, and Westminster. In addition to a 20-game league schedule which begins in April, Avon plays an 8-game exhibition schedule during its spring training trip to Port St. Lucie, FL in March, often matching up against top prep school programs from across the country.

Colonial or Founders League Championships won by the varsity team since 1996: sixteen in nineteen seasons (1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2023)

Varsity Baseball Record 1996-2021: 471-100

Selected Colleges/Universities Avon baseball players have enrolled in since 1996: University of Virginia, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill and Asheville), University of Maryland, Yale University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, United States Military Academy at West Point, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, The College of William and Mary, Elon College, Boston College, Fordham University, University of Delaware, University of Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University, Bryant College, Amherst College, Trinity College (CT and TX), Brandeis University, Union College, Ursinus College, Williams College, Rollins College, University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University, Wheaton College, Emory University, California State at Bakersfield, Bentley, and more.

Avon players drafted by Major League Teams in recent years:

• Graeme Brown (New York Mets)
• Jason LaVorgna (New York Mets)
• George Springer (Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros)
• Tim Kiene (Washington Nationals)
• Tim Brechbuehler (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Neil Kozikowski (Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Cael Brockmeyer (Chicago Cubs)
• Chris Madera (Chicago Cubs)
• Mike Gibbons (New York Mets)
• Joey Donino (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• Jack Sundberg (Washington Nationals)
• John Witkowski (St. Louis Cardinals)
• Matt Gill (Cincinnati Reds)
• Ryan Cusick (Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves)
• Thomas Girard (Baltimore Orioles)
• Hudson Haskin (Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles)
• Brendan King (Chicago Cubs)
• Jared Wetherbee (Philadelphia Phillies)

Spring Trip: Avon Old Farms Baseball goes to Florida each March for seven games and seven practices in Port St. Lucie, FL. Twenty-four players join six coaches for one week of intense baseball. The team stays in the luxurious PGA Kolter resort, which is the same facility many of the New York Mets players enjoy for their spring training. The Florida trip is an opportunity to teach fundamentals, play games, and bond as a team. The trip is a lot of fun and is an indispensable part of each season.