Ever since John “Jack” Gethings took to the baseball diamond as a little leaguer, coaches have been commenting on his standout abilities.
“We saw it,” said his mother, Colleen Gethings, during a recent event to celebrate her son signing a National Letter of Intent to play with Fairfield University Stags. “His gym teacher in elementary school said, ‘He’s going to be playing at the college level.”
By signing the agreement on Nov. 12, the Williston senior indicated that he could no longer be recruited by other schools.
His coach, Matthew Sawyer, noted that Mr. Gethings was “D1 caliber” and had shown a real consistency in his play, particularly in his role as lead off hitter.
Coach Sawyer, who has served as the head coach of Williston’s boys varsity baseball team for the past two decades, said that Mr. Gethings was a savvy player and had been important in setting the tone in the 2014 season—one of the reasons his teammates elected him captain for 2015, Coach Sawyer said.
In 2014, the Williston baseball team had convincing wins over The Gunnery and divisional rival Pomfret and finished with a comeback victory over Canterbury. Mr. Gethings earned Second Team All League honors.
Mr. Gethings is heading to a team that is coming off the best season in the history of the program. The Fairfield Stags finished 32-24 overall, with a 15-8 record in league play. Fairfield also went to the MAAC Baseball Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Mr. Gethings said joining the Stags “just felt right” and added that he was excited to be joining both a strong team and a university with an excellent business program.
“It was my top choice,” he said. “I hope to win a MAAC conference championship and I have a great team.”
Both parents said they were extremely proud of their son’s accomplishments. His father, Michael, noted that the agreement with Fairfield was the culmination of years of hard work.
“I’m grateful. This comes after years of hard work,” he said. “And Fairfield is close to home, so we’ll have an opportunity to see him play.”