Baltimore Orioles’ Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson once said, “Whether you want to or not, you do serve as a role model. People will always put more faith in baseball players than anyone else.” For young baseball players who matriculate to Tufts and try out for the club baseball team, it is the squad’s seniors, not the professional players in the lofty heights of Major League Baseball, who serve as their role models. In recognition of those seniors’ immense contributions to the program over their four years at Tufts, some of the team’s underclassmen wanted to pay tribute.
Nolan Mulay
In baseball, the second baseman is usually the shortest player on the field. What they lack in stature, though, they often make up for in attitude, effort and character. Graduating senior Nolan Mulay is no exception. As the Jumbos’ leadoff hitter, Mulay was consistently one of the loudest voices in the dugout. Always ready to cheer on his teammates, his infectious personality and booming laugh kept his teammates engaged and inspired. In a message to the Daily, rising senior and captain Matthew DiFiore wrote, “Nolan’s upbeat personality always kept the mood light and fun at practice and in games. His energy is contagious, and you could always count on Nolan to start a rally and get the guys going. Nolan routinely had the best at bats on the team and set a tone for everyone to follow.” With a smooth right-handed swing, Mulay routinely kicked off games and innings with a leadoff hit. Scorching line drive singles were the norm, often serving as a catalyst for crooked innings. With his glove, Mulay was a vacuum cleaner at second, gobbling up ground balls with ease and turning smooth double plays. He was a key factor in the Jumbos’ 2024 New England Club Baseball Association championship run.
Off the field, Mulay studied economics and entrepreneurship, and he could sell the heck out of redemption toys. Hailing from Colfax, Calif., a town of under 2,000 people, he brought a West Coast flair and an unwavering appetite for the game to the team. “His passion for club baseball is unmatched, in a way that makes playing the game with him so much more fun,” rising sophomore Harrison Sternberg wrote in a message to the Daily. While baseball can be stressful and tedious, Mulay always saw the bright side of a game. He showed up to every practice, game and team event with a smile, ready to crack a joke. He made everyone, from the first-years to the seniors, feel included and ready to play. Further, he often offered nuggets of wisdom regarding academics, on topics ranging from which professors’ classes to take to how to approach a final presentation. The team will surely be less vibrant, energetic and fun without him. Put simply, Mulay is someone that players “love having on [their] team.”
Kendrick Freeman
No championship run is possible without clutch performances by star players. Graduating senior Kendrick Freeman delivered exactly that in helping Tufts Club Baseball secure its first NECBA championship this fall. Between a sliding-catch-turned-double play in the quarterfinals and three hits with four RBI during the semifinals and finals, Freeman’s performance was nothing short of legendary. He graduates from the program as one of the most impactful players in recent memory.
Though Freeman, a right-handed outfielder and pitcher from East Granby, Conn., brings a calm presence, his results are anything but. Simply put by rising sophomore Mathew Long, “His bat did the talking.” A NECBA All-Star, Freeman was one of the most powerful hitters in the league, as well as a Gold Glove defender. In his senior campaign, he recorded a .449 batting average, a .567 on-base percentage and a team-leading .735 slugging percentage. He recorded 22 hits and led the team with an astounding 12 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs. His power was also present in his junior year, as he led the team with two home runs, the most recent over-the-fence home runs to date for the team.
Beyond his stats, Freeman has been a phenomenal teammate and an integral part of the team these past few years. Sternberg reflected that “Kendrick has a quiet confidence that raises our level of play consistently.” His former coach, Eric Epstein, reflected that Kendrick is “one of the most dedicated and loyal guys.” He added that Freeman approached every practice and game with a focused attitude that the rest of the team took their cue from. Rising sophomore Jackson Ehrlich described Freeman in a similar vein, noting his hard work, perseverance and humility.
Rising sophomore Yuv Sakhalkar wrote that, in getting to know Freeman, he’s found him to be “unbelievably kind, easygoing, and authentic.” He added, “I respect the hell out of Kendrick and am definitely going to miss his company.” It is without a doubt that the whole team echoes that sentiment. There will be a huge hole to fill in centerfield as the club team looks ahead to next season. The team is grateful for everything Freeman has brought to the club both on and off the field and wishes him all the luck in the world as he heads to law school next fall.
Jacob Messeri
Baseball Hall of Famer Miller Huggins once proclaimed, “A good catcher is the quarterback, the carburetor, the lead dog, the traffic cop and sometimes a lot of unprintable things, but no team gets very far without one.” Graduating senior captain Jacob Messeri, affectionately called “JMess” by his teammates, perfectly encapsulates a catcher’s spirit. Messeri embodied reliability and heart. He came to every practice without fail, prepared with the team’s helmets and a bucket of balls, even when his Acura — older than some of the team’s first-years — refused to start. His sociability — seen through digs about Juan Soto joining his beloved New York Mets or personal stories about hitting with Minor League third baseman Brandon Drury — kept practices loose and spurred team camaraderie. On the field, he squatted for hours on end, uncomplaining in spite of claims from the younger players that his old age made him “unc.” In the championship game, playing through a knee injury, Messeri caught all seven innings, calmly guiding rising sophomore pitcher Chris Kwon through the final three high-intensity innings.
Off the field, Messeri served as a role model and mentor for the younger classes. As co-head of education for the Tufts Financial Group, he was responsible for the instruction of new first-year members. Writing about Messeri’s role in his Tufts academic journey, rising junior Parker Goodman and current TFG member wrote in a message to the Daily, “I attribute almost everything to him.” Messeri was eager to make new team members feel welcome, frequently offering his home to host team social events. His generosity extended beyond the club members. Long wrote, “Following our intrasquad game, one Jacob Messeri — sitting behind the wheel of a large white van and sporting a Paul Skenes esque mustache — offered a young neighborhood boy a ride home after his ride fell through.”
While Messeri is heading off into the world of New York City finance as an investment banking analyst at Solomon Partners, his presence will undoubtedly be felt in each of the club baseball players who were lucky enough to have shared the diamond with him.
Richard “Dick” Diamond
Nearly every underclassman on the club baseball team has a similar story about their first practice. The first person they met was graduating senior Richard Diamond, and he always took his time to introduce himself and make them feel at home. While navigating the role of a player captain is notoriously difficult, Diamond excelled at bridging this divide. Sternberg wrote about how “the community he brings to this team has made this … into more than just a team for me. … It’s a family, a group of guys I know I can count on.” On the field, he flourished as the team’s Swiss Army knife, manning positions in both the infield and outfield on his way to a prestigious 2022 NECBA All-Star award. Despite personal success, consecutive first-round losses to Vermont in the 2022 and 2023 NECBA playoffs left him deeply dissatisfied.
Elected captain in his sophomore year, he went to great lengths to grow the team. This effort paid dividends in the fall 2024 season as the Jumbos went 11–1 with a league-leading six mercy rule victories in the regular season. Just as importantly, he served as a welcoming leader and role model for younger players. Rising sophomore Wyatt Bolduc wrote in a message to the Daily about a game in which Diamond took a few moments to go “up to my parents and was very nice and kinda made it a point to talk to them and get to know a little about me.” This small gesture is emblematic of Diamond’s leadership style, in which little efforts combined to create a cohesive team. During the playoff run, he also served a key role, especially in the semifinals against Providence. He went three for four with two clutch extra-base hits and scored the tying run in a comeback win. The next game, he vanquished losses of the past two years, raising the NECBA championship trophy in front of his enthusiastic cadre of fans.
Off the field, Diamond studied data science and worked as a teaching assistant for Computer Science 61. As president of Baseball Analytics at Tufts, Diamond placed highly in multiple competitions, including winning the 2022 Society for American Baseball Research Diamond (no relation) Dollars Case Competition. His competitive nature came out in intramural sports, particularly on the soccer pitch, where he often found himself on opposing ends of the pitch with his baseball teammates. Following graduation, he plans to move to Washington, D.C., and work as a consultant.
Diamond’s powerful bat and versatile glove will leave a noticeable hole in the lineup. Perhaps more importantly, his leadership will be missed by all on the team. The upward trajectory of the team is largely thanks to his efforts, and the players and leaders he has mentored will be sure to carry on his legacy, both on the field and off.
So, while Diamond, Freeman, Messeri and Mulay may never reach the big leagues, their contributions to the game at Tufts, on and off the field, will be long-lasting. They were, after all, NECBA champions, and you’ll never sing that.
