Wallingford Resident Signs With Boston Red Sox

WALLINGFORD, CT — Wallingford’s Jake MacKenzie signed with the Boston Red Sox this week, following an abbreviated MLB Draft. This year’s draft was shortened to only five rounds due to the coronavirus pandemic, which left qualified-draft eligible players able to sign with MLB teams as a free agent or return to their college teams.

MacKenzie, a junior at Fordham, was a multi-sport athlete at Choate. He played for the baseball, basketball and water polo teams. He was a two-year baseball captain and senior captain for the basketball team.

MacKenzie, a shortstop, told the Hartford Courant that the Red Sox were the first team that reached out to him on Sunday morning (when the signing period began) and had always expressed interest in him.

MacKenzie played in 133 games over two-plus seasons before the pandemic shutdown the 2020 season. He quickly made his mark on the Fordham baseball program, earning several awards as a freshman. He received the 2018 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Award and earned a spot on the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American team. He also earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast Region Second Team honors, as well as getting First Team All-Atlantic 10 and ECAC All-Star status.

In 2019, MacKenzie helped Fordham capture the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 1998 and earning a trip to the NCAA Championship. He set single-season records in games played (62), games started (62) and at bats (246), and became the first Ram with back-to-back 30 stolen base seasons since the early 1990s, according to a Fordham news release. He led the Atlantic 10 in stolen bases with 43 and ranked fourth in the NCAA.

He batted .305 as a sophomore with 49 runs scored, 15 doubles, three home runs, and 28 RBI, setting personal-bests in average, runs scored, doubles, and stolen bases. MacKenzie also posted a team-best 19 multi-hit games.

“His 2020 season was off to a great start before the pandemic, as he was named to the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List, which is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity,” according to the news release.

In 16 games, MacKenzie batted .356 with 10 runs scored, six extra-base hits, and nine RBIs. He also stole seven stolen bases, moving into fifth place on the Rams' career leaders list (84), while adding a team-best eight multi-hit games. Following the year, he rated in the top 30 shortstops (#26) in the country as ranked by D1Baseball.com.