Commitment To St. John’s A Stress Reliever For Shea

Kieran Shea C / 1B / Fairfield Warde, CT / 2024

FAIRFIELD, Ct. - The plan for Kieran Shea was to do a post-grad year at Cheshire Academy. But that changed when St. John’s entered the picture.

“My junior year I did a couple PBR events which was great to get my metrics out for college coaches to see,” the Fairfield Warde 2024 graduate noted. “Junior year I was talking with a few D-III schools that saw me through PBR and a couple through coaches. But it wasn’t what I was looking for so I decided on Cheshire.

“It was very stressful. Having to go through the process another year was not what I wanted. Then St. John’s came along and I took it.”

With the help of travel coach Maxx Catapano, the 6-3 225-pounder connected with St. John’s and, after seeing Shea in action on April 15, a visit took place on May 4. An offer followed and four days later a commitment was made.

“When I went on the visit it felt right,” Shea explained. “I loved the campus and it’s a good business school. It was a perfect fit for me. I met a couple players and they were all welcoming.”

St. John’s saw a lot to like in the promising catcher.

“They like my receiving defense and my throwing,” Shea related. “Defense is the strong part of my game, but I’ve got to get a little faster.”

That is something that Shea has been working on.”

“My game has developed in every way, especially speed,” noted Shea, who turned 18 on June 2. “I was extremely slow, but have found out getting faster has helped me with everything, getting out of the box, throwing down, blocking, hitting. It’s a challenging game but if you put the work in during the offseason you can see the results.”

The strong work ethic has helped Shea achieve a long-time goal to play baseball at the next level.

“College baseball is something I’ve wanted to do,” Shea explained. “I love the team aspect. It’s such a challenging game mentally and physically. Nothing comes easy, you have to put the work in.”

Fairfield Warde coaches Brett Conner and Jim Pjura have been influential in his development to get to the point of being a college commit at the Big East Conference university an hour from home.

“I’m extremely happy about this,” Shea said of his commitment. “The stress dropped right off my shoulders once I committed. It’s a great feeling to go to a school with a team playing at such a high level.

“I’m excited to be part of the team environment,” added Shea about joining the program of the 2024 Big East tournament champions. “Traveling should be a lot of fun with the guys they have and the guys they have coming in.”

Shea, who carries a 3.3 GPA at Fairfield Warde and is looking at a major in business at St. John’s, is confident he can make an impact in the program.

“I’ll bring a lot of energy,” Shea said. “I’ll compete day in and day out, do my job and support the team. I’ll bring a lot of knowledge about the game while hoping to learn a lot as well.”