Defilippo Thrilled To Be Part Of The Boston College Culture

Matthew Defilippo RHP / Avon Old Farms, CT / 2026

FARMINGTON, Ct. - Until this year Matt Defilippo was a two-way player. But that changed and the sixth-rated 2026 right-handed pitcher in New England is happy how it worked out.

“I decided to focus just on pitching,” the Avon Old Farms junior reflected. “I did a program with Cressey (High Performance Training) and another with MVP New England and that really helped me. I took a crazy jump.”

After hitting 88 with his fastball just once in the spring, the fourth-ranked 2026 in Connecticut began sitting 88-90 while touching 91.

“Throwing more and being on top of arm care really helped my arm stay healthy,” Defilippo related. “It was amazing.”

Boston College was one of a large number of schools that became intrigued by the hard-throwing righty.

“They reached out to my coach Matt Burns and saw me in the summer, then came to watch me again at the Future Games which was huge for them,” the 17-year-old said. “They were able to see me competing on a large scale.”

On Aug. 1, BC was among the schools to reach out, with Northeastern, Harvard, Penn State, Campbell and Georgetown others that the second-rated junior right-handed pitcher in Connecticut considered.

“I went to a camp two to three weeks into August and they offered after that,” Defilippo said of Boston College. “I toured the campus and the baseball facilities. My cousin went there and it just felt like home. I loved it right away.”

At the end of August, Defilippo was a commit to the Atlantic Coast Conference university, located 100 minutes from home.

“I had thought of going south and playing in warm weather but after thinking about it, I liked the idea of staying closer to home,” Defilippo explained.

Boston College is pleased that became the case and is thrilled to have the 17th-ranked 2026 player in New England as part of the ACC program.

“They really love my slider, which I throw hard with a lot of spin,” Defilippo related. “They also like the natural tail on my fastball and my projectability. I’m a little skinny, but the plan is to gain weight this offseason which will make my ceiling even higher.”

The 6-3 175-pounder has aspired to play at the next level for some time.

“It’s always been in my mind since I began playing baseball and picked up a bat,” Defilippo noted. “I’ve always loved baseball and my dream has been to play in college, but until this year I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know it would come this fast.

“Recruitment for me started right before summer kicked off when I posted a bullpen and a bunch of coaches started to reach out to my travel coach,” Defilippo continued. “The Future Games was really big for me. The 20-plus coaches that called, most saw me at the Future Games and had good things to say. So many coaches saw me there. You don’t get that anywhere else.”

Burns and Avon Old Farms head coach Rob Dowling are credited with being influential in assisting Defilippo up to this point in his baseball career.

“Matt Burns helped me so much,” Defilippo explained. “He made things so easy for me. My recruitment was not stressful at all. AOF coach Dowling helped with talking to coaches, how to present myself and how to act on and off the field.”

A commitment was an “awesome” feeling according to Defilippo, who carries a 3.78 GPA at Avon Old Farms and plans to major in business economics at BC.

“Boston College, I feel, is the perfect school for me,” Defilippo said. “I’m so glad they reached out and gave me an offer. I couldn’t be more happy to accept it.”

Defilippo is confident about making an impact at the next level.

“I plan on taking a key role on their pitching staff, putting guys away and also being a good teammate,” Defilippo concluded. “Competing at the ACC level against all those teams is going to be amazing. I want to see how I compare against them.

“Being part of the BC culture is going to be great,” Defilippo added. “I have a friend, Ben Williams from AOF, that goes there and he has good things to say. I can’t wait to meet up with him.”