Opportunity To Play At Stonehill Has Durham Ecstatic

Noah Durham OF / RHP / Goffstown High School, NH / 2025

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. - The journey to college baseball has been a bit different for Noah Durham.

For starters, the Goffstown High School senior did not begin playing the sport until the age of 10.

“It was always basketball for me,” explained Durham, now a commit to Stonehill as a two-way player. “I didn’t start until age 10 and when my 12U team went to the World Series Regionals, that’s when I saw that I really wanted to play college baseball. When I became a big contributor to my team I knew I could do it.”

The summer before his sophomore year the top-rated 2025 outfielder in New Hampshire began to take pitching “seriously” and within a year colleges were taking notice.

“My sophomore summer I went to an end-of-the-year tournament in New York and I pitched four innings with seven Ks against a nationally-ranked team,” Durham reflected.

That is when Stonehill entered the picture, with Durham also talking to schools like Coastal Carolina, Northeastern and Dayton.

“Stonehill reached out two weeks after that tourney, but I didn’t think much about it with the bigger schools reaching out,” admitted Durham, who attended a camp at Coastal throwing two innings with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed.

“I only topped at 87, so apparently that wasn’t what they were looking for,” Durham reasoned about his performance at Coastal Carolina. “That winter I put a lot of work in and was up to 91 in high school, but coaches still didn’t come out until the summer.”

However, it all changed in his initial outing.

“In the first inning while pitching to the fourth batter in the first game of summer I tore my UCL,” the ninth-ranked senior in New Hampshire said. “I reached out to schools after that and when Stonehill reached back I knew I still had an opportunity to play college baseball. All the weight was lifted off my shoulders.”

That came in the middle of August and a visit to the Northeast Conference university in Easton, Ma., followed.

“I loved the coaches, they were very personable,” the 17-year-old related. “They were very excited to have me on campus. The weight room was unbelievably nice and the campus was spread out, so there was a big feel to it but with not a lot of students.”

Stonehill is giving the 6-0 185-pounder a chance to be a two-way player.

“It really wasn’t important until I tore my UCL,” explained Durham, who had a pair of other two-way offers from Division II schools. “I saw I could be stripped of my dream at any moment so I really worked on my hitting and the coach there said I could have a chance.

“They like that I can hit for power while usually spraying the ball to the opposite side. With pitching they like that I can spin the ball, throw it hard and have a tight slider I can do damage with.”

The 10th-rated 2025 outfielder in New England pointed to hard work in making improvements in his game in becoming a Stonehill commit.

“My velo and my strength are much better and it’s all from the gym and working out,” Durham said. “That’s been a big contributor. It’s made me what I am as a baseball player.”

To have belief from Stonehill, even with an injury that has him three weeks into a recovery period that will have Durham throwing fully in nine months, means a great deal to the 94th-ranked senior in New England.

“Their coaching staff is good people,” Durham said. “They will do what they can to get me to the next level. Their faith in me means so much. Now I can go play D-I baseball.”

Durham credits his parents as the key to it all happening.

“My mom and dad were super supportive during my recruitment, especially my dad,” Durham related. “He’s always helped me on the mental side and that’s been a very, very big help.”

Making a commitment was, admittedly, a memorable feeling.

“It’s awesome knowing I have a four-year place to play,” Durham said. “Only a few get to do it and I’m glad I get a chance.”

A major in business and minor in finance is the plan for Durham, a 3.6 student confident he can make an impact to the program at Stonehill, located an hour and 40 minutes from his home in New Hampshire.

“I’ll bring a highly-competitive attitude,” Durham explained. “I don’t like losing and I hope they’re all like me and don’t want to lose as much as me.”

There is more than winning that Durham is looking forward to when it comes to his future.

“Being back on the mound and being on campus,” Durham concluded. “It’s an awesome place to be and I can’t wait to get on it.”