Baseball Journey For Danos Continues At William & Mary

HAMPTON FALLS, N.H. - Luca Danos says he “grew up in locker rooms.”

His father Jon, currently the Executive Athletic Director at the University of New Hampshire, spent 25 years in minor league baseball, a dozen with Opening Day Partners and Maryland Baseball as president and COO. Prior to that he worked with affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles, including a stint as the youngest general manager in professional baseball.

“It’s where my love for baseball came,” Danos related. “I’ve been around professional players my whole life.”

But his goal has been to play college baseball and the 21st-rated junior in New England will get that opportunity with a commitment to William & Mary.

“Playing Division I college baseball has been a dream of mine since seventh-grade year,” Danos related. “I’d tell people I want to play Division I baseball more than major league baseball.”

Not long after, interest in Danos began to heat up.

“I started the recruiting process early,” Danos reflected. “Summer of my freshman year I got my first offer. Everything skyrocketed once I transferred to Noble. Coach (Rob) Murray has been a big help. Noble & Greenough opened up the quality of academics to me.”

The ability to play baseball to go along with his propensity in the classroom helped bring numerous schools into the picture.

“I talked to a lot of them my second sophomore spring after repeating,” the sixth-rated 2021 shortstop in New England said. “Coach Murray got me in contact with a lot of schools.”

Villanova, Penn State, Boston College, Louisiana-Lafayette, Jacksonville and Furman along with “a couple of Power Five schools” took notice while a “couple other mid-majors offered” Danos. But William & Mary proved to be the ideal school for the 18-year-old from Hampton Falls.

“My family and I did a lot of research on the school,” Danos noted. “Brendan Harris went to William & Mary and he went on to play eight years in the majors. It provides good academics and they play in a good baseball conference. It’s everything I wanted.”

The idea of staying in the eastern part of the United States is also appealing to Danos, who had good things to say about baseball in the northeast after participating in the PBR New England Procase event in February.

“There are a lot of great players in New England, they’re no slouch at making good baseball players,” Danos pointed out. “New England baseball is a much closer family than down south or in California. They all know each other’s names, they’ve been on the circuit together. I think it’s a closer family than anywhere in the country.”

Danos believes there is plenty he can provide the Colonial Conference school when it comes to baseball.

“I’ll bring another level in terms of energy and passion ... and bonding with teammates,” Danos said. “Defensively, I’ll add a boost and I think I can contribute offensively.”

The 5-11 175-pound shortstop has made big strides of late.

“I fell in love with the weight room,” Danos said. “My best friends are football guys that are highly recruited and working out with them I’ve gained 25 pounds. I’ve gotten a lot stronger and also a lot faster.”

There is an understanding more improvement is needed.

“My speed and intelligence on the base path needs to get better,” Danos admitted. “Jumping to a high-level conference, the game’s a lot faster and you have to be able to adjust the internal clock as you move up.”

In addition to his father and coach Murray at Noble & Greenough, Danos points to former Red Sox Butch Hopson and Rockland Boulders manager Jamie Keefe with being influential in helping him as a hitter.

“The Legends program is where my recruiting all started and NEB really put it over the edge,” added Danos about others that have proven beneficial in his baseball journey.

Business and finance are projected majors for Danos at William & Mary.

“High academics are important to me,” Danos said in looking ahead to college. “The coaches there are all great people, they all have New England ties. (Assistant) Coach (Brian) Casey’s father is the legendary Tufts coach (John Casey, 38 years at the school).”

With a 93 exit velo, 85 position velo and 7.1 time in the 60 “I’m working to improve,” Danos impressed the staff at William & Mary.

“They like my defense, my hands,” Danos explained. “I have a versatile arm with a lot of arm slots. I’ve gained a lot of weight and with that I’ve gained power. I think I impressed them with my power.”

But the work is never done.

“It’s definitely a relief to commit, but I can’t forget I’ve got to keep getting better,” Danos concluded. “I want to contribute for William & Mary early on. I want to be the best player I can be when I get there.”