Hard Work Pays Off For Flynn With Commitment To Northeastern

DANVERS, Ma. - A “you made it moment” is how Danny Flynn described the feeling he had after making a college commitment to Northeastern.

“I was very happy to fulfill a dream,” Flynn explained. “But I never thought I’d be in that position.”

It is understandable that the Phillips Academy Andover sophomore had that belief.

“I just moved into town at the age of 12 and was trying to play Little League,” Flynn reflected. “I tried out for the majors but didn’t make the team. I was new in town and that didn’t help. So I went back to my old team to play there. It’s also when I started hitting with a hitting coach. I found Bobby Celentano and I worked my butt off.

“I didn’t really want an in your face moment, but I wanted to prove them wrong,” Flynn added. “It was a motivator.”

The beneficiary is Northeastern, which became interested in the second-rated 2025 outfielder in New England during the summer while Flynn was playing with Expos Baseball.

“My coaches knew coach (Kevin) Cobb directly and he came to my games,” Flynn related. “They said they’d been watching me for a couple years and I didn’t know that. They were the second school that I talked with, Maine was the first.

“I appreciated that he wanted to get to know me and we made a connection. He asked me to go to a camp and I went there and did well. I got an offer a few weeks later, Thanksgiving week. They gave me a deadline of Christmas and I ended up accepting.”

There was a lot that made Northeastern the right fit for the seventh-ranked New England sophomore, who was also talking with Wake Forest and Liberty.

“I like that it’s close to home and that I had a special connection with the coaches,” Flynn explained. “It will be very challenging but I felt comfortable with them. At the camp it felt like a high school practice which made me very comfortable. For that I thank my coach at Andover. The offer was also very generous.”

The 5-11 165-pound left-handed hitting outfielder made an impression on Northeastern as well.

“They like to recruit up north, in New England, New York and New Jersey, so they like kids that are local,” Flynn noted. “They also like my speed.”

The commitment brought an end to a recruiting process that was, admittedly, stressful according to the fifth-rated sophomore from Massachusetts.

“I didn’t want to make a decision I would regret two years from now when I’m a senior,” Flynn said. “PBR definitely helped me. When I went to the Junior Future Games it was one of the most fun tournaments I’ve ever played in. After that they gave me a generous ranking which helped my exposure. The coaches I talked with were great and I wanted to maintain those connections.

“I’m grateful to every coach I talked to,” Flynn added. “But I never thought I’d be in this position so early.”

Improvement was vital in getting recognized by coaches at the next level.

“I hit every day for four years with my hitting coach,” Flynn said in reference to Celentano. “He really wanted to help me improve and I hit the weights and was also eating better. Andover coach Kevin Graber was another big help. He taught me more in one year than anyone else ever has. We ended up winning a championship.”

Flynn hopes to continue those winning ways through the remainder of his high school career as well as in college.

“I love the sport,” Flynn said of what he hopes to provide to the program at Northeastern. “On the field I’m definitely a leader. I hold teammates accountable, but not negatively. Off the field I’m a leader, I want everyone to succeed. Overall I’m just a happy kid who wants to succeed and I’m someone who will be excited to be there.”

A 3.6 student in high school uncertain at this point in time about a college major, the 16-year-old is pleased to be heading to a college located just 30 minutes from home.

“I’m happy that my family will be able to come and see me,” Flynn said. “They’ve been my biggest supporters and been with me through thick and thin. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them.”

Expos coaches Derek January and Richie Gilbride along with Celentano and Graber, the former head coach at Phillips Andover who is now a complex coordinator and minor league coach for the Cubs, are others that Flynn credits with playing helpful roles in his baseball journey to Northeastern.

“I’m looking forward to traveling, seeing other colleges and being around a team an entire year,” Flynn said in looking ahead to his days as part of the Colonial Athletic Association program. “Those kids are going to be family.”