Evan Chaffee making jump to Alabama, SEC baseball
HAMBURG, N.Y. (BVM) — If a high school athlete commits to play Division I sports from Western New York, there are a few schools that immediately come to mind. However, a Buffalo-area baseball player going to the University of Alabama? That isn鈥檛 so typical.聽
Neither is Evan Chaffee. Neither was his route to get to Alabama. It heavily involved Vanderbilt University, an SEC rival of Alabama鈥檚, and West Palm Beach, Florida.聽
鈥淚 was pitching at this camp at Vanderbilt,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淚 pitched pretty well. I was 14, maybe. My coach at the camp was really good friends with the coach for this really good travel team called the Elite Squad. So he connected me with this coach from Florida, West Palm Beach. I ended up playing with that Elite Squad team the following fall.鈥�
Chaffee鈥檚 travel ball journey took him to the 2019 World Wood Bat Association鈥檚 Sophomore World Championship in Fort Myers, Florida. There he pitched in the Elite Squad 2022鈥檚 second game of pool play, pitching four innings that saw him surrender one run and one walk while striking out seven batters.
鈥淚 went to Fort Myers to play in a tournament for Elite Squad and I pitched pretty well there,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淭he coach for that team gave me the numbers of all the Alabama coaches and said they were interested. I started talking to them from there.鈥�
So a coach at a Vanderbilt camp inadvertently led to Chaffee getting into contact with the Alabama coaching staff. Surely they must have tried to rectify their mistake?
鈥淚 talked to them for a little bit,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淏ut they never really went after me as hard as Alabama did.鈥�
Now Chaffee has finished his senior year with the Hamburg Bulldogs. They came just shy of winning the state championship, but Chaffee and his teammates made it further than any previous Hamburg team.聽
鈥淲hen you go on a run like that, you are spending a lot of time together,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e practicing four more weeks than every other team. So it was really special seeing all the guys come together鈥� No matter what team you鈥檙e on, there are going to be some kids you don鈥檛 connect with immediately, but by the end of the year everyone was so together and that鈥檚 really special.聽
鈥淭he run we went on, having it be the furthest Hamburg has ever went, obviously that鈥檚 pretty important too.鈥�
Chaffee is getting ready to take the next step in his baseball career by joining the Crimson Tide come the fall. It鈥檚 not often that a Buffalo-area baseball player takes their talents to the Southeastern Conference, but here he is.
鈥淥bviously I鈥檓 proud of myself for getting to this point,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淲hen I look back on it in 10 years, maybe I鈥檒l look at it differently. But now I don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檝e accomplished anything until you鈥檙e actually there playing. I mean it鈥檚 really cool, and I鈥檓 obviously really excited to go, but I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 fully sunk in yet how big of a deal it is. … I don鈥檛 think it will ever really settle in, sink in until you鈥檙e in that first SEC series. But I鈥檓 starting to realize now the opportunity that I have in front of me, and I鈥檓 really excited to get to work. It鈥檒l be fun.鈥�
While Chaffee waits, he also has the opportunity to look back on high school and travel ball, the lessons learned, and the relationships forged.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 realize in the moment, but I鈥檓 already starting to miss it,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the last time you are going to play with kids you are in class with and that live down the street. You take for granted the lessons you learn, playing with a group of guys. I played varsity baseball for five years, won a lot of games, lost a lot of games. You learn so many new things, some of it not even just baseball-related. It is crazy looking back on it, all the people I鈥檝e met, all the lessons I鈥檝e learned.鈥�
While the two playing experiences were different, Chaffee enjoyed them in different ways, and perhaps travel ball will prepare him for the transition to college.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e both great in their own ways,鈥� Chaffee said. 鈥淗igh school baseball, you are playing with your friends, your buddies that you鈥檝e been playing with forever since you were little. Kids that you go to school with and you see every day that live in the same neighborhood as you which makes that special in its own sense.聽
鈥淭ravel baseball, you鈥檙e playing with kids from different sides of the country. Kids with different backgrounds. It鈥檚 really cool to see how in a short weekend, you can connect with so many people.鈥�
Chaffee will undoubtedly get to meet new teammates from different areas when he steps on campus at the University of Alabama. When he does, he will have the experience of playing travel ball to help him.
However, Hamburg and Buffalo will never be too far away.
Plus, he鈥檚 got to make Vandy pay.聽
