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News for and about Northeast Eagles alumni athletes. If you are aware of news
or information that can be shared here, please send email to eagles@nhsathleticboosters.com.
Father-son duo keen on going distance
From the Maryland Gazette, by David Broughton, Staff Writer, published
August 14, 2011 If anybody's qualified to assess
the athletic potential of Brody Kean, it's his dad Billy. After all, Billy Kean coached Brody in both soccer
and baseball when the latter was growing up, well enough for Brody to eventually become a star baseball player at Northeast
High. A 2008 Northeast graduate, Brody's collegiate baseball
career was derailed by a shoulder injury. Currently a senior at UMBC, the 21-year-old has turned his full attention to golf,
specifically long drive competitions. And again, just like when he was a kid, Brody receives instruction from his dad.
"Brody has all the tools to be an elite hitter,'' Billy Kean
said. "He's long, lean, muscular and flexible, and his club speed is 125 mph.'' Billy Kean knows a thing or two about driving a golf ball. A 52-year-old electrician in IBEW LU24, Kean has been
competing in long drive competitions for seven years. Five of those years Kean advanced from local qualifying to regionals.
This weekend at Oakland Beach Golf Club in Conneaut Lake, Pa., Billy
Kean, competing in the Senior Division, will try advance through regionals for the first time. And he'll have company, as
Brody will also be on hand competing in the Open Division. The
Pasadena father-son tandem made it through local qualifying last month at Deer Run Golf Club near Ocean City. Billy Kean finished second in the Senior Division with a best measurable drive
of 299 yards, 10 yards behind the winning drive of 309. Meanwhile, Brody qualified fourth in the Open Division with a drive
of 319 yards despite breaking his driver in warmups and having to borrow his dad's club to compete. This marks the second time the Keans have both qualified; in 2005, Brody qualified in the Junior Division. While the Keans don't often play a full round of golf together, they do meet up
a couple times a week at Pasadena Golf Center to practice driving. Billy Kean, at 5-10, 185 pounds and a former baseball star
himself, has a club head speed of "118 to 120 mph,'' and can drive the ball "325 to 330 yards.'' Brody, at 6-1, 165 pounds, is about "25 to 30 yards'' longer, according to
his dad. The top four finishers in each category will advance
to the Remax World Long Drive Championships in Mesquite, Nev., in October.
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| Jill Mullan |
Jill Mullan - Shippensburg Former
Northeast softball standout Jill Mullan has helped lead Shippensburg University to the eastern division championship of the
PSAC conference. She has had an outstanding career and will graduate this May with a 3.33 GPA and her BS in Human Communication
with a minor in communication journalism. She leaves Shippensburg as the career stolen base leader there as well will
finish her career on the all-time list for career at-bats, third in triples in a single season and 6th all-time in triples.
She is batting .366 as their lead-off hitter and has played in every game of her college career including starting in 175
of 180 games played (54/59 her freshman yr.). She also was named one of the team captains her junior and senior seasons.
Katie
McGahagan - Salisbury
From the Annapolis Capital,
published November 30, 2010 College
Roundup - Sophomore guard Katie McGahagan (Northeast) was named the CAC Women's Basketball Player
of the Week. The Pasadena native led the Sea Gulls to their first CAC victory in SU's 68-60 overtime victory over Stevenson
University. McGahagan set career-highs in points scored (14), rebounds (25), minutes played (44) and steals (four).
Trying times on Tour for Pasadena golfer
From the Annapolis Capital, by David
Broughton, Staff Writer, published
November 25, 2010 Stephanie Connelly bagged a top-10 finish in the first
tournament of her first full season on the LPGA Future's Tour. That was in March, at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic
in Winter Haven, Fla. Connelly posted rounds of 73 and 70, tying for 10th and earning a $1,400 paycheck for her efforts. While Connelly knew not to expect such finishes in every event, little did she realize that Winter Haven would represent
her high-water mark. Connelly would play 16 Future's Tour events in 2010, posting two other top-20 finishes but also missing
the cut nine times, including five tournaments in a row from mid-June to early August. For Connelly,
a Pasadena resident who won three state championships playing for Northeast High, 2010 was an eye-opener, both on and off
the golf course. "It was a learning experience, basically a big lifestyle change,'' said
Connelly, 23. "I was all on my own. The difference in pro golf is that things aren't always
going to get done for you anymore - things you didn't realize,'' Connelly said. "I would be on the course and things
would randomly pop into my head like, 'Did I remember to mail in my fee for the next tournament?' It
sounds menial, but those are things you have to think about. A lot of it is trial and error. It can get overwhelming at first,
but you just try not to worry about it. You just try to find a routine that works for you." Organizational
details only added to the clutter for Connelly, who tweaked her swing during the season. "I
worked on my swing and it took a long time for me to make the adjustment,'' said Connelly, who made the cut in two of her
final three tournaments. Connelly ended the 2010 season ranked 101st. She earned $5,935 in prize
money. Being a member of the Future's Tour can be a grind, But Connelly managed to make the most
of it. She has several friends on the tour, and eventually realized that the more relaxed she was off the course, the better
she played. "I've known a lot of the girls for a long time," said Connelly, who played
collegiately at Central Florida. "When you're constantly on the road, you have to take a day off, so we go out to dinner,
go shopping, go to concerts, stuff like that. I've always had high expectations, and sometimes
I try to get too perfect and then I get down on myself,'' Connelly said. "I was trying too hard and practicing too much
and really stressing myself out. FI put a lot of pressure on myself. Finally, I just said 'It's a freaking game. Hit the ball,
go hit it again, and don't worry about it.''' As the 2011 season approaches, Connelly has reason
for optimism. Earlier this month, in the first stage of LPGA Qualifying School in Palm Springs, Calif.,
she finished in the top 30 to secure a spot in the finals in December in Daytona Beach. In October,
Connelly shot a 1-over-par 73 to win the rain-shortened Maryland Open at GlenRiddle Golf Club in Berlin. While she's been home in Pasadena, Connelly has split her time between practicing at Compass Pointe, Sparrows Point
and Hunters Oak. She also works part-time as a server at The Stoney Creek Inn, which is owned by her aunt. While she enjoys being home and being around family and friends, anyone who knows her understands Connelly has a
steely focus that won't allow her to stand still for too long at a time. "It's hard to explain;
this is where I grew up and this will always be my home,'' Connelly said. "But I like to travel and like being on the
road. I get bored. It's not like I don't like it here, it's just that I'd rather be in other places."
Northeast castoff signs with Orioles
From the Annapolis Capital, by James Peters, for
The Capital, published September 8, 2010
Cut
loose from the baseball team at Northeast High for bad behavior, Glynn Davis found his life at a crossroads a little more
than a year ago. He apparently took the right fork. Last month, he signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent and now
is scheduled to play professional baseball next spring.
The
pivotal point that changed Davis' career came during a closed-door meeting with Northeast baseball Coach Adam Bolling during
the spring of 2009. "I told him that his conduct was detrimental to the team … so we cut him three or four games
into the season," Bolling said. "It was never anything Glynn did on the baseball field or his baseball-playing ability.
"I told him that he could go one of two ways. I could
see him in the mall in 10 years with a wife and three kids and he walks up and shakes my hand and says coach, 'Thank you.
You changed my life. You really opened my eyes,' or you could see me and say 'That guy ruined my life and I never want to
see him again.' "
Before even graduating from Northeast,
Davis chose the former - well, without the wife and children anyway - and the venue was the school's hallways, not Marley
Station. "Everyday I'd see him in school and he'd shake my hand and look me in the eye and ask, 'do you guys have a game?'
" Bolling said. "I'd say 'yes' and he'd say 'tell the boys good luck and you too coach, good luck.' I was sort of
taken back by that. He knew he wasn't going to be back on the team. He took it in stride. It was really a wake-up call for
him."
Davis said the event changed his outlook on
life. "It just changed everything. I view (baseball) in a completely different way. It's more of a privilege to play,"
he said.
With that life-jarring alarm still ringing in
his ears, Davis regrouped in time to play for the Maryland Orioles of the Maryland Collegiate Baseball League last summer,
where he played well enough to gain the attention of Dan Blue, coach of the Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville,
and then ultimately professional scouts. "Obviously, the thing that stood out the most was his pure speed and athleticism,"
Blue said. "He ran a 6.4 (second) 60-yard dash in the fall and he had great bat speed, a strong arm and he's got a nice
frame. He's like 6-foot-2, 175 pounds. If the kid puts on some muscle and pounds, the talent was there."
Blue was right and then some. Davis, a shortstop in high school and college, put
together as fine a season as anyone had at the junior college level this past spring, batting .460 with 81 hits, 62 runs,
16 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 45 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases to lead Catonsville to a team record 37 wins.
For his efforts, Davis was named the 2010 CCBC-Catonsville
Male Athlete of the Year and to the 2010 NJCAA Division II Baseball All-America team. "I got off to a good start at the
beginning of the year in Florida," Davis said. "When I got back, I kept on doing it. It just never quit and that's
all I could ask for."
A return to the Maryland Orioles
this summer didn't slow his bat, either, as Davis produced a .376 batting average with 16 RBIs in 27 games before joining
the Youse's Orioles of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League to help it capture the AAABA National Championship in Johnstown,
Pa. He batted .432 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 10 games (through the league championship series) for Youse's. "After
having a great tournament up in Johnstown, he got on the map of a lot of teams; so the Orioles thought it was time to get
him right now instead of waiting until next year's draft," Blue said. "They've got themselves a heck of a player."
Davis said Baltimore actually contacted him during the June
Amateur Draft but that he declined an offer and the Orioles eventually decided not to draft him. That thinking changed after
Johnstown. "They made a lot better offer and it seemed the right thing to do so I went with it," said Davis, who,
according to an article on masnsports.com, received a bonus equal to top-10 round draft picks taken in the recent draft. "I
grew up a big Orioles fan. There's nothing better than playing for the hometown team.
"The day I signed, I was shocked. My dream was coming true. Everything is starting to sink in. I work out every
day to try to get better."
Davis, who had verbally
committed to the University of Central Florida in July for his junior and senior campaigns, will be moved to center field
to better take advantage of his speed. He played the new position some for the Youse's Orioles. "He's got a top of scale
run tool," Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan was quoted as saying in the same masnsports.com article. "He's got
a better than average major league arm and we got a swing that we like …. He's got the physical ability to be a real
good player."
Davis's contract doesn't start until next year but he did get a taste
of the minor league experience recently while participating in five pre-game warm-ups with the Aberdeen Ironbirds, Baltimore's
Class-A short season affiliate. "What a great story that I'll be able to tell during my coaching career," Bolling
said. "I can't explain how happy I am for him."
Heather
Brown - UMBC Softball
From the Annapolis Capital, published February 22, 2010 College Roundup - Junior second baseman Lauren Brummell drove
in both of UMBC's runs and freshman starter Heather Brown (Northeast) pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings as
the UMBC softball team (3-1) outdueled host USC Upstate (3-3) for a 2-1 victory in the championship game of the Campus Suites
Spartan Classic yesterday afternoon. Junior Stephanie Weigman
(Archbishop Spalding) induced a pair of pop-ups in the final inning to preserve the UMBC victory.
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