Baseball

Frometa, Staubley Earn Sportsmanship Award in FCBL

Adam Keenan Sportsmanship & Scholarship Award Named After Former NE10 Player.

ROCKLAND, Mass. – The Futures Collegiate Baseball League announced its 2025 Adam Keenan Sportsmanship & Scholarship Award winners on Friday, August 22, with American International College’s Josh Frometa earning the honor as a member of the Westfield Starfires and Southern Connecticut State University’s Brennan Staubley taking the accolade as a member of the New Britain Bees.

Click here for the FCBL’s release.

The award is named for the late Adam Keenan, a baseball player who played in the Northeast 10 Conference at Franklin Pierce University and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in 2010 and 2011; he was at a preseason practice with the Seacoast Mavericks ahead of the FCBL’s first games when he collapsed from cardiac arrest and passed away on June 6, 2011. It was later revealed that he had an undiagnosed and rare heart condition called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy.

The FCBL established the award following his passing, and it “is bestowed upon the Futures League players who exemplify the outstanding attitude, character and sportsmanship that is synonymous with Adam Keenan’s legacy.” Initially awarded to one player, in 2020 the league began issuing the award to one player per member franchise.

Frometa, a third-year Starfire, closed out an incredible career with Westfield over the summer. Across a record 120 games with the team, he set franchise marks for hits, runs, RBI, walks, hit by pitch, and total bases.

Beyond his on-field prowess, he was the team’s leader, starting games for the team at second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and center field as well as designated hitter as needed, and in or out of the lineup was its emotional catalyst. That extended to his community work, where he continually led Westfield’s youth baseball camps.

His level of dedication to the Starfires led to his 24 being the first number in franchise history that was retired.

Additionally, Frometa, along with Worcester Bravehearts winner Josh Fischer, became the first to win the Adam Keenan Award twice; he previously was Westfield’s winner in 2023.

Staubley, playing in his first season with the Bees, was a key cog in the team’s lineup in its run to its first-ever FCBL Championship Series appearance. Naturally a catcher, he split time for the team behind the dish and in left field, and earned an appearance in the FCBL All-Star Game at Polar Park.

He hit .292 on the season with 13 doubles and 25 RBI for the Bees across 49 regular season games. The Owls star saved his best for the biggest moments: in Game 3 of both the FCBL Semifinal against the Vermont Lake Monsters and the FCBL Championship against the Norwich Sea Unicorns, he had multiple hits. He scored what proved to be the decisive third run of the Bees 6-2 clincher in Burlington that sent them to the Championship for the first time.

The duo join a pair of other Northeast 10 Conference players to win the award. T.J. Riccio of the University of New Haven and Worcester won in 2015, while Joel Lara of Franklin Pierce and New Britain did so in 2022 prior to Frometa’s 2023 win.

Release provided by FCBL.

ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

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