Four Jumbos earn First-Career All-NESCAC Honors

MEDFORD, MA (May 14, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team picked up four postseason awards following their 2025 season as a quartet of Jumbos earn All-New England Small College Athletic Conference recognition for the first time in their careers.

Leading off the list of award-winners is senior outfielder Ben Leonard. The slugger powered the Tufts offense with a team-leading nine home runs. His long-ball total was the second most in the entire NESCAC and matches Steve Ragonese's total from the 2007 and 2008 Tufts seasons. Only Evan Zupancic's eleven home runs in the 2002 season exceeds Leonard's 2025 total. He possessed more than raw power, as his 1.121 OPS including an almost .500 on-base average reflects. His 43 hits were second most for the Jumbos, and his speed helped him to a team-leading 11 stolen bases and 85 total bases on the year. His ironman effort in all 37 games this season helped him earn his first-ever All-NESCAC First Team award.

Joining Leonard on the All-NESCAC First Team is fellow senior Connor Podeszwa. Leading all qualified Tufts starters in ERA with a mark of 3.77, the stingy starter consistently stabilized the rotation with lengthy outings reminiscent of a bygone era of starting pitchers. Five of his nine starts went seven innings or longer, showing not only his stamina but his mental resilience. In March at Whittier, Podeszwa pitched eight innings of scoreless baseball while managing eight hits. A similar eight inning outing at Middlebury kept the Jumbos playoff hopes alive, and secured the eighth best ERA, sixth best batting average against, fifth most strikeouts and fourth fewest walks in the entire conference. The All-NESCAC First Team nod is the first in his career.

Senior Jacob Lapp picks up an All-NESCAC Second Team award after a season that also hearkened back to the starting pitchers of yesteryear. A run of four starts of more than seven innings helped Tufts reach the NESCAC Tournament. Highlighted by a nine inning complete game against Amherst that was a single run away from being a "Maddux," Lapp provided stability to a starting rotation that saw heavy usage throughout a grueling nationwide schedule. His command was the best in the conference as he let up only seven walks, a mark that leads the NESCAC by five. His efficient, precise pitching earned him his first All-NESCAC honors.

The final Jumbo to earn All-NESCAC Second Team honors is also the only infielder to be named to the postseason award. First year James Henshon picked up the first All-NESCAC award of his career after a stellar year at the plate and in the hot corner for the Jumbos. The rookie tore the cover off the ball for most of April, hitting in 11 straight games with all but one of which being multi-hit performances. His 47 base hits led the Jumbos, and a .462 slugging percentage was helped along by his three triples and pair of dingers. He was a tough out for opposing pitchers to get all season long, striking out only 12 times to lead all qualified Tufts hitters. It was a fantastic start to Henshon's Tufts baseball tenure as he started 36 of 37 games and earned the first postseason honors of his blossoming collegiate career.

The four All-NESCAC honorees matches last season's total, but sees a new cast of faces representing the brown and blue in 2025. They are also the first postseason awards attributed to players under the management of first year head coach Bryan Stark. Tufts ended their season after a heartbreaking 9-5 loss in Game Three of the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament at Middlebury.