Former Logan County High School standout Braxton Meguiar has been named New England Collegiate Baseball League Player of the Week. Meguiar is playing for the Vermont Mountaineers in the league which is a summer-long showcase for Major League Baseball prospects.
The Mountaineers have the best record in the league and lead the North Division by two games with an 11-3 record.
This is what the league’s press release has to say about the former Cougar:
“Vermont Mountaineers infielder Braxton Meguiar (Georgia Gwinnett College) and Valley Blue Sox pitcher David Case (Grand Canyon) have been named the NECBL’s Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 3 of the 2024 regular season.
“During Vermont’s recent hot stretch, Meguiar has been at the center of it all. The Mountaineers’ infielder reached base safely in every game he played, including two three-hit games for Vermont during their winning streak. Meguiar also drove in three runs, providing another key at-bat to the Mountaineers’ potent offense.
“Meguiar has built a name for himself playing for the Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies. Meguiar was named to the 2024 NAIA All-America team for his second selection, as well as earning the CAC Baseball Championship’s Most Outstanding Player award. In his collegiate career, Meguiar has tallied an impressive .394 AVG with 158 RBI.
“On the pitching side of the ball, Valley’s Case dazzled in his June 19 start against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, hurling five shutout innings, allowing no hits and striking out 11 batters. Case has been a reliable arm for the Blue Sox in 2024, posting a 1.38 ERA in three appearances to go along with 26 strikeouts.
“Case made six appearances this season for the Grand Canyon Lopes, after transferring from El Camino College, where he was the South Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year as a senior in 2023. There, Case posted a league-low 1.09 ERA in 2023 to garner the honor.
Braxton Meguiar is the son of Kentucky Baseball Hall of Fame Coach Ethan Meguiar, who has coached the Logan County Cougars for over a quarter of a century, and Nicole Horne Meguiar, who was a standout athlete at Allen County-Scottsville High School.
Braxton likely would hold many of the LCHS records if he could have played his senior season, but that was in the spring of 2020 when all sports were canceled because of the pandemic. He has one more year of eligibility at Georgia Gwinnett.
Not only is Montpelier, Maine, the northern-most city in the league, but Vermont is America’s most northern state besides Alaska. Montpelier is located in the Northwest corner of Maine, close to the border considerably up the Quebec, Canada line. Braxton is seeing parts of the United States that most Logan Countians are only vaguely aware of.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league onX/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is summer baseball at its best, representing the most competitive brand of amateur wooden bat summer baseball in the country. With 13 teams located in all six New England States, the league entertains the region for two months every summer. Student-athletes, who come from all parts of the country, partner with some of the region’s most scenic communities to offer summer baseball at its finest. Now celebrating over a quarter of a century of excellence, the New England League continues to transcend communities and give the best student-athletes from across the country a chance at their dream, which ties directly into the league's mantra -- Keep Your Eye on the Dream!
The NECBL -- now more commonly known as "The New England League" -- was founded in 1993 under the leadership of Emmy Award-winning television producer/director Joseph Consentino, former St. John's University and Boston Red Sox minor league outfielder. George Foster, former Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets All-Star HR and RBI leader, was the NECBL’s first Commissioner. Play started in 1994 and today the NECBL has become a nationally recognized top-tier league that plays in all six New England states and recruits players attending U.S colleges and universities not only across New England, but the entire country and foreign countries, as well.
The New England League starts its summer season in early June and plays an eight-week regular season schedule of approximately 40 games in length. The league champion is determined by a playoff in early August comprised of the top teams from both divisions playing for the right to host the iconic Fay Vincent Sr. Cup.
The New England League has long prided itself on its ability to transcend communities with the region’s love of baseball, a common denominator in all walks of life, combined with some of the nation’s elite up-and-coming prospects who share one common goal. “Together, we all make baseball -- and our communities -- better thanks to a passionate fan base and the dedication of each of our member franchises, from host families, to volunteers, to front offices and everyone in between,” the league website says.
Of course, the talent that passes through the league and its franchises each summer is undeniably some of the best nationwide, and that fact is made more obvious with the league's success in the MLB Draft each June. Providing a platform for players to showcase their skills in front of scouts from every Major League Baseball (MLB) organization, the New England League has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 10 MLB Drafts.