Baseball: Brick’s Carmen Sclafani Commits to Rutgers

Brick senior Carmen Sclafani, a two-time, first-team All-Shore selection by Shore Sports Network as a quarterback, will continue his future on the baseball diamond rather than the gridiron.

Sclafani verbally committed to play baseball at Rutgers on Wednesday night, choosing between his two favorite sports. Sclafani is also a standout shortstop for the Green Dragons. He had FCS football scholarship offers from Sacred Heart, which he visited this past weekend, and St. Francis (Pa.), but opted for the Scarlet Knights.

"I have an equal love for both sports, and at the end of the day it's a chance to play Big Ten baseball,'' he said. "I was given this great opportunity to stay home in New Jersey and go to my mom and dad's alma mater. No one was pushing me one way or another, and I looked thoroughly into everything.

"This is just what I want. I know I'm going to have fun, I love the coaches, and I know a lot of the guys on the team. It came down to being a perfect fit for me."

Sclafani was recruited as an infielder by Rutgers, which he said may also try him out at a corner outfield spot in the fall. He had the scholarship offer heading into the first signing period in November but wanted to explore his football options first. He will sign his National Letter of Intent with Rutgers in the next baseball signing period, which is April 15.

Sclafani hit .403 with 27 hits, 20 runs scored, 7 doubles and a .488 on-base percentage as a junior last spring in his first season with the Green Dragons after transferring from Toms River North, where he starred as a sophomore on a team that finished No. 1 in the Shore and won the Shore Conference Tournament.

On the football field, Sclafani helped the Green Dragons win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV title in 2013 for their first state title since 1994. This season, he helped them claim the Class A South title for their first division title since 2008 while also reaching the Central Jersey Group IV semifinals. For the second time in three seasons, he threw for over 1,000 yards and also ran for over 1,000 yards, and he registered his third straight 1,000-yard rushing season. He went 83-for-156 for 1,399 yards and 18 touchdowns passing and also ran for 1,427 yards and 16 touchdowns on an average of 9.8 yards per carry.

In his three-year varsity career between a year at Toms River North and two seasons at Brick, he threw for 3,315 yards and 34 touchdowns and ran for 3,624 yards and 43 touchdowns to put himself among the most prolific quarterbacks in Shore Conference history.

"I love football because I've grown up in this area, and playing football in Brick and the Shore Conference, wherever I went, it was not going to be the same football as it is here,'' Sclafani said. "I'm always looking to better myself, and (playing baseball for Rutgers) was the best opportunity of all of them."

Sclafani will join a Rutgers team that includes a host of former Shore Conference stars, including junior pitcher Howie Brey (Middletown South); junior catcher/infielder R.J. Devish (Toms River South); redshirt sophomore pitcher Kyle Driscoll (Toms River South); freshman pitcher Gianni Magliaro (Colts Neck); junior pitcher Mark McCoy (Barnegat); freshman catcher Anthony Santoro (St. John Vianney); sophomore pitcher Donovan Waller (Lacey); freshman pitcher Ryan Wares (Howell); and senior outfielder Vinny Zarrillo (Lacey).