NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Head coach Link Jarrett announced the baseball team captains Saturday afternoon and some familiar faces will be leading the Irish. Graduate student Cameron Brown and senior Niko Kavadas return as team captains and are joined by seniors Tommy Sheehan and Jared Miller.
“Being chosen a team captain by your teammates is quite an honor, and in my opinion, one of the best,” said Jarrett. “These four players are highly thought of within our program and that was clearly evident in the voting that occurred. On field performance, work ethic, and leadership qualities are all traits our players saw represented in their selection of captains for the 2021 season. It is unfortunate that we are not playing this weekend, but we had a great practice today and we will be back.”
Brown, a Lakewood, Colorado native, has been named a team captain for the third consecutive season. He returns to the mound after missing the 2020 season due to injury. Back in 2019 Brown had a team high 89 strikeouts, which was the most by an Irish pitcher since Will Hudgins tallied 90 during the 2012 season.
Kavadas earns his second-straight team captain honor and that is one of the many accolades he has received heading into the season. The Granger, Ind. native was named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game (Second Team) and Baseball America (Third Team). He tied for the ACC lead last season with seven home runs and led the conference with 0.54 home runs per game. Kavadas also landed at No. 87 on Baseball America’s Top 150 Players list and No. 4 first baseman on D1Baseball’s preseason power rankings.
Sheehan is a first-time team captain and he returns as the Irish Friday starter for the third straight season. He went 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA over 23.1 innings pitched in 2020. Sheehan led the Irish in innings pitched and tied for the team lead in wins last year. In 2019 Sheehan finished the year with a team-high 92.1 innings, the most by an Irish pitcher since 2013.
Miller is also a first-time captain and heads into the season as the starter at second base. Miller has been a stalwart in the Irish infield the past two seasons, starting at second base or shortstop in 56 of the last 57 games. In the 2020 season, Miller led the team with six doubles and was third on the team with 13 hits over 12 games.
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