Waterford’s Jarred Burrows pitches in the Class L state championship game at Palmer Field, Middletown on Friday, June 7, 2019. (Pete Paguaga, Hearst Connecticut Media)
Jared Burrows of Waterford has been named the 2019-20 Gatorade Connecticut Baseball Player of the Year.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. Gatorade had announced earlier this spring that it would continue to acknowledge student-athletes even if spring sports were canceled, which it was in every state.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior shortstop and right-handed pitcher led the Lancers (20-9) to the Class L state championship in 2019, hurling a three-hit shutout in the title game. Rated as the No. 36 senior prospect in New England by Prep Baseball Report, Burrows posted a 6-2 record in 2019 with a 0.74 ERA, striking out 89 batters with just six walks in 61 innings pitched. A two-time First Team All-Conference selection, he also batted .325 with four home runs and 17 RBI.
Burrows has tutored elementary school students in Spanish and has volunteered locally on behalf of the New London Community Meal Center and youth sports programs.
“Jared is the hardest-working and most talented student-athlete I have been around in my career,” said Waterford coach Art Peluso said in a statement. “He’s an irreplaceable member of our baseball team, and many of the young people in our community view him as their role model.”
Burrows has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Hartford.
