FLUSHING, N.Y.  – After a historic 2023 season as a member of the Queens College baseball team, senior first baseman Anthony Fontana (Wantagh, N.Y.) is going pro!
 
Fontana will sign a contract with one of the six teams and compete this summer as part of the Major League Baseball Draft League. 
 
The MLB Draft League was organized to give increased exposure to MLB scouts this summer as the players selected to play in the league will continue to refine their skills.
 
Per the official site of the MLB Draft League, the MLB Draft League participants will receive unprecedented visibility to MLB Club scouts through both in-person observation and state-of-the-art scouting technology and educational programming designed to prepare them for careers as professional athletes.
 
The six teams which compete in the Major League Baseball Draft League include the Frederick Keys (MD), the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (OH), the State College Spikes (PA), the Trenton Thunder (NJ), the West Virginia Black Bears (WV), and the Williamsport Crosscutters (PA). 
 
The 2^nd half of the Draft League (50 games) will begin on July 7 and end on September 2, culminating in the MLB Draft League Championship Game on September 3. 
 
In one of the best seasons seen on the campus of Queens College, Fontana played a tremendous role in helping the Knights not only earn their second East Coast Conference championship in 25 years but a return to the NCAA Tournament as the Knights finished the 2023 season with a program-best 34-19 overall record.
 

Fontana shared his thoughts on his 2023 season "I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of coach Reardon's program at Queens College. My short time here has brought me friendship, lessons, and memories that I will cherish with me forever. I cannot thank my coaches, teammates, trainers, and staff for creating a family environment that made me feel right at home the day I first stepped foot on campus."
 
The Wantagh native made his lone year in Flushing count as Fontana was one of the most dangerous bats in the lineup as he finished the year batting .378 with 62 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, a team-high nine home runs, 20 walks, 36 runs scored and 51 RBI as he appeared and started in 45 games. 
 
Throughout the season, the lefty hitter was awarded ECC Player of the Week honors on March 20 before earning a Honor Roll spot on March 27. 
 
The first baseman recorded 20 multi-hit games, tallying 13 two-hit games, and seven three-hit games while recording 13 multi-RBI games on the year as well as putting together a team-high 15-game hitting streak to go with a 31-game reached base streak. 
 
His performance would earn him ECC All-Conference First Team honors before adding Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-East Region honors as part of the Second Team.


Head coach Chris Reardon on Fontana "When you get to coach talented players it's awesome, but when you get to coach special players it is life-changing.  Anthony is just as good of a person as he is a player.  He was a driving force for us at the plate and in the field.  He had big moments for us, he is that type of player, big time."  
 
In his lone season, Fontana would become the third Knight in program history to record 50 or more RBI as he finished the year with 51 RBI. 
 
Before the 2023 season, only one Knight had recorded 50 RBI in a single season, a record which stood for 25 years, but as the 2023 season progressed, Fontana would become the third Knight overall in a single season to record 50 RBI or more in a single season and second of the 2023 season.
 
Throughout the season, Fontana would show his experience with his offense and defense. 
 
In the ECC Baseball Tournament, Fontana would be awarded ECC Tournament MVP Honors as the Wantagh native held a batting average of .450 with one double, three home runs, six runs scored, and 10 RBI over the five games. 
 
In the winners taking all game against Molloy in the ECC Championship game, with the Knights trailing 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Fontana would provide the spark with his second home run of the game and third of the day as he sent a rocket over 390 feet over center field to knot the game 8-8 before Queens walked it off in the bottom of the 10^th inning to win their second ECC Championship crown in 25 years. 
 
In the Baseball Single Season Record book, Fontana has etched his name in five categories with the following:
Batting Average: .378 (10^th)
At-Bats: 165 (tied for 9^th)
Hits: 62 (tied for 6^th)
Runs Batted In: 41 (2^nd)
Home Runs: (tied for 4^th)
 
Be sure to stay tuned to queensknights.com and Knights' social media to find out where Fontana signs to play this summer.
 

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