Bull reports to Atlantic League spring training, has chance to make roster
DI/MEAC/Baseball
UMES Sports Information
CAMDEN, N.J. — An outstanding Hawk for four seasons, former UMES baseball outfielder Stephen Bull (Millsboro, Del.) has signed a spring training contract with the Camden RiverSharks of the independent Atlantic League. Bull joins an exclusive list of Hawks who have played professional baseball.
A Delmarva recruit and graduate of Sussex Central High School, Bull completed his collegiate career as UMES second most leader all-time in single season hits (68) while ranking third in career hits (189). In his senior campaign of 2014, he was named the NCAA and Louisville Slugger Division I National Player of the Week last season after he went 10-for-10 in a four game stretch, four off the all-time NCAA Division I record. That plus a .349 season average, along with 13 extra base hits, 41 runs scored, an .827 OPS and a team high 12 steals, and a leadership role on the team, earned Bull the school’s 2013-14 Male Athlete of the Year award.
After graduating from UMES last year, Bull stayed local and worked as an instructor for the Delmarva Aces Baseball Club, a youth travel ball organization chaired by former UMES athletics employee David Whigham. Bull is the fifth member of the Aces to have signed a professional contract, in addition to being the ninth collegiate player.
Other Hawks who have gone on to playing professionally include Ira Smith, Karim Gonzalez and Tre-von Johnson, just to name a few.
The Atlantic League is an eight team league with clubs in New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Texas. Over 600 players have signed MLB contracts out of the league since it began in 2001, and many other MLB alumni including Roger Clemens, Edgardo Alfonzo and Dontrelle Willis have seen playing time on Atlantic League squads. The RiverSharks are in their 15th year of competition, playing at Campbell’s Field on the Camden, N.J. waterfront, in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
The RiverSharks open their 2015 season in Bridgeport, Conn. on April 24th.