Bryant University Mens Basketball Team Adds Benson Lin From St. Andrews School Announces Head Coach Jared Grasso

Bryant University men’s basketball coach Jarred Grasso announced on Monday afternoon that the program has signed Benson Lin to the program for the 2019-2020 season. Lin, a native from New Taipei City, Taiwan, played last season for the St. Andrews school in a post graduate year.

In the 2018-2019 season, averaged 17.2 points per game over 33 contest. The St. Andrews School, which is located in Barrington, Rhode Island, went on to win the New England Class AA Championship.

“Benson is a skilled and cerebral guard who can really make shots,” says head coach Jared Grasso. “Benson’s success in prep school and at the international level will have him prepared to make an impact for us immediately” adds Grasso when talking about the 6 foot 4 guard in Benson Lin. 

Bryant University Head Coach Jared Grasso Announces signing Of Ayo Dada Who Played The 2018-2019 Season With Eastern Florida State College

The head coach of the Bryant University Bulldogs, Jared Grasso, announced the signing of a new player to his roster today. Ayo Dada, who played previously with the Eastern Florida State Titans, will be joining the Bulldogs for the 2019-2020 season. He currently has two more years of eligibility. 

“Ayo is a tough and competitive guard who can play multiple positions,” says head coach Jared Grasso. “His ability to make shots and defend on the perimeter make him a great fit in our system. More importantly, he is a strong student and terrific young man who will be a quality ambassador for our program.”

The 6-1 guard averaged 9.8 point per game for the Titans in the 2018-2019 season over 36 games. That includes a 40.4 shooting percentage from the field. Before that, he played in junior college at North Lake College. While there, he scored 14.0 points per game on 41.5% shooting from the field. He also shot 40% from behind the three point arc. 

Bryant University Pitcher and Cumberland Rhode Island Native Chris Wright Drafted By The San Francisco Giants

On Wednesday afternoon, Major League Baseball had the final day of their yearly June draft. With rounds 11-40 coming, there were a lot of high school and college players who were hoping to get their name called by one of the thirty major league organizations. This was the case for Cumberland, Rhode Island native Chris Wright as well. 

In the 12th round of the draft, Chris Wright had his name called by the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted 356th overall in the draft as a pitcher. However, he was a two way player this year while playing first base and in the outfield as well in college out of Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. 

Wright wasn’t the only player drafted this year out of Bryant University. His teammates Ryan Ward and Jimmy Titus were both drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryan was drafted in the 8th round while Titus was drafted in the 22nd round. 

What Kind Of Player Is Chris Wright  

Chris Wright has played at high levels all through out his life. When he was younger, he played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Then in the summer of 2016, he played in the American Legion World Series in Shelby, North Carolina for Upper Deck Post 86/14. 

“Chris is an outstanding all around athlete. You put him anywhere on the field and he provides” says former teammate of Chris Wright from high school in Cumberland, Rhode Island and that Upper Deck team that went to the American Legion World Series, Drew Szafranski.

“Not only is he phenomenal on the field but he also has a certain quality all great athletes have and that’s leadership. He leads by example. When you see him trying his hardest inning after inning, it makes you want to go out and win every game. I know that his reign wont stop here, he has a great career ahead of him” added Szafranski. 

As he begins his career as a professional baseball player, the leadership that Chris Wright brings to the field will help him tremendously as he develops as a player. It’s not definite yet, but he will probably begin his career with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. They are the short-season A team for the San Francisco Giants. 

Chris Wright’s Career With The Bryant Bulldogs 

Chris Wright succeeded while with the Bryant University Bulldogs from the start during the 2016-17 season. That year, Wright hit .273 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI’s. While on the mound he struggled. In 11 appearances (8 starts) that season, he posted a 9.45 ERA in 26 and 2/3 innings. However, he did have 31 strike outs that season which works out to be 10.46 strikeouts/ 9 innings. 

In the 2018-19 season, his junior year, he broke out as a player. As a hitter, he hit .297, with 6 home runs and 51 RBI’s. What’s even more impressive is that he had a .991 fielding percentage.

“Chris was a tremendous 2 way player for us for 3 years” said a Bryant University spokesman.

They added that “When [Wright] focuses solely on pitching, he is going to be outstanding and in my opinion has the ability to move through levels of professional baseball quickly.  He has a swing and miss fastball and very good breaking ball that result in a lot of strikeouts.  His stuff is electric and more importantly, his attitude and competitiveness on the mound are off the charts!  Combine that with his work ethic and the formula is in play for a long career”. 

In Wright’s junior year, you saw the biggest difference in what he did on the mound. In 21 appearances, he posted a 2.36 ERA in 34 and 1/3 innings pitches. That included 13 saves for the Bulldogs. But the most impressive stat from his junior year is that he had 64 strikeouts. That comes out to be 16.78 strikeouts/9 innings. 

That work ethic by Wright to be able to develop as a ballplayer over his last three years with the Bulldogs, including time with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod league, will definitely help Wright going forward. The future is bright for Wright as he begins his professional baseball career in just a few short weeks with the San Francisco Giants organization.