Titans Sam Puttock Commits to a Student-Athlete’s Life in The Big Apple

18U Titans Pitcher Sam Puttock has committed to complete his post-secondary studies at the City College of New York and further his baseball career with the NCAA Division 3 Beavers.  Founded in 1847, the prestigious City College of New York has graduated ten Nobel Prize winners, three Pulitzer Prize winners, three Rhodes Scholars, and one Turing Award winner.  CCNY is where Albert Einstein first presented his Theory of General Relativity outside of Europe, where the polio vaccine was discovered, and where the Internet was built.  CCNY is also building an ECAC championship-caliber D3 baseball team in 2024 after winning its Divisional championship in 2023.

Puttock, a resident of Richmond Hill who visited CCNY when the Titans were at a baseball tournament in New York, noted that his big decision to attend the famous university in The Big Apple was based on three main factors:  “The location [in the heart of New York City], its engineering program, and its prestige as a rigorous academic institution. When I was in the US for a tournament, I had the chance to visit the campus and get to watch the baseball team practice. During the visit, I met the President of the school who informed me of a former student: George Washington Goethals. Goethals was appointed to oversee the completion of the Panama Canal and also built one of the many bridges in New York. This historical fact showed me the success of former students and was another reason why I committed to CCNY.  On the baseball side, I felt that the baseball program was very competitive, as they were coming off of a division title and currently building a team to take to the ECAC tournament. The coaches create a great environment for the players to excel at the next level which made CCNY the best fit for me as a student-athlete.” 

Puttock, an Honor Roll student at Our Lady Queen of the World Catholic High School in Richmond Hill, acknowledged that “There are so many things that I am looking forward to about living in New York. It’s a chance to live in the cultural and economic center of the modern western world and there’s no better place to learn engineering than New York City. From some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world to the largest subway system, there is no better city to study civil engineering. As well, the city’s rich history, especially related to baseball, makes it an exciting prospect. The CCNY campus is a short 3 km from Yankee Stadium and even closer to the site of the former Polo Grounds. Finally, with New York’s multicultural nature, the city will feel similar to Toronto and there are many options for food around campus and in the city.” CCNY reflects New York’s multicultural nature as students from 152 countries conduct their studies at the university’s eight campuses.

Denis Bailey, the Titans Director of College Placement and 15U Coach, was pleased to see the hard-working student-athlete commit to CCNY:  “Sammy truly deserves this.  He has worked his tail off.  He has the opportunity to go down to CCNY and compete for a spot in the starting rotation right away.”  Coach Bailey also believes that Puttock has the right stuff for NCAA Division 3 play, especially for a Division championship team like CCNY that will need pitching:  “Sammy has a good feel for all his pitches and is always looking to make an adjustment to continue to compete and develop.”

While developing on the baseball field with the D3 Beavers, Puttock will be studying civil engineering at the Grove School of Engineering.  The articulate and engaging student-athlete delineated his athletic and academic goals at CCNY:  “My goals as a student-athlete are to excel at the next level in the classroom and on the field. In the classroom, I want to maintain a GPA similar to that in which I had in high school, and on the field I want to become an impact player in the starting rotation.” 

In addition to outlining these laudable objectives, Puttock took time to thank key Titans personnel who have helped him towards his college baseball placement:  “All of my coaches have supported me throughout my CPBL journey and they have always put me in the best position to succeed as a player. I want to thank Coach Bailey, as he has known me since I was 13, and has provided encouragement to continue to chase my baseball dreams and provide the knowledge to succeed in them. I also want to thank coaches Eddie and Grammo as they have helped out a ton on the pitching front. Furthermore, I want to thank Coach JB for helping me when I first arrived to the Titans and Coach Kirby for the time he has taken to discuss pitch sequencing with me.”

The CCNY-bound pitcher also discussed the highlights of his career as a Titan:  “There have been lots of great memories with the Titans over the years ‒ recently the one-hit win I threw over the Mets and the Long Island PG tournament stand out. I also always look forward to the annual Movember coaches versus players Charity game. These games are not only played for a great cause that hits close to home, but it is always fun gaining bragging rights after getting the coaches out.”

In addition to getting coaches out at the annual Movember Charity Game, Puttock offered this advice to the younger Titans: “My biggest advice to the younger Titans players would be-- for lack of a better phrase-- to ‘get after it.’ Whether that be taking a few extra hours to study or a few more hours in the gym, make sure not to wait until it’s too late. Reach out to coaches of schools you want to attend as early as possible and be sure to put in the work in order to play up to your full potential.”

The Titans Baseball Club congratulates 18U pitcher Sam Puttock on his commitment to the City College of New York. It is a proud moment for our CPBL franchise and we wish this veteran Titan all the best in The Big Apple during his civil engineering studies and on the bump for the NCAA D3 Beavers baseball team.