ROCKLAND, Massachusetts – The Futures Collegiate Baseball League recognized its best for the 2025 season with the announcement of the All-FCBL Team on Friday, December 12, and the Westfield Starfires were well represented with four honorees.
Outfielders Anthony Ruggiero and Griffin Mills both took First-Team honors, and pitcher Cody Heselton was joined by Evan Menzel in gaining Second-Team recognition.
Each of the quartet also were selected to participate in the FCBL All-Star Game during the season.
Ruggiero, a Northeastern University product, came on strong down the stretch, finishing eighth in the league with a .299 batting average and 53 hits. He tied with Mills for the team league in home runs with six overall, good for third in the league, and scored 24 times while driving in 33. He also swiped 16 bases. Defensively, he was incredibly versatile; the natural outfielder played a dozen games at first base, and in total recorded 127 putouts and four assists on 136 chances.
Mills, from Northwestern University, mashed 14 of his 33 hits for extra bases, with seven doubles and a triple to go with his six home runs in 35 games. He scored 25 times and drove in 26, and displayed a tremendous eye at the plate with 24 walks. He was also a vacuum in the outfield, playing parts of eight games at the corners but spending most of his time in center, and in total recorded 65 putouts and two outfield assists.
Heselton, who will be at Southern Connecticut State University beginning this fall, ended tied for fourth in the FCBL with 40 punchouts in just 40.1 innings; he made eight starts among his 11 appearances in the regular season and also closed out the FCBL All-Star Game.
Menzel, out of the University of Connecticut, totaled 47 hits in 47 games, but what set him apart was incredible plate discipline, as he led the FCBL with 32 walks, making him one of six qualifiers with an on-base percentage above .400 in the league. He scored 23 times and drove in 15. Primarily Westfield’s shortstop, he had 104 defensive assists and 49 putouts with a .952 fielding percentage.
Since the team’s founding in 2019, Westfield has had 26 All-FCBL selections across seven seasons, with 15 First-Team honorees and 11 Second-Team winners. The team has had multiple First-Team selections in each of the past five seasons.
