Biography
Career:
Earned Academic Distinction accolades on the Northeast-10 Academic Honor Roll and named to the New Haven Dean's List following the Spring 2020 semester...Signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in June 2020, becoming the 85th player in program history to sign a professional contract...Started all 140 games in his career...Finished with a .297 career batting average, 11 home runs, 80 RBI and 120 runs scored...Graduated as the program's all-time leader in career walks with 126, 33 more than the next closest player...His career on-base percentage of .471 ranked sixth in program history...Stole 48 career bases, 10th all-time as of his graduation...Set the school single-season record with 52 walks during the 2018 season...2019 First Team All-NE10 selection...2019 All-East Region selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association (First Team) and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (Honorable Mention)...2017 NE10 All-Rookie selection.
2020 Season:
Earned Academic Honors accolades on the Fall 2019 Northeast-10 Academic Honor Roll...Started all eight games in center field, batting out of the leadoff spot…Led the team with six stolen bases…Posted a .259/.512/.519 slash line…Drew a team-leading 12 walks…Led the team with nine runs scored and added seven RBI…Tied for the team lead with four doubles…Went 3-for-4 with three walks, six RBI and three runs scored, including a pair of doubles against Stonehill (2/23)…Added two more doubles as part of a three-hit performance against Clarion (3/6)…Had a hit and scored twice against Saint Thomas Aquinas (3/7)…New Haven’s season limited to eight games due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Summer 2019:
Selected to play in the NECBL All-Star Game as a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks…Posted a .298 batting average while playing in a team-high 43 games…Ranked third in the league with 42 runs scored and drew a league-leading 39 walks…Led the Sharks with 19 steals and tied for a team-high 50 hits…Legged out a pair of triples and clocked four home runs…Helped Martha’s Vineyard capture the Southern Division title in just their first season in the league.
2019 Season:
Twice named to the Northeast 10 Academic Honor Roll...First Team All-East Region selection by the ABCA...NE10 First Team All-Conference honoree...NCBWA Honorable Mention All-Region..Reached base safely via either a hit, walk, or hit by pitch in 35 of 37 games…Closed the season on a 10-game hitting streak, and had a hit in 16 of his last 17 games…Tallied 13 multi-hit games throughout the season…Led the NE10 with a .494 on-base percentage, ranked second in slugging (.606) and seventh with a .346 batting average…Ranked eighth in the NE10 with six homers and was third in the conference with 32 walks, which led the team for the second straight season and moved him into first place on the school's career walks list…Posted a career-high 22 steals in 27 attempts, which was tied for fourth in the NE10…Led the Chargers with 32 runs scored, 34 RBI and three triples, while tying for the team lead with nine doubles…Selected as the NE10 Player of the Week, the NCBWA East Region Hitter of the Week and the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week on February 27 after going 10-for-17 and posting a .588/.667/1.353 slash line over the first four games, along with nine runs scored, 13 RBI, four home runs, three walks and two stolen bases…Went 3-for-5 performance with a pair of home runs and seven RBI in a 17-1 win over No. 19 Saint Thomas Aquinas (2/23)…Went 2-for-4 with a walk, home run, three RBI and two runs scored at Stonehill on April 7, and drove in three runs at American International on April 14.
Summer 2018:
Played for the Martha's Vineyard Sharks in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League...Batted .307 and led the league in steals (26-for-31)...Played in the FCBL All-Star Game and was selected as the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
2018 Season:
Started and played in all 51 games in center field and in the lead-off spot in the batting order...Finished third on the team with a .270 batting average...Collected 44 total hits with nine doubles, one triple and two home runs...Finished with 21 RBI...Finished second in the NE10 with an on-base percentage of .473...Drew a school single-season record 52 total walks, which ranked first in the NE10 and second in the nation...Also set a school single-season record for hit-by-pitches with 16...Tied for third in the nation in walks per game with 1.02...Stole 14 bases...Finished with 13 multiple-hit games and four multiple-RBI games...Strung together an eight-game hitting streak (4/28 – 5/8) and 25-game reached base streak...Knocked in a career-high five RBI on a 3-for-4 performance against Concordia (N.Y.) (3/24)...Hit two doubles in the season-opener vs. Wilmington (2/23)...Also had three hits and three RBI at Southern Connecticut State (3/28)...Drew a season-high three walks on three separate occasions.
Summer 2017:
Played in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League for the Geneva Red Wings...Played in the league's all-star game and was named to the all-league team.
2017 Season:
NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll...Named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team...Started and played in all 44 games…Recorded a .293 batting average with 43 hits, nine doubles, and two home runs…Posted a .395 slugging percentage and 18 RBI…Led the team in on-base percentage (.441)…Had six multi-hit games…Reached base safely in 15 straight games including finishing the season on a five-game streak of reaching base...Had two four-hit performances (4-for-6 at Saint Rose on 4/22 and 4-for-5 at American International on 5/6)… Drew a team-high 30 walks including three against Le Moyne (4/30)…Had a Top-10 worthy diving catch in center field late in an NE10 tournament elimination game against Pace to help New Haven eventually advance to Championship game (5/12)... Recorded four hits and three runs against American International (5/6)…Hit first career home run against Southern Connecticut State (4/5)...Hit a two-run home run to right center to help cement the 5-2 win over Dominican (5/18) in the NCAA Division II East Region opening game...During the Fall season, he was named the MVP of the City Series in Oct. 2016.
High School:
Three-sport athlete at North Branford High School…Two-time all-state and two-time all-conference honoree in baseball…Named to the Senior All-Star Game and earned MVP honors…Named to the 2016 New Haven Register All-Area Team…2016 Shoreline Conference Player of the Year…2016 North Branford Team MVP…Recipient of the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club’s “No ‘I’ In Team” Award…Finished his career with a .450 batting average.
Football- An all-conference selection as a senior and served as team captain…Named the MVP of the Harvest Bowl as a senior…Winner of the 2016 Joe Stone Award.
Hockey- A two-time All-Southern Connecticut Conference selection and a two-time all-state honoree as a junior and senior...Team captain.
Personal:
Son of Susan Christiano…Has an older brother, Rob, and a younger brother, Jonathan.
