NJIT Baseball Highlighted by Likely Draft Pick Marcano and MLB's Leiter Jr.

NJIT Highlander baseball had an exciting spring, with star player Julio Marcano putting his name among the school home run record books, and team alumnus Mark Leiter Jr. making it back to the majors for the Chicago Cubs.

Marcano, a second baseman and outfielder, blasted his 23rd career homer March 20 against Hartford, passing the school's Division 1 mark previously held by Bryan Bleekly. Marcano now has 25 long balls, and his next one will tie Chris Schwartz for NJIT's all-time record. Such feats may help Marcano to get his name called in the Major League Baseball draft this summer, head coach Robbie McClellan said, adding that Marcano's teammate Paul Franzoni now has 23 career home runs, so either player could ultimately hold the title.

Leiter, a pitcher drafted in 2013, played at baseball's highest level in 2017 and 2018 but was back in the minors since then due to injuries and COVID-shortened schedules. He pitched well in AAA last year and got called back up to start on April 16.  

NJIT head coach Robbie McClellan said both players have what it takes to ultimately succeed in professional baseball. McClellan himself played professionally in the Kansas City Royals organization.

Marcano helped lead last year's team which played in the NCAA tournament for the first time and held its own against big-name hardball schools. The current team is 16-14 overall in the standings, and 10-5 which is tied for second place in their conference, as they look to make an annual tradition out of going to the playoffs.

"Julio, he's just super unique because he can play anywhere on the field. With all the versatility in today's pro baseball game, that gives him a really good shot to get picked," McClellan said. Marcano was on three or four team scout lists last year and won preseason accolades this year from the likes of Baseball America and Perfect Game.

"My advice to him would just be to be who he is… To me he's a pretty complete player," with solid defense, smart baserunning, and hitting for average and power. "I just put him in the lineup and let him do his thing. He's pretty solid and there's not a glaring weakness in his game," McClellan noted.

If drafted, the big question for Marcano is whether he would sign a contract or follow his academic goals. He finished his B.S. in mechanical engineering last year as part of NJIT's Albert Dorman Honors College and is currently studying for an M.S. in the same field. Asked which path holds his heart, "If I was going to be totally honest, I'd have to say it's smack-dab right in the middle," he said.

For baseball, Marcano said the concept of being drafted "has always blown my mind … Right now it's not really about the money for me," with a safety net of already holding a few job offers in engineering. If he chooses the latter, then he'd like to become a manager leading design teams.

"If you drew a student athlete up, you would want it to be someone like Julio. He deserves to be a draft pick," McClellan said.

Other players from NJIT and its predecessor Newark College of Engineering have been through the minor leagues, including James Schak, picked in 1973 by the San Francisco Giants; Tripp Davis, who signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in 2013; and Ed Charlton, drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2015. Charlton now co-owns Pleasantville, N.J.-based Baseball Performance Center which counts many successful professionals in its stable.

But it's Leiter who is the most accomplished NJIT baseball star. McClellan was an assistant coach during the end of Leiter's time as Highlander.

"Mark was a unique case in the fact that he pretty much knew who he was as a pitcher at that point in his career," McClellan said. Leiter had the unique advantage of family expertise — his father Mark Leiter Sr. and uncle Al Leiter both pitched in the majors, and other members of the Leiter family past and present also played, notably Al's son Jack Leiter who was a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers last year.

Whether it's advice for his cousin or anyone else — Leiter asked for Marcano's phone number — the second-time major league pitcher said the most important thing is to not get complacent with your success as an athlete, because each of four or five levels of the minors is harder than the one before it, and there are plenty of equally hungry players gunning for your spot.

"Once you get your opportunity to get drafted, the hard work really starts. Just getting there is one thing, finding a way to compete with the best players [is another]," Leiter said.

Looking back at his NJIT years, "We weren't necessarily the best team at that time but we were growing as a group. I felt that NJIT was in a really good position for me," Leiter recalled. With greater recognition and new tools such as data science, "In fairness the whole athletics program has grown a lot since my time there."