Big Show Bound? Transfer Student-Athlete Drafted by Toronto Blue Jays

Former Adelphi University baseball outfielder Cliff Brantley Jr. will have the opportunity to play ball at the professional level after being selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 19th round of Major League Baseball’s draft in June 2014.

He is following in the footsteps of his father, Cliff Brantley, who was chosen in the second round of the 1986 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies and pitched for the team in 1991–1992.

The younger Brantley, who joined the Panthers this past season after two years at Staten Island’s Wagner College, finished his junior year tops in the Northeast-10 regular season in batting average at .405 and was a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award, given to the top player in NCAA Division II. In 191 at-bats, the Staten Island native collected 76 hits, including 11 doubles, two triples and one home run.

Head coach Dom Scala described Brantley as “a class act and one of the most focused players I have ever coached. A year ago, he had to make a decision and decided to come play here at Adelphi and I’m glad he did.”

Brantley said, “I am proud to say I was a part of a team that received a transfer student into their arms as if I had been a Panther my whole college career.”