Cortland senior pitcher Matt Valin (LaFargeville) has signed a professional contract with the Ottawa Champions of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am League). The league features six teams – three in Canada along with one in New York (Rockland Boulders) and two in New Jersey (Sussex County Miners and New Jersey Jackals) – and was formed when the Northeast League was renamed in 2005.
Valin was a D3baseball.com first-team All-American and an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) third-team Division III All-American during the 2019 season. He was named the New York Region Pitcher of the Year by both organizations and was the Co-Pitcher of the Year in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC).
Valin appeared in 15 games, 13 as a starter, and finished the year 9-0 with a 2.35 ERA. In 69 innings pitched he allowed only 32 hits, struck out 92 batters and walked 33. He ranked second nationally in Division III with 4.2 hits allowed per nine innings, 13th in victories, and 22nd nationally with 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Valin tied the Cortland single-game record with 17 strikeouts in a 10-inning, 1-0 win over Fredonia during the SUNYAC tournament, and he also combined on three other Cortland shutouts.
In his two seasons at Cortland, Valin posted a career 10-0 record and 2.60 ERA with 49 hits allowed and 126 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched. He also pitched two seasons at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, where he recorded a total of 149 strikeouts. A physical education major, Valin is expected to graduate from Cortland this fall after completing his student teaching.
Cortland finished the season 34-13-1 and earned its 27th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, tying the Division III record for longest NCAA streak with Marietta's 27 straight showings from 1976-2002. Cortland won an NCAA four-team regional at home before losing at Babson in a best-of-three super regional to tie for ninth place nationally. Cortland also captured the SUNYAC regular-season title with an 18-0 record and was the only NCAA school at any level to go unbeaten during conference regular-season play.