FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2013
Courtesy of Franklin Pierce Athletics Communications
RINDGE, N.H. – After wrapping up his career with an All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team selection this spring for the Franklin Pierce University baseball team, shortstop Dan Kemp has signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He will report immediately to the Mariners rookie-level, Appalachian League affiliate, the Pulaski Mariners.
The signing caps a roller coaster collegiate career for an infielder who has garnered professional attention since his high school days. A 24th round selection (738 overall) by the Boston Red Sox in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft after graduating from Tantasqua Regional High School, Kemp never came to terms on a deal with the Red Sox and reported to Rindge in the fall. A starter at shortstop from his first day on campus, he struggled to find his stroke at the plate with a wood bat until his junior season. After hitting .252/.303/.316 over his freshman and sophomore seasons, Kemp turned in a .327/.387/.487 slash line over his final two campaigns in crimson and grey.
Kemp becomes the 39th player to advance to professional baseball under head coach Jayson King, and the 28th to sign a contract in affiliated baseball. He will be one of 14 Franklin Pierce products playing professionally this summer, as well as one of 10 former Ravens plying their trade with Major League affiliates. Kemp becomes the fifth member of the 2013 NCAA East Regional champions to move to the professional ranks, as Trevor Graham, Kevin McGowan, Steve Hathaway and Zach Mathieu were all taken in the June draft and have since been assigned to minor league clubs.
“The most rewarding thing for our coaching staff is to see student-athletes realize their life-long dreams,” said Coach King. “That certainly is the case with Dan.”
After the coaching staff felt he was slighted during the 2012 awards season, Kemp finally broke through with his first All-Northeast-10 selection this spring, and landed on the First Team in the process, by hitting .340/.404/.519 over 162 at-bats in 2013 after missing most of March due to injury. It was his second straight season with a batting average over .300, an on-base percentage over .370 and a slugging percentage north of .450. Kemp finished in the top 10 in the Northeast-10 in both batting average and slugging percentage, while scoring 35 runs -- third on the team -- in just 43 games. Overall, he went 55-for-162 with 11 doubles, three triples and four home runs, drove in 29 runs, walked 15 times against 26 strikeouts, stole 16 bases in 24 attempts (66.7%) and committed only five errors in 176 chances at shortstop.
Kemp served as one of four captains on a squad which captured the East Regional title for the first time since 2010, when Kemp was also the starting shortstop, that time as a true freshman. In all, he logged 213 games -- primarily at shortstop -- over four years as a Raven, including 212 starts. He hit .291/.346/.404 with 15 home runs and 130 runs scored.
“He was a four-year starter for us at shortstop and made two trips to the World Series,” said King. “For him to get this opportunity means so much to all involved in our baseball program.”
Kemp will become the fourth Raven currently in the Mariners’ organization, joining Scott Savastano (Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers), Mike Dowd (Double-A Jackson Generals) and Kevin Rivers (Class A Advanced High Desert Mavericks). Dowd and Kemp were teammates in Rindge in 2010 and 2011.
Kemp and the East Region champion Ravens (37-19) wrapped up the 2013 season by finishing tied for fifth in the nation after being ousted from the National Finals after three games. The team has won at least 35 games in each of the last eight seasons and topped 30 wins in 12 consecutive campaigns. The regional title was the sixth in program history (2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2003).
