On Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, Central Bucks East seniors Mason Cruz, Nolan Behm and Chase Fulford were recognized for committing to continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level.
Nolan Behm – University of Pittsburgh (Baseball)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: Pitt, Penn State, Virginia
Reasons for choosing Pitt: “It’s not too far from home. The school felt right when I was walking on campus. The coaches were really nice to me. It felt really welcoming. They also play in the ACC, which is a very competitive conference for baseball.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “When I was 13 – that’s when I really knew that’s what I wanted to do. I saw my older brother going through the
process, and I knew that’s what I really wanted to do and pursue. I saw people like Aidan Weaver have a lot of success, and I wanted to do something like that.”
Coach Kyle Dennis says: “When exceptional athleticism combines with relentless determination and a fierce competitive spirit, you get athletes like Nolan Behm. A few years ago – it was his freshman year, I was pulling into East for Saturday lifts at 8:30 a.m., and I would see Nolan working in the cage or in the bullpen, working on his craft under the watchful eye of his big brother who I knew to be one of the hardest workers I have ever coached, and he did go on to become a pretty good baseball player, but it was in that moment, I realized – if this kid is willing to work at this time of day - it’s about 42 degrees outside – with his older brother who is going to work him incredibly hard, I knew he had what it would take to become a great baseball player, and he certainly has.
“Over the last two seasons, everything he’s done – all of his hard work – has paid off incredibly well, making him a strong impact guy at the varsity level during his sophomore and junior years. He’s just a freak athlete that is capable of playing any position on the baseball field. We’re blessed to have Nolan as a part of our program. Pitt is getting an incredibly versatile athlete, and we wish Nolan nothing but the best.”
Basketball coach Erik Henrysen: “Thank you for letting me crash the party as the basketball coach, but I think it’s important to say a few words about Nolan on the court because he could be a college basketball player if he wanted to be. He’s a top talent athletically with MLB scouts looking at him and with college scouts looking at him, there’s no doubt about that. He’s a top basketball player. Nolan played a huge role for us last year, and this year, he was central to what we do. He’s one of the best players in all of Suburban One and certainly one of the best athletes, but that’s not what I like most about Nolan. What I like most about Nolan is the person that he is. He’s a high character kid, he’s comfortable in his own skin. He carries himself with tremendous integrity, and all the while, he remains humble. You can see Nolan having a conversation with a freshman, with campers at our camp, with adults, and it’s the same -Nolan looks you in the eye. He’s genuine and respectful.
“Nolan came back to us from a rigorous offseason where he’s traveling the country playing baseball in front of scouts. He came back and we had a preseason showcase at Pottstown. We played two games – we won both games. Nolan hits two game-winning 3-pointers in both of those games. When you have a player with Nolan’s type of status athletically and the attention that he gets, every moment he’s involved in is influential for your entire program, and how he handles himself really pays dividends, not only in that moment but for younger guys to look up to him and see - how does he react to the stress, to the success. Leadership is more than just talking. The behavior has to come first, and when the words come second like they do with Nolan, they just have a huge impact on our entire program. You can’t fake character – Nolan has the whole package, and we’re super appreciative that Pitt and MLB stats love multi-sport athletes.”
About Nolan:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite TV show: Breaking Bad
Favorite music: Rap & Country
Mason Cruz- Messiah University (Baseball)
Major: Biochemistry
Final list of colleges: Messiah, Eastern, Grove City, Millersville
Reasons for choosing Messiah: “I really liked the coaching staff, and also, their team is up and coming. They made it to the championship last year. They’re really competitive, and I also really liked their culture. The
players were amazing – they were really nice and accepting.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “It started when I was really young because my dad played baseball all of my life. It’s been a part of my life since I was a kid, and I want to keep it going as long as possible because I really do love the game.”
Coach Kyle Dennis: “I’ve been coaching baseball for 20 years now, and I can promise you that whenever I chose to step away, for the rest of my life, I’m never going to forget Mason Cruz. He left a mark on me both figuratively and literally. Mason’s first day of baseball at CB East – I wore a line drive off the ribs during tryouts the very first day his freshman year, but you know what, that actually paid off for Mason in some ways. Not so much for my ribs – they were okay, but it paid off for him because I’ve never forgotten him since day one. So, in the years to come, I got to know Mason more and more, grew to like him more and more. He made sure the cage was down whenever he was hitting more and more, which was appreciated.
“In all seriousness – with a difficult pathway to playing time this past season, Mason accepted a role to get most of his playing time on JV and to stay ready for varsity action when it was needed. That’s a challenge, that’s a challenging thing for a lot of guys to hear as a junior. I have to say that I am incredibly proud of how Mason handled himself and how he carried himself. He accepted that role. I understand he probably had his own levels of frustration with that situation, but it’s essential for me to point out that he channeled any frustration he had into positivity. Mason was a leader. How he handled the adversity with his coaches, with his teammates, how he handled himself as a human being was just second to none, and it was absolutely phenomenal.
“(Assistant) coach (Kurt) Wachowski spoke volumes about Mason and how he was just constantly looking to help everyone else out on the team. In coach Wachowski’s words, ‘Mason has shown an inspiring amount of resolve and growth and maturity over his past three seasons.’ Mason, on behalf of the entire coaching staff, I accept your apology for hitting me with a line drive, but we love you and wish you nothing but continued success for the next couple of years.”
About Mason:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite movie: The Sandlot
Favorite music: Rock
Chase Fulford – Binghamton University (Baseball)
Major: Business Management
Final list of colleges: Binghamton, Tulane, Connecticut, Rutgers, Penn State
Reasons for choosing Binghamton: “I thought this was the best fit because I loved the coaches. It seems like a really home environment, and they just got a $60 million facility for baseball, so I’m pretty excited about that as well.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “I used to live in Colorado, so I started playing there. I played for the Colorado Rockies scout team, and then I moved
here, and I had to find a team, and I played for the Bucks County Generals, which was a great organization to play with. I came to East for high school and played here. My life goal is to play in college at a high level. The summer of my sophomore year I started hearing from a lot of schools and started talking to them because that’s when you could talk to them, and it just went from there.”
Coach Kyle Dennis: “I can only describe Chase as being one of the toughest, old school baseball player types. Forgive me for going back into history a little bit, but he reminds me of the story of pitcher Bob Gibson. He was known for being a fierce competitor and incredibly tough. On July 15, 1967, Gibson took a line drive to the shin off the bat of Roberto Clemente when he was pitching. It actually broke his fibula, but remarkably, Gibson continued to pitch to three more batters after having his leg broken by a line drive. Also, remarkably, he returned just two months later, finished the season and then threw three complete games in the World Series that year.
“Why am I talking about a guy from 1967? Because Fulford reminds me of a guy with that kind of toughness. It would take something absolutely catastrophic to come off the field. He’s just an incredibly tough kid. He battles through soreness, tightness, injury. He just competes with everything he has and with everything he does. It’s just fun to watch, it’s really awesome. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever come across. Whatever the challenge, whatever the adversity, he’s going to come out on the other side. He’s a really likeable guy. Chase is a person of high character, he’s a great communicator, he’s genuinely invested in whatever it takes for the team to be successful. He’s exceptionally engaging, he’s fun to talk to. He just loves to compete. I am having a hard time putting into words how much we’re going to miss him when he’s gone.”
About Chase:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite TV show: Yellowstone
Favorite music: Zach Bryan
- Log in to post comments
