Dream fulfilled: Afthim hears name called in 2025 MLB draft

By Ed Pierce

Ever since he was a young player and competing in Windham Little League games, Brady Afthim has clung to his dream of someday playing Major League Baseball. The next step in his quest became a reality on Monday when the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 13th round of the 2025 MLB Draft with the 384th pick.

2021 Windham High grad Brady Afthim, who pitched in
college for the University of Connecticut, was drafted
in the 13th round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2025
MLB Draft on Monday. He is now in Arizona to start
his professional career pitching for Cincinnati's
Rookie League team in Goodyear, Arizona.
PHOTO BY COLBY RUSH

A right-handed pitcher who dominated opponents while playing for Windham High School, Afthim, 22, was the closer for the University of Connecticut Huskies after graduating from WHS in 2021. He earned a baseball scholarship at UConn through hard work and dedication to improving his skills while playing at Windham High.

Under the tutelage of then-WHS Coach Cody Dube, who also had grown up in Windham been drafted and played in baseball’s minor leagues, Afthim made the most of his opportunity in high school. He was honored as Maine Gatorade Player of the Year, was USA Today Player of the Year in Maine, and was recognized as First Team All-Southern Maine Athletic Association as both a pitcher and a catcher. He also won the John Winkin Award designating him as the top senior high school baseball player in Maine in 2021 and he was named as the recipient of the 2021 Mr. Baseball in Maine Award.

A landscape architect major at UConn, Afthim showed promise as a freshman in 2022. He appeared in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Huskies and didn’t allow a run in 15 of his 22 outings while stranding 11 of 14 inherited runners. As a sophomore, Afthim held opponents to .205 batting average while making 26 appearances for UConn, including retiring all six batters that he faced to clinch the Big East Conference regular season title at Creighton University and then pitching a scoreless inning against Georgetown in the Big East Conference Championship Game.

By the time his junior college season arrived in 2024, Afthim drew the attention of professional scouts and was honored as a First Team All-Big East selection. He finished second in the Big East Conference with 8 saves and struck out 27 batters in 25 1/3 innings pitched. His 2.29 Earned Run Average was fifth overall in the Big East that season and he was credited with a save in the NCAA Norman Regional at No. 9 Oklahoma and then pitched a career-high 3.2 innings at No. 8 Florida State in the NCAA Super Regionals.

This year as a senior, Afthim closed out his college career as second in UConn history with 92 appearances. He was tied for 8th place overall in team history with 17 career saves and he posted the lowest opponent batting average in Huskies’ history at just .211. Afthim also had a career-low 2.45 ERA, earned nine saves and had two wins as the team’s closer. In 22 appearances, he racked up 53 strikeouts.

Signing a contract with the Reds, Afthim left Wednesday to join Cincinnati's Rookie League team in Goodyear, Arizona, and the first step on his road to the major leagues.

The Reds drafted Afthim for his talent as his fastball has been timed in the range of 93 to 95 mph and has touched 97 mph at times. Besides throwing a fastball, he also mixes in a changeup and throws a slider that he uses to offset his fastball.

His parents, Shelly and Phil Afthim, are well-known around town for their support of both Brady and his older brother Bryce, who also pitched for Windham High School and played in college for the University of Southern Maine.

“We are all incredibly proud of Brady’s accomplishment in being drafted,” said Shelly Afthim, Brady’s mother. “He has put in a lot of time and effort to reach this goal, and it hasn’t been without sacrifices and challenges along the way. To watch him not only set a goal, work toward that goal for years, then to watch him negotiate for himself and knowing his worth on the day of the draft was really amazing to watch as a parent. He has a lot of support from family, friends and coaches, but he earned this through his own efforts.” <

Windham native Cody Dube drafted by Baltimore Orioles - By David Field

Windham High School 2012 graduate Cody Dube was drafted #301 by Baltimore Orioles last week. Dube just graduated from Keene State College (D3) with a Bachelor’s of Science in safety and occupational health with a 3.28 GPA. 
 

For Keene, Dube earned several awards: Little East Conference First Team, Little East Pitcher of the Year, All Region First Team for New England, All American Third Team, Strength and Conditioning All American, New England Senior All Star. During his senior year he had an ERA of 1.2, with a career at Keene of 2.68.

Dube has always wanted to play professional baseball. He has wanted to go to the next level after stepping up. In 2015, Dube played for Sanford Mainers which is part of the NECBL. In the first month of the season, Dube was seen by several scouts. His success earned him a spot on the NECBL All-Star team and the pro scouts also saw his performance there. 

Dube received an email from Atlanta Braves and did a workout/showcase in the fall of 2015. He then started getting emails from other teams and was asked to complete questionnaires. In total, Dube heard from 25 teams. Although he was excited, Dube took things one step at a time and that meant finishing college at Keene State.

In the last few weeks, Dube received several calls from scouts inquiring about his interest in the Major League draft. He also did three workouts before the draft for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. 

The Orioles first saw Cody play in his first game for Keene State in March while the team was in Florida.

Cody left for Maryland this past Monday. He will be subjected to a team physical exam and then expects to be playing for the Single A Aberdeen Ironbirds. Cody’s opportunity to hit the big fields will occur during spring training 2017. 

Some other interesting facts about Cody Dube:

Best baseball memory: Senior year of high school a 12-4 loss to Scarborough in semi-finals and a great group of kids to play with.

Piece of advice to kids that want to play pro: Work hard and take each step one at a time. Never take anything for granted. Keep the goals small and achievable and success will come.

Growing up favorite professional baseball team? Red Sox. He may have to change his alliances later on, but feels that you don’t lose who your favorite childhood team was.

Cody’s parents, Randy and Andrea are obviously excited and taking a page from Cody’s book, taking each day one at a time. 

“It’s been a whirlwind since last week,” said Randy.