Search
Friday, July 18, 2025
Dream fulfilled: Afthim hears name called in 2025 MLB draft
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.
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.” <
Friday, September 18, 2020
Pandemic impairs Athletic Boosters fundraising
By Ed Pierce
An organization that has championed student-athletes at
Windham High School is feeling the crushing downturn of the pandemic and is
appealing to the community for assistance.
The Windham Raymond Athletic Boosters, made up of parent
volunteers, has worked closely with the Windham High School Athletic Department
for years in recognizing student-athletes and Windham teams, paying for items
not included in the school budget through an array of popular fundraising
projects and events. But the lingering effects of COVID-19 are hurting those
efforts significantly.
“This is going to be a tough year for us,” said Shelly Afthim, Windham Raymond Athletic Boosters president. “We’re going to have to find new ways to fundraise. If not, this will hurt our program for years to come.”
Typically, the boosters staff a booth at Summerfest, sell
concessions at summer track meets, offer a booster club card to the public for
discounted Windham High School football game admissions and host a Holiday
Craft Fair among fundraising projects, but all of those initiatives have come
up short this year, thanks to the pandemic. The craft fair will still be held
this year, but it will only be virtual.
“Every opportunity we have to make money this year has not
worked out and we need the community to rally around us more than ever before,”
Afthim said.
Some of the programs that the boosters have paid for recently
include enrichments for every team every season every year; paying for special
guest speakers to talk to student-athletes; renting space at the University of
Southern Maine for training; buying new cheering mats; purchasing new girls’
soccer uniforms, new baseball uniforms and girls’ field hockey uniforms; turf
rental at Saint Joseph’s College for cross country and lacrosse teams, creating
new dugouts for softball; and purchasing a new scoreboard for baseball.
Afthim said boosters also have bought flowers for graduating
senior athletes, purchased deck jackets for teams and created a new shelter for
the school’s track team. They also award four $500 college scholarships every
year to Windham High graduates, with two for boys and two for girls.
“The boosters are vital to the student-athlete’s experience at Windham High School. In any given season the boosters play a vital role in our program’s success and continued growth,” said Rich Drummond, Windham High School athletic director. “The boosters provide necessities over and beyond the school athletic budget that help enhance the athletic experience. These are items that are needs and
not wants and the ability to lean on them is a huge piece of mind.”
Drummond said he has served as an athletic director for more
than 20 years in Southern Maine at three large schools and what the
Windham/Raymond Boosters do to support the athletes in this district is
unmatched.
“They make sound decisions that benefit all kids and all teams
and always have the best interest for all involved at the forefront of every
decision,” Drummond said.
Afthim said she originally wanted to join the boosters when
one of her children started to attend Windham High School and play on a school
sports team.
“I wanted to make a difference because there are so many positives in sports,” she said. “Student-athletes learn social skills, leadership, establish friendships and must do well academically to stay eligible to compete in sports. We feel it’s an honor to play for Windham High School.”
Former football standout Anthony Gugliuzza graduated from
Windham High School in June and is now attending Endicott College in
Massachusetts. He says he will always be grateful to the Windham Raymond
Athletic Boosters for what they did for student-athletes like him.
“The Windham Boosters program did a lot over the course of my four
years at Windham High School to positively impact the experience of my
teammates and I,” Gugliuzza said. “Whether it was providing us with a coach bus
to away games in Bangor, throwing pizza parties for teams that made the
playoffs, or giving us seniors a cording ceremony in the midst of a
pandemic, the Windham Booster Program has never failed to show how much they
truly care about their athletes.”
He said he’s actually had the amazing opportunity to
connect with some of the people in charge of the boosters program and said they
are absolutely phenomenal.
“Everyone involved with Windham athletics is so thoughtful and
down to earth that it would be a mistake not to look back at my time in Windham
with anything but fondness and love,” Gugliuzza said. “I have a tremendous
amount of respect for the booster program, because at the end of the day
they played an influential role in four unbelievable years of high school
sports that I will never forget.”
Afthim said to try and salvage fundraising efforts, the boosters have launched a Go Fund Me Page and
is asking anyone who can do so to donate to this worthwhile cause. The Windham Raymond Athletic Boosters are certified as a 501©3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
The Windham Raymond Athletic Boosters Go Fund
Me link is at gofundme.com/f/2020WHSBoosters
“And if anyone would prefer to pay by check,
they can mail it to WRAB PO Box 617 Windham, ME 04062,” Afthim said. “No amount
is too small and we are grateful for any amount donated.”
To help the Windham Raymond Boosters continue
their efforts this school year, The Windham Eagle newspaper is donating $330 raised
from this week’s newspaper advertising sales to this worthy organization, said
Melissa Carter, Windham Eagle Sales Manager.
Carter said she encourages everyone to support
advertisers who contributed to this initiative. <
Friday, June 12, 2020
Windham resident to share story of surviving heart failure during 2020 Go Red for Women® Luncheon
![]() |
Shelly Afthim |