North Carolina State University junior right-hander Shane Van Dam, of Cranford, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the ninth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, July 14.
CRANFORD, NJ — Shane Van Dam, despite suffering a UCL tear in his pitching arm a year ago, has been pretty fortunate as far as his sports go.
His senior year at Cranford High School three years ago, Van Dam helped lead the football and baseball teams to sectional state championships during the 2021-2022 season.
Then, for one year, Van Dam, a 2022 Cranford High School graduate, was able to play both sports in college at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he continued to pitch, after not taking to the mound until his senior year at Cranford.
Transferring to North Carolina State University after just one year at SUNY Cortland, Van Dam’s stock, along with his fastball, was on the rise for the Wolfpack until last May, when arm discomfort after one inning forced him to walk off the mound in a game against Florida State University.
As a result of the diagnosis no pitcher wants to hear, Van Dam, who sported a 4-0 record at the time, was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery, thus missing NC State’s run to the men’s College World Series in Omaha.
“That was awful,” Van Dam recalled. “I was having such a good year and then, out of nowhere, that happened and I couldn’t pitch for a year.”
From “awful” in May of 2024 to having a dream come true 14 months later is the road Van Dam, 21, just traveled. He stayed with the sport he loved, came back to play it again and did well enough to impress major league scouts.
Although he was only able to throw eight innings for the Wolfpack this year, striking out four batters and excelling in the Auburn Regional, it was enough for one professional team to reach out for his services.
On Monday, July 14, the second day of Major League Baseball’s 2025 July Amateur Draft, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound right-hander was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the ninth round, pick no. 278.
“The news was very surreal,” Van Dam, a junior this spring at NC State, said. “It was almost like a full-circle moment for me.
“My freshman year at Cortland, I started to dream of making it to the big leagues and it was then that it became a goal of mine.”
Van Dam, one of five NC State players drafted and also one of 14 from the state of New Jersey, became just the sixth player out of Cranford High School to be drafted by a pro team.
Van Dam is also one of three Cranford residents to get drafted out of North Carolina State, joining 2006 Cranford High School graduate Rob Chamra and 2013 Cranford grad Ryan Williamson.
The other three players to be drafted who attended Cranford High School were Joe DiFabio in the very first MLB June Amateur Draft in 1965, John Van Brunt in 1971 and present St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Gordon Graceffo in 2021.
Of the six, Williamson was the second one, after Van Brunt, drafted twice. The first time was out of Cranford High School his senior year in 2013 and then, three years later in 2016, out of NC State.
Another fine player to come out of Cranford and excel at North Carolina State, but who was not drafted, was 2008 Cranford High School graduate Andrew Ciencin, who last year was promoted to head coach of Forest City Owls Baseball. He helped announce the home game for NC State with the ACC Network.
It was Chamra’s idea to have Van Dam, primarily an outfielder, try pitching after he saw him throw a football. Chamra was an assistant coach at Cranford during Van Dam’s senior season.
“Shane is very gifted, very talented and always had a great arm,” said Dennis McCaffery, who was Shane’s head baseball coach at Cranford. “Rob had the idea of making Shane into a pitcher. He realized he saw something special.”
McCaffery reported that Van Dam reached 90 mph his senior year, one that saw him close out Cranford’s North 2, Group 3 sectional state championship victory at Millburn. Van Dam pitched to a 2.42 ERA his senior season in 2022.
“Rob really helped me with the basics, life finding the zone and throwing a slider,” Van Dam said. “I think I hit someone in the Millburn game with a slider. John Kroeger (presently director of the Player and Program Development at Wagner College) clocked me at 91-92 late in the season.”
Van Dam’s one year on the mound at SUNY Cortland in 2023 saw him strike out 23 batters in 15 innings while posting a 4.80 ERA. He was the SUNYAC Baseball Athlete and Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 30 that season, showcasing his consistency and effectiveness.
“I sort of learned how to pitch on the fly there,” Van Dam said.
“He was a very raw pitcher at Cortland,” McCaffery said. “It’s not surprising to see that he took to it because he’s a very good athlete.”
With the aid of the transfer portal in the summer of 2023, Van Dam went from Division 3 baseball to Division 1 at NC State, where previous Cranford players named Ciencin, Chamra and Williamson excelled.
“It was at NC State where I made a big jump pitching-wise,” Van Dam said. “I was reaching 95-96 mph and my breaking ball was better. I was more in the zone and an actual pitcher. It was such a big leap.
“I was also making a big leap as far as being a better person on and off the field.”
A larger body of work his first year at NC State laid the foundation for his selection by the Royals. A 4.58 ERA in 37.1 innings included 38 strikeouts, with a career-high eight in 4.2 innings to earn a victory at Clemson, ranked No. 2 in the country at the time.
Donning No. 31, the Sport Management major appeared in three games for the Wolfpack this year, including his first career start against UNC Wilmington on May 6. Van Dam tossed three scoreless innings against Stanford 11 days later.
Van Dam held opposing batters to a .233 batting average and finished the season with an ERA of 4.50.
“It was a step-by-step process to get back out there,” Van Dam said.
Kansas City, according to Van Dam, began contact about two weeks ago.
“I know they had scouts at my outings,” Van Dam said. “The emphasis was on my fastball and my frame and to pack on some more pounds to strengthen my fastball.”
Van Dam, who will turn 22 on April 10, 2026, reported to Arizona on Thursday, July 17, for bullpen sessions and to work out at the Kansas City facility. From there it will be determined what level of minor league ball he will start at.
“With Shane, it starts with family, community and his teammates and coaches,” McCaffery said. “Everyone is very excited. He comes from a great family.”
Shane’s mother, Lisa, played softball at Wesley College; his brother, Jake, plays baseball at Hope College; and his great-grandfather, Charles Bouska, played basketball and baseball at Alabama.
“There is always a lot of support in Cranford,” Van Dam said. “I think that’s why so many kids stay in Cranford. They preach to play multiple sports.
“In Raleigh, I got the same feeling. The fans care about athletics. It was a great environment.”
What Rob Chamra saw in Shane Van Dam
Chamra, who was an assistant at Cranford with McCaffery for 11 years, liked what he saw going back to football season 2021.
“Shane could throw a football 60-70 yards in the air,” Chamra said. “He ended his junior baseball year in right field and had a laser for an arm.
“It was the same thing his senior year in baseball. He was getting the ball to home plate on a fly and it looked like from there it was 90-plus.
“When his senior season began, I went to Dennis and said, ‘Let’s try him on the mound.’”
In the April 1, 2022, season-opener against Summit, a 15-5 Cranford home win, Van Dam struck out two, walked one and gave up three earned runs on two hits.
His second game was four weeks later at Scotch Plains–Fanwood, a 17-5 Cougar victory. In that Cranford triumph, Van Dam pitched a perfect frame, striking out the side on 15 pitches.
“He first learned how to come set and then get his fastball down and locate,” Chamra said. “Then I taught him a slider.”
When the season extended to June, it was Cranford, after winning the Union County Tournament for the first time since 2015, ousting Rahway, 11-0, at home in a first-round North 2, Group 3 encounter. Van Dam also pitched a perfect inning in that game and struck out the side on 11 pitches.
Kroeger clocked Van Dam at 93, according to Chamra.
“We started with short sessions,” Chamra said. “First were the basic mechanics, followed by stepping on and stepping off the mound, pickoff throws to first and fielding bunts.”
Chamra, a police officer in Cranford, along with other former Cranford standout baseball players James Knight, Nick Cook and Chris Folinusz, just received his MLB agent certification. He has worked with Graceffo the last seven years and is now associated with Van Dam’s agent, Jeff Randazzo of the Ballengee Group.
“It’s very impressive what Shane has accomplished,” Chamra said. “His dream took him from ACC baseball to Summer Cape Cod league to the MLB draft.
“Most players, their careers end with high school ball. It was a pleasure working with Shane and I look forward to again in the coming off-seasons.”
Cranford High School graduates
selected in the Major League Baseball draft
Joe DiFabio, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals 1965, 20th and final selection in Round 1 of June Amateur MLB Draft out of Delta State University. DiFabio was the Cardinals’ first draft pick ever.
June 8, 1965, was the first amateur draft held by Major League Baseball.
Hubie Brown, Elizabeth native, St. Mary’s of Elizabeth graduate and NBA Hall of Fame coach, was the head baseball coach and assistant varsity basketball coach at Cranford at that time.
John Van Brunt, catcher, Montreal Expos, 1971, MLB June Amateur Draft 18th round, 419th selection out of Cranford High School. Also, Detroit Tigers, 1972 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase, 3rd round, 64th selection out of Mesa Community College, Mesa, Ariz.
Rob Chamra, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2011, MLB June Amateur Draft 34th round, 1,034th selection out of North Carolina State University. Chamra is a 2006 Cranford High School graduate who played for head coach Dennis McCaffery. Chamra pitched at Temple for two years and then his last two college seasons at NC State. He went 8-3, started 8-0, for the Wolfpack his senior year in 2011. On April 17 of 2011 at No. 5 North Carolina, Chamra started and got the win in a 10-2 NC State triumph. Chamra went 5.1 innings, allowing no runs on four hits. He struck out none and walked one. Then, on April 23, at No. 1 Virginia, Chamra earned another mound victory in a 6-2 Wolfpack win. Chamra started and pitched seven complete innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits while striking out three, walking three and hitting one batter. “Those were my proudest moments, allowing no earned runs against the No. 5 and No. 1 teams in the country in a six-day span,” Chamra said
Ryan Williamson, pitcher, Texas Rangers 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft 28th round, 850th selection out of Cranford High School. Also, Washington Nationals, 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft 15th round and 454th selection out of North Carolina State University.
Williamson is a 2013 Cranford High School graduate who played on the Cranford 2010, 2012 and 2013 state championship baseball teams and the 2011 state championship football squad for head coaches Dennis McCaffery and Erik Rosenmeier. Williamson is a 2013 Cranford High School graduate.
Gordon Graceffo, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals, 2021 MLB July Amateur Draft, 5th round, 151st selection out of Villanova University. Graceffo, who now pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals and won his first game this season, is a 2018 Cranford High School graduate.
Shane Van Dam, pitcher, Kansas City Royals, 2025 MLB July Amateur Draft, 9th round, 278th selection out of North Carolina State University. Van Dam played on sectional state championship teams his senior year in football (2021) at quarterback for head coach Erik Rosenmeier and in baseball (2022) for head coach Dennis McCaffery.
Photos Courtesy of Shane Van Dam and Rob Chamra
