Former Blue Devil Dominc Niman Drafted by Tampa Bay Rays
Former Central Connecticut baseball standout, Dominic Niman, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday. Niman, who played at Central from 2020-23, is the 31st former Blue Devil since 2003 to join the professional ranks.
Niman completed a decorated career at CCSU ranking fifth all-time with 189 strikeouts. As a senior he earned Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Second Team All-America and ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team honors to become the 10th All-American in program history and the first since Sean Allaire was a Third Team selection in 2010. He set single-season program marks for innings pitched (104.0) and wins (12) after helping Central to the NCAA Tournament and Northeast Conference championship in 2023. An ABCA/Rawlings Northeast All-Region First Team pick, Niman went 12-2 with a 2.77 ERA and ranked among the national leaders in victories (2nd), WHIP (23rd, 1.08), ERA (29th), strikeouts (72nd, 94), games started (72nd, 15), hits allowed per nine innings (84th, 7.44), and walks allowed per nine innings (96th, 2.25).
The 2023 NEC Tournament MVP, Niman helped toss CCSU into the NCAA Tournament, going 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA across 16.0 innings at the conference tournament. In CCSU's first game of the postseason, he struckout a career-high 14 hitters over 7.0 innings in a 5-2 win over Sacred Heart. On two-days' rest, Niman then hurled a complete game in the decisive title game, helping Central to a 12-3 win over Wagner. The lefty from West Hartford, CT, picked up ECAC Pitcher of the Year, NEIBA All-New England Pitcher of the Year and Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year in a banner campaign. In his career at Central, Niman went 16-9 with two saves, while posting a 3.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 213.0 innings over 49 appearances.
Niman completed his collegiate eligibility playing a single season with Kentucky in 2024 where he helped the Wildcats go 46-16, win a regular season SEC title and advance to the College World Series for the first time in program history. He started 15 games and tossed 70.2 innings, while striking out 66 batters and going 8-4 on the hill for UK. He pitched a complete-game shutout in a 7-0 win over Alabama on April 6 when he struck out seven and allowed just three hits.
Niman is the 20th draft pick in program history and is the first MLB Draft Pick with CCSU pedigree since Dean Lockery was selected in the 32nd round in 2018. TT Bowens, who completed his CCSU career in 2022, signed a preferred free agent contract with the Baltimore Orioles after the 2020 MLB Draft was truncated to five rounds. He currently plays for the Bowie Baysox, the Double-A affiliate of the Orioles.
