Ian Warren signs with SUNY Plattsburgh

By Mike Zummo
Posted 1/12/23

Frank Alfonso remembers when Ian Warren was a batboy as a child when he was coaching his son’s baseball team. That was years ago.

Last Thursday, Alfonso – now the Highland High …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Ian Warren signs with SUNY Plattsburgh

Posted

Frank Alfonso remembers when Ian Warren was a batboy as a child when he was coaching his son’s baseball team.
That was years ago.

Last Thursday, Alfonso – now the Highland High School Athletic Director – presided over a signing ceremony in Warren’s honor as Warren, a senior catcher on the Highland baseball team, officially committed to continuing his baseball and academic career at SUNY Plattsburgh.

“Plattsburgh just felt more homely than anything else,” Warren said. “They took me in with open arms. They were one of the first people to see my potential and they wanted me on the spot.”

On the spot, and only once. Plattsburgh coaches saw him play one game, and they texted him immediately that they wanted him.

“I think with the campus being as nice as it is, and the coach, hopefully being like a second father to me, and always taking me in, texting me, asking how I’m doing in games, how I’m doing in school, it felt like a home feeling for me.”

Coach Sam Quinn-Loeb’s team is on the rise, having just finished one of their best seasons in recent memory as the Cardinals posted a 21-19 record, their best since 2012, and their first appearance in the SUNY Athletic Conference tournament in a decade.

Being part of a team on the rise was appealing to him.
“Everyone wants to be on the best team in the country, but it’s really good to be part of a team that wants to win every day, and wants to go out there and compete every day,” Warren said.

The Cardinals are going to get what Highland baseball coach John Manganiello calls a five-tool talent behind the plate. He also believes Warren to be the best catcher in the Mid Hudson Athletic League Division III, if not the entire league. He’s the Huskies’ No. 3 hitter, he’s got a strong arm behind the plate that freezes opponents’ running games and he’s a good pitch framer.

He’s also one of the most relaxed players Manganiello has ever coached, and he relaxes the other players on the team.

“I think because he’s so relaxed, and his body is so relaxed and loose, it’s just a tremendous asset for him,” Manganiello said. “I don’t think you can teach it, but he just has that personality. It’s just who he is.”

Obviously, his move to Plattsburgh isn’t all athletic. Warren also plans to study history with an eye toward becoming a high school history teacher. His aunt and uncle were both history teachers and he said he’s always had a great connection with the Highland history teachers.

“I’ve always been fascinated by historical events, even historical events that I’ve lived through,” Warren said. “I think in life you want to do what you love, and I love that, especially from an early age. I think I want to pursue that because I love it.”

He also cited the Highland social studies teachers as part of the reason he wants to pursue being a history teacher as a career. That was music to Manganiello – a social studies teacher himself – and his colleagues in the department.

“We looked at each other and we were all pumped up,” Manganiello said. “To us, as a staff and colleagues, that’s more exciting than anything. That made me feel even better than the coaching part makes me feel.”

Warren certainly left his mark on not only the Highland baseball program but the community as well, as the high school library was packed with teammates, friends, family, supporters and teachers.

He’s going to miss that family when he’s gone.

“The family I’ve made here is unlike anywhere else I’ve had,” Warren said. “I made family on my travel team, spending every single day in the summer, but here, you go to school with them every day, you hang out with them every day, so I think that will be the biggest miss. That and seeing my teacher’s faces and my coach’s faces. Everyone greeted me with a smile every day.”