2025 NECBL STEPHEN STRASBURG TOP PROSPECT: LEIGHTON HARRIS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Eric Lindley

Director of Baseball Operations

401-363-2134//operations@newportgulls.com

NEWPORT, R.I. – Newport Gulls left-handed pitcher Leighton Harris (Kentucky) has been named the 2025 NECBL Stephen Strasburg Top Pro Prospect, becoming the eighth Gull to receive the league's most prestigious professional scouting honor since the franchise's founding in 1994.

The award, presented annually to the NECBL's top professional prospect, is named after former Torrington Twisters pitcher, three-time MLB All-Star, and 2009 No. 1 overall draft pick out of San Diego State, Stephen Strasburg.

Harris is the fourth consecutive Gull to claim the award, following in the footsteps of Dixon Williams ('24, East Carolina), David Horn ('23, Vanderbilt) and Colton Ledbetter ('22, Mississippi State). He is the first Newport pitcher to win the honor since former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel in 2010.

After primarily pitching in relief this spring as a freshman at the University of Kentucky, Harris transitioned to the starting rotation in Newport, making seven regular-season starts. Over 24 innings, he allowed just two earned runs while striking out 31 and walking only seven, finishing with a 0.75 ERA.

The Newport Gulls and the New England Collegiate Baseball League congratulate Leighton Harris on this tremendous honor. Harris continues the proud tradition of Gulls players making their mark on the national stage.

With Harris's name added to the record books, the Gulls once again reinforce their standing as one of the NECBL's premier destinations for developing elite baseball talent.

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The Newport Gulls, members of the 13-team New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded as the Rhode Island Gulls in 1998 in Cranston, R.I., before moving to Newport in 2001. In addition to recruiting, fielding, and developing a team of the nation's top collegiate baseball athletes and attracting 50,000 fans annually to Cardines Field, the predominantly volunteer organization strives to benefit the community via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are eight-time champions of the NECBL – the winningest franchise in league history – and were ranked as the overall No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the country by Perfect Game USA in 2012.

For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.