John Yurkow W. Joseph Blood Head Coach | Penn Athletics
John Yurkow W. Joseph Blood Head Coach | Penn Athletics
After the MLB Draft concluded, Cole Zaffiro, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Pennsylvania, signed with the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent. Zaffiro was recognized as the ace of Penn's rotation in 2024, earning second-team All-Ivy honors and contributing to the team's success in winning its second consecutive Ivy League Tournament title.
During the season, Zaffiro led all Ivy pitchers with 77.2 innings pitched and recorded 96 strikeouts. He achieved notable performances early in the season against Lafayette and Brown, which earned him back-to-back Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors. In these games, he struck out a career-high 11 batters over seven shutout innings against Brown and nine against Lafayette without allowing a run.
Zaffiro was also part of the All-Ivy League Tournament team after impressive outings against Columbia and Cornell. His performance included striking out nine over six innings against Columbia and securing a win in relief versus Cornell by allowing just one run over three innings.
In 2023, Zaffiro had another strong season that earned him first-team All-Ivy honors. He led his team in innings pitched (72.0) and WHIP (1.14), while ranking second in strikeouts (80). One of his standout performances was against Samford during the NCAA regional where he struck out eight batters over eight innings.
Throughout his four-year career at Penn, Zaffiro amassed a record of 13-8 with a 4.05 ERA across 44 appearances and 37 starts. He accumulated 198 innings pitched and recorded 225 strikeouts, placing him second in program history for total strikeouts.
Zaffiro's signing comes shortly after two other Penn players entered professional baseball; Jackson Appel was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and Eli Trop by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Zaffiro joins Jake Cousins ENG'17 as former Penn players currently within the Yankees organization.
For more updates on Penn baseball, fans can follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, or visit PennAthletics.com.
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