NEWS

NEWPORT, R.I- Throughout the 19-year history of the Newport Gulls there have been 24 players to reach the Major Leagues. Hundreds of alumni have been drafted and played professionally but ultimately find themselves in industries other than baseball. There have been Gulls that became lawyers, doctors, real estate professionals, opened their own businesses, and even played professional sports other than baseball. However, there is one Gulls alumni that made a name for himself with a microphone in his hand rather than a glove on it. His name is Michael Francis Seander, more commonly known as Mike Stud. 

 

Seander or “Stud” was born and raised in Cranston, Rhode Island, and attended St. Raphael Academy in Providence, the same high school as another famous Gulls alumni Chris Iannetta. Stud had a tremendous high school career, earning Gatorade Player of the Year and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year honors for the state of Rhode Island as a senior. He struck out 107 opposing batters and finished his senior year with a 9-2 record and 0.91 era- while also hitting .354 at the plate. 

 

After graduation, Seander, who was also a great student, decided to attend Duke University on a baseball scholarship. His successes in high school continued into his freshman season for the Blue Devils, named their closer as just a freshman. Although it was just his first year pitching collegiately, one could not tell. This right-handed pitcher completed the season as a Freshman All-American and led the team in appearances with 28. He recorded nine saves which were second-most in school history at the time and ranked fourth in the ACC while putting together a 1.71 ERA in conference play. At one point in the season, Stud had a scoreless streak of six straight appearances which spanned 9.2 innings. Needless to say, Gulls General Manager Chuck Paiva took notice and the in-state product was signed to play for Newport following that stellar season at Duke. 

 

Upon arrival in Newport, he was utilized in the same role as the Gulls closer. He featured a good fastball with excellent off-speed pitches. This great mix kept hitters off-balance, leading to seven saves in 15 appearances and a spot on the All-Star Team. Batters mustard up just 11 hits against Stud and three runs over 17 innings of work. 

 

Unfortunately, Seander battled arm injuries during his sophomore season (2008) at Duke which eventually led to receiving Tommy John surgery. Recovery from surgery required him to miss the entirety of the 2009 season and then he chose to transfer to Georgetown University to complete his collegiate career. Once back on the mound, now a senior for the Hoyas, he could not quite get back to his dominance prior to surgery. He appeared in nine games over the course of the season and struck out nine in 8.2 innings. 

 

It was during his time recovering from surgery that Mike used music to pass the time as his normal hobbies of working out and playing ball were impossibilities. As they say, the rest is history. 

 

In 2010, he released a song entitled “College Humor” which launched him to stardom. The hip-hop single garnered millions of hits on YouTube and is still rising in views to this day. From 2010 to 2019, Stud has toured the United States playing concerts and putting out new music on a frequent basis. His discography includes five albums and six mixtapes as well as features on songs with some of the industry’s most popular artists. Duke teammate and current New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman is still one of Stud’s best friends and was even featured on his 2016 album These Days.

 

Since his tour entitled “Final Mike Stud Tour” in 2018, he is now known simply as Mike. Mike continues to make music and has ventured into various businesses with colleagues of his made his time in the industry. Baseball and sports are a constant in his music and although he has dropped “Stud” in his name, he will always be considered a stud when referring to his time with the Newport Gulls. 

 

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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 of Newport County via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are six-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.