Shane Van Dam wanted to improve. He was not a full-time pitcher at Cranford (N.J.) High, splitting time as an outfielder, but when he arrived at Division III SUNY Cortland a year ago, his home was on the mound.
But baseball was not his only sport with the Red Dragons. Van Dam was also a reserve quarterback as a two-sport collegiate athlete. That did not leave much time for working on his pitching without fall baseball practices during football season.
Van Dam was an efficient high school signal-caller at Cranford as he was 97-for-172 passing with 1,542 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions. He did not see the gridiron with Cortland during his freshman year and the competitor in him wanted more on the baseball field.
The Cranford, N.J., native had to find a way to get comfortable on the mound. Van Dam turned to YouTube videos to learn the fundamentals of pitching to get more comfortable on the rubber at the college level.
He focused on footage of former New York Mets and current Texas Rangers ace Jacob DeGrom because he felt like the two have similar body movements at 6-foot-6 (Van Dam) and 6-foot-4 (DeGrom). Van Dam researched the internet looking for different clips of the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, looking to draw from his game.
“It was definitely a big challenge because I had to learn a lot on my own,” Van Dam said. “It’s definitely tough, but in today’s age, it’s easier with all the videos and clips you see online.
Van Dam was able to pull DeGrom’s timing, mimicking the way he starts with his hands up before making his way towards the plate. Those short snippets seemed to work as Van Dam turned into an effective reliever for the Red Dragons.
He logged a 2-1 record with a 3.07 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 13 walks across 29.1 innings pitched as a freshman — including a career-best 11 strikeouts in five innings in a win at Plattsburgh last April.
Van Dam made an impression at the D-III level. He had a choice to make: stay at Cortland or look to move up a level or two. Eventually, the elite right-hander landed at NC State and he has been a mainstay in the Wolfpack’s bullpen as one of the most consistent pitchers the red and white has in its stable.
Uncovering an underrated arm
At first, Van Dam was content with staying at Cortland. He was successful as a freshman and had a trajectory of becoming an ace with the Red Dragons. But the more he thought about it — and consulted with those around him — the confident Van Dam thought if he focused on baseball, he could end up at a higher level.
Van Dam knew his mid-90s fastball could play at any level, but he also developed control of his breaking ball in the middle of his freshman season. That was when he knew he had a shot to make a jump in competition.
His summer league outings helped validate that as well. He made four appearances with the New Brunswick Matrix of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, where he threw 9.2 shutout innings and conceded just four hits with 18 strikeouts and five walks. Van Dam also tossed four innings in the Cape Cod League with the Chatham Anglers, where he allowed just two runs on one hit with six strikeouts and three walks against elite hitting.
In the D-III ranks, there is not a formal transfer portal like there is for Division I and II. Van Dam had to seek a permission to contact waiver from Cortland. That was approved and in essence he was on the open market — gaining interest from multiple programs.
But NC State had a connection with Van Dam that some others did not: his high school. Cranford has turned out a pair of arms that ended up at NC State: Rob Chamra and Andrew Ciencin. That helped in the recruiting process, NC State pitching coach Clint Chrysler said.
“We were in contact with those guys,” Chrysler recalled. “We got some video and then I got on a plane and flew up to New Jersey early last summer. Then we turned him around and got him and his dad on campus shortly thereafter and then the rest is history.”
It was a fast-moving process, but such is life in college athletics as teams look to fill out their rosters in the early parts of the summer. Van Dam did not really know what to expect in looking for a new team, but he bet on himself and it paid off.
“I took a chance and just went with it,” Van Dam said. “It was a crazy experience. It’s hard to describe.”
Making an impact in Raleigh
When Van Dam arrived at NC State, he was a blank slate — literally.
Chrysler worked to help him refine a windup, while also teaching him how to control the running game on the mound. Those are some of the basic details as a collegiate pitcher, ones that most arms have down, but Van Dam was open to learning anything to improve.
“It was a breath of fresh air, to be honest,” Chrysler said. “He was as blank of a canvas as I’ve ever coached, but also just a sponge. He was very eager to learn anything and everything. He’s obviously a very, very good athlete and very gifted from a physical standpoint, it was just a matter of getting him comfortable doing more from a pitching standpoint than just throwing the ball forward pretty hard.”
After working with Van Dam for the entire fall, the Wolfpack’s pitching development was put on display rather quickly in the 2024 season. He made his NC State debut in the season opener against VCU and Van Dam tossed five shutout innings with two hits, five strikeouts and two walks.
Van Dam continued to carve out a role throughout the season and he has now become a key piece of the Pack’s bullpen. He boasts a 3.18 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 17 walks across 34 innings on the mound.
“Seeing the success has definitely helped my confidence,” Van Dam said. “Obviously, I had my doubts, but taking what I learned from my unsuccessful outings has definitely helped me continue to build, build and build on every outing I’ve had this year to get to the point of where I’m at now.”
A rocky outing for Van Dam has not been a consistent theme, which is the goal, but he uses those innings as learning tools. He has allowed just two runs or less in all of his outings since he allowed three runs at Hawaii, his third appearance of the year.
And it is not just the efforts where teams can score on Van Dam that drives him to improve, either. It is also when he misses his spot in the strike zone, even if it results in a strikeout.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” NC State junior catcher Jacob Cozart said. “He can throw a strike by a guy and he’ll be mad about it because he knows he didn’t hit his spot. He just wants to do good for the team. … The way that dude competes, I admire him for that.”
Van Dam’s work ethic is what has set him apart from others in his first season at NC State. That has led to success, which the Wolfpack is looking for him to continue to build upon moving forward.
“He’s been great for us and it’s all a credit to Shane and his work ethic,” Chrysler said. “He’s always wanting to learn and he’s always wanting to get better. He loves it here. He loves NC State and he loves competing. When you start putting those things together with raw ability and athleticism, you can see where guys can become special.”
The post How D-III transfer Shane Van Dam became NC State’s go-to reliever appeared first on On3.
