UD Baseball Alumni Aidan Kane Competed in Overseas Tournament

NEWARK, Del. - After graduation, the majority of collegiate athletes find their first job and join the workforce. But, for former Delaware baseball player Aidan Kane, he was provided with a unique opportunity to continue to play baseball.

Earlier this year, Kane flew out to Shaoxing, China to compete in the U-23 Baseball World Cup with team Great Britain from September 6 to September 15.

The Baseball World Cup started in 2014, originally as a U-21 tournament, and eventually turned into the U-23 tournament in 2016. This tournament is hosted every two years and has spanned from countries in Asia, North America and South America.

Despite growing up in Madison, N.J., Kane's dad's side of the family is from the Great Britain area, allowing him to apply for dual citizenship and compete for England.

"My dad is from there, and grew up in a town called Ripon. My grandparents still live in the house that he grew up in. I definitely visited there my fair share of times growing up and I have fond memories from it," Kane said.

With the help of Delaware Baseball Head Coach Greg Mamula, Kane was able to land a spot on team Great Britain.

"I remember getting an email that was probably sent to either every Division I school or every college about team Great Britain looking for players in this tournament. And in order for a player to qualify, they had to either be a citizen of Great Britain or have a parent or grandparent that are from Great Britain," Mamula said. "It was simply me giving Aidan the information about the tournament. I found out over the summer that he was going to compete in it."

This was a new experience for Kane as he has never been to China before and got first hand experience of the culture there.

"It was cool to experience the culture and embrace it. It's a lot different than it is here, in the United States. As you could imagine it was a completely new experience. I didn't know what to expect going into it. But, everything about it was awesome from the baseball, to the people, to the culture, I had a great time."

For him, the biggest difference between the United States and China is the food. The majority of the time, he ate rice and lo mein, but he did enjoy the peking duck.

"Their cuisine was a lot different than here in the United States. You could imagine someone who's playing baseball everyday and burning a lot of calories needs to eat. It was difficult to adapt to that part of the lifestyle. It was a cool part of it, even though it was a challenge."

On the field, Kane appeared in five games and made four starts. He collected three hits in 14 at bats, including one walk and one double.

While playing at the U-23 tournament, he recognized familiar faces on his squad.

"There was one athlete on my team, Max Viera, he played at Seton Hall the past couple of years, and played at Northeastern his freshman and sophomore years, which were also my first two years in college. We didn't know each other that well, but we played against each other and I've spoken to him a couple of times. It was comforting knowing that there would be at least one person that I've crossed paths with. And, we ended up becoming pretty good friends."

While the competition in the tournament was competitive, Kane's time at Delaware, and playing against Coastal Athletic Association opponents helped prepare him.

"I think the competition is very similar, and the CAA prepared me well for the pitching that I faced over there. I didn't know what to expect heading into the tournament, but the CAA helped me prepare."

For Kane, this was a unique opportunity not only for himself, but to represent Delaware on an international stage.

"Not only did Delaware provide me with four of the greatest years of my life both on and off the field, but I was able to go overseas and play in this tournament, thanks to coach Mamula. Being over there and getting to represent this school means a lot to me."

"I think this is a really neat experience for Aidan to go play and represent a country in a tournament, that's always exciting. How often do you get to play a sport and you get to wear the name of a country and represent that country in a tournament? Playing in a foreign country against foreign players is just a really unique experience that not many players get," Mamula said.

Now that the tournament is over, Kane currently works as a Commodity Analyst at Morgan Stanley and is set up to have a successful career in the business world.

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UD Baseball Alumni Aidan Kane Competed in Overseas Tournament

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