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After the MLB Draft concluded on Tuesday afternoon, right-hander Cole Zaffiro became the latest professional from the University of Pennsylvania baseball team after signing with the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent.
Zaffiro embraced his role as the ace of Penn’s rotation in 2024, earning second-team All-Ivy honors while helping the team win its second consecutive Ivy League Tournament title and berth into the NCAA regional. He led all Ivy pitchers in innings (77.2) and strikeouts (96) during the year.
Early in the season, he had two strong starts in a row against Lafayette and Brown, earning Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks. Zaffiro tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts over seven shutout innings against the Bears after striking out nine Leopards without surrendering a run over six frames.
He was a member of the All-Ivy League Tournament team after striking out nine over six innings in Penn’s opener against Columbia before picking up the win in relief vs. Cornell in Game 6, giving up just one run in three innings of relief with six Ks.
Zaffiro put together a strong campaign in 2023, resulting in first-team All-Ivy honors after leading the Quakers in innings pitched (72.0) and WHIP (1.14). He was second on the team in strikeouts (80) and third in opponents batting average (.211). Zaffiro’s highlight performance of the season came against Samford in the 1-0 game of the NCAA regional, where he struck out eight over eight innings, allowing just two runs on four hits. As a result. Zaffiro was named to the NCAA All-Regional team.
In a four-year career at Penn, Zaffiro went 13-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 44 appearances, making 37 starts. He logged 198.0 innings and struck out 225 batters over his career, the second-most total in program history and just one behind Craig Connolly’s 226.
