Nashua Silver Knights Feature Prominently In FCBL Hall Of Fame Class

WEYMOUTH, MA — The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) announced its second-ever Hall of Fame class on Wednesday, and the Nashua Silver Knights are well represented.

Of the five individuals who will be honored in the class, four have connections to the Silver Knights, who just captured their sixth league title this past summer. The Silver Knights' first championship team from 2011 also is part of the 2022 Hall of Fame class.

The Hall of Famers will be honored during an Oct. 7 ceremony that will be part of the FCBL Golf Tournament at Leicester Country Club in Leicester, Massachusetts.

Mickey Gasper played just one season in the Futures League, but the memorable campaign with Nashua earned him a spot in the Hall.

The former Bryant University star, who currently plays with the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate the Somerset Patriots, was named the FCBL's Most Valuable Player in 2016.

During that season, Gasper hit .421, still a league record, and had a .531 on-base percentage, 31 extra-base hits, 42 RBIs and 21 doubles.

A Merrimack native, Gasper won the Northeast Conference Player of the Year at Bryant in 2017 and was drafted in the 27th round by the Yankees a year later.

Ryan Gendron, who is from Nashua, was part of a championship-winning team during his only season with the Silver Knights in 2012.

He went on to play two seasons with the Seacoast Mavericks. During the 2015 campaign, Gendron set the FCBL single-season home run record with 22.

Gendron currently is an assistant baseball coach at New England College.

B.J. Neverett already is a member of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) Coaches Hall of Fame because of his exploits as the coach at Nashua South High.

Neverett began his tenure with the Silver Knights as the team's director of player personnel during Nashua's inaugural 2011 campaign, which ended in a title.

The following year, Neverett managed the Silver Knights to a league crown.

Another stint as the director of player personnel was followed by a return to the dugout, where Neverett led Nashua to titles in 2016 and 2017.

J.P. Pyne, another Hall of Fame honoree, was an assistant coach under Neverett during the Silver Knights' 2012 championship season. He then managed the Silver Knights in 2013.

Pyne later managed the Worcester Bravehearts from 2016-18, leading Worcester to a championship in his final season.

The entire 2011 Nashua Silver Knights also will enter the Hall. Led by manager Mike Chambers, a Nashua native, the team finished 27-16 and defeated Torrington in the championship series.

That Silver Knights squad featured six All-FCBL performers, including: Eric Perrault, who was named the league's Pitcher of the Year, Logan Gillis, who won the league's batting title, Rob Benedict, named the Defensive Player of the Year, and Dylan Maki, who was the Relief Pitcher of the Year.

The only soon-to-be Hall of Famer without close Nashua connections is Mike Odenwaelder, who was the league's MVP in 2014 with the Torrington Titans. He later managed the North Shore Navigators, earning Manager of the Year honors in 2019.

The new Hall of Famers will join the 13 individuals inducted in 2020 as part of the FCBL's inaugural Hall of Fame class.