Mepham's Kieran Kehoe named recipient of Diamond Award in Nassau baseball
Kieran Kehoe of Mepham drives a two-run single to leftfield during a Nassau baseball game against MacArthur on April 25 in Bellmore. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Mepham might have been the biggest surprise in Nassau Class A baseball this season. After finishing the 2022 season just over .500, the Pirates went 19-5-1 and reached the county semifinals. That doesn’t happen on the contributions of a single player, but it definitely wouldn’t have without the breakthrough season turned in by Kieran Kehoe.
“We wouldn’t have done what we did without him,” Mepham coach Eric Passman said. “We thought we’d be good but maybe not that good. [Kehoe] put up the kind of numbers that only special players put up.”
As Passman listed the statistics, one couldn’t disagree. The junior cleanup hitter put up a.700/.736/1.217 slash line. He had 19 extra-base hits, including five home runs. He had 41 RBIs and scored 25 runs.
And on Thursday night, Kehoe received the 2023 Diamond Award as the Position Player of the Year at the Nassau County Baseball Coaches Association awards dinner at the Marriott in Uniondale.
Kieran Kehoe of Mepham is awarded the Diamond Award for Nassau County Position Player of the year during the Nassau County Baseball Awards dinner on Thursday, June 15, 2023 in Uniondale. Credit: Dawn McCormick
“I thought it might be turning into a great season after the first two or three series,” Kehoe said. “I was just getting on base all the time, in every game. There were hard-hit balls, but even the weak contact seemed to be dropping for me. People noticed and . . . it just was an eye-opener for a lot of people around the county.”
One thing people couldn’t help but notice was the physical changes since he was a 6-4, 170-pound sophomore who finished with a .327 batting average. Kehoe returned for this season at 6-7 and 220 pounds and the ability to drive the baseball deep.
“Being a sophomore on the varsity was a lot more stress, proving you belong,” Kehoe said. “Stepping in the batter's box this year, it just felt a lot easier. I felt a lot more calm and I was confident enough to stay back on ball a lot more. I felt a lot more calm, like I could just go with how they pitched me.”
“The thing that stands out to me is that it's harder to remember the times he came up and failed – which is odd in baseball,” Passman said. “In all the big spots and in all the close games, it seemed like he was coming through. He only had one game this season where he didn’t get a hit.”
“To win a Diamond [Award] there has to be a lot going into it,” Kehoe said. “You have to put in the work, but you also need great family support and great teammate [support]. I have those.”
Kehoe has a season on the high school diamond left, but has already committed to play baseball at Saint Joseph’s University in the Atlantic 10.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
