RPP Recruiting Highlight: Sam French

May 21, 2025 – Sam French (Freshman / Class 2028) came on board as an RPP Recruiting client in February of this year.  He is a RHP / 1B with pitching velocity 82-85 mph, T85+ mph.  He is 6’5″and 195 lbs.

He is currently a freshman at Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey.  Thus far, this spring playing on the varsity team as a freshman, he has pitched 19 innings for Red Bank and has a 1.47 ERA.

Sam is ranked highly by Perfect Game both in his home state and on a national level.

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Podcast #141: Fueling Up for Success with Sports Nutritionist Nick Valenti

Today we’re sitting down with sports nutritionist / dietician Nick Valenti to discuss optimizing performance by making better nutritional choices in the summer months. Topics include:

    • The importance of caloric timing
    • What is considered adequate hydration
    • Food prepping for a weekend of games

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Podcast #140: How to Navigate the College Transfer Portal w/ Sam Sharf, RPP Director of Recruiting

Today, I am having my partner Bahram Shirazi sit in for me as the Guest Host with Sam Sharf, RPP’s Director of Recruiting. The topic is the College Transfer Portal:

    • How does it actually work
    • What to keep in mind
    • How to navigate it to optimize your options

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Podcast #139: Elite College Summer Programs… How Do We Get Those Big Gains?

Today we’re taking a deeper look into our Elite College Summer Programs. This will be our 8th year and we’ve have seen incredible results over the years. So, how do we get those big gains? Topics include:

    • Who is it for?
    • Individualized programming based on athlete’s primary focus
    • Complete break down of the 12-week lifting and throwing programs

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Athlete Highlight: Old Tappan’s AJ Aiello Exit Velo up to 93 mph, Up 8 mph

Outfielder and utility player AJ Aiello (Class 2026 – Old Tappan HS, NJ) joined us last fall for the RPP off-season hitting / strength program. In general, he was looking to increase his exit velo, and improve his adjustability and consistency at the plate. By the end of February this year, his top-end exit velo had improved from the mid-80s to 93 mph. This spring, he is off to a great start, currently batting .324 and slugging .559, versus .125 in both metrics the prior year.

How did he do it?

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Athlete Highlight: Wayne Hills’ Chris Cundari with Improved Pitch Arsenal and Velo T90

Wayne Hills RHP Chris Cundari (Class 2026) joined us during the fall of last year in the Pitching Lab for off-season training. In general, Chris was looking to improve his velocity as well as get healthy. We got right into attacking his off-season training by finding out what Chris’ most readily achievable goals were. After 4 months of hard work, Chris is healthy again with a refined pitch arsenal and an increase in velo from T87 to T90.

How did he do it?

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Summer College Throwing Program – How Do We Get Those Big Gains?

This year will be the 8th year we’ve run our Elite Summer College Program for pitchers. The program can be done here at RPP (in-house), 100% on a remote basis, or as a hybrid program, where athletes join us on bullpen days, and do other portions of the program at a local gym near their home. Who is it for?

    • College-level pitchers
    • Graduating seniors (excellent way to spend the summer before the first year)

And best of all, in both cases, it can be adjusted for those playing summer ball.

But, how do we get those big gains?

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Podcast #138: What it is, What it isn’t and Why It’s Important

Mobility can sometimes be treated as the un-wanted stepchild to an athlete. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. So, today we’re going to address Mobility… what it is, what it isn’t and why it’s important. Topics Include:

    • Mobility vs Flexibility (they’re NOT the same)
    • How to assess it
    • Some common mistakes in programming for it

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