Jan. 9, 2008

NEWARK, NJ - Kwesi Mitchell, who starred for the NJIT baseball program for four seasons ending in 2007, has signed a professional contract for 2008 with the Atlantic City Surf of the independent Canadian-American League.

Mitchell, an outfielder, completed his career in 2007 with one of the finest hitting seasons in school history, a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that it came in NJIT's first season of Division I competition.

Leading the Highlanders in nine important batting categories, he ended the season batting .371; he set a new school record with 13 home runs (surpassing the record of 12, set by Jim Tensfeldt in 1983); Mitchell's 44 runs batted in for 2007 surpassed the record set by teammate Mike Turner in 2006; and, his 105 total bases in a season put him above Chris Schwartz, who tallied 103 in 2004.

Mitchell also had 10 doubles, with a slugging percentage of .695 and 21 walks and a hit by pitch, giving him an on-base percentage of .448.

He played in 42 of NJIT's 43 games, starting 41. In those games, he scored 42 runs to go with his 44 RBI, meaning he produced about a run a game in each category. He was remarkably consistent, producing a hit in 37 of his 42 games and reaching base via walk in two of his five hitless games. He hit safely in the first 22 games of the 2007 season.

Not surprisingly, Mitchell, also a fine defensive outfielder with a powerful throwing arm in right field, received numerous postseason honors.

He was a first-team Division I all-state selection by the New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association and also a first-team national Division I Independent all-star honoree.

With NJIT becoming the eighth Division I program in New Jersey in 2007, Mitchell was one of just three outfielders named to the first team. The team was chosen in voting conducted among the coaches of the state Division I teams, which include Rutgers, Seton Hall, Princeton, Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson, Rider and Saint Peter's, in addition to the Highlanders.

He was named to the 2007 NCAA Division I All-Independent team by a vote of coaches and sports information directors at Independent schools.

The Atlantic City Surf are the southernmost franchise in eight-team Can-Am League, which has three clubs in New Jersey, three in New England and two in Canada. The teams are not affiliated with any major league systems, but they typically sell the contracts of their top players to major league organizations.

Atlantic City, which played its first season in the Can-Am League in 2007, posted a 51-41 overall record and finished second in the league's second half. The Surf will open its 2008 season away from home on May 22.

"This is a very exciting time for Kwesi and for our program," said NJIT coach Brian Callahan of the Highlanders' first professional signee in recent memory. "For him to come back after missing a year (2006) just shows how much character he has to dedicate himself to being a team leader. Now that hard work has paid off for him with the start of his pro career."