Turgeon's Journey Leads to Quinnipiac

By Jason Christley

Published on 10/08/2007 by The Day

Given the choice between playing in the same program as his brother Travis '05 and cousin (UConn), his uncle Dave '83 (Virginia Tech), or at Maine, where the family has ties, Tyler Turgeon decided to make his own path.

Turgeon, a senior at St. Bernard School, will sign a letter of intent today to play baseball at Division I Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

“I kind of look at everything — academics, athletics, the campus itself,” said Turgeon, who hopes to eventually teach in high school. “It's a real nice campus. I met most of the players. They all seemed pretty cool.”

And they offered him a full scholarship. “It's hard not to want to go somewhere for free,” Turgeon laughed.

Turgeon, an All-State shortstop, hit .465 last spring to lead the Saints to the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division title and the semifinals of the Class S tournament. He made his decision two weeks ago, picking Quinnipiac over Maine in the end. At Maine, Jared Holowaty is an assistant coach. Holowaty is the son of longtime Eastern Connecticut State University coach Bill Holowaty, who coached Tyler's father, Mike '74, an All-American shortstop who went on to play in both Giants and Cubs systems, reaching Triple-A level.

Orono, Maine, however, was too far and too cold. He couldn't see himself at Storrs, where his older brother Travis is a walk-on at UConn and cousin Erik Turgeon hit .327 in 28 games and became the Huskies' closer until a knee injury prematurely ended his freshman season last spring.

And Virginia Tech, where his uncle David Turgeon is an assistant coach, was more interested in recruiting pitchers for their depleted staff than position players.

It all came back to Quinnipiac, where Tyler Turgeon immediately felt comfortable after making a visit two weeks ago.

“The coach was real straight forward with him,” St. Bernard coach Mike Garvie said. “He was very impressed with his swing and what he's seen from watching him in the summer.”

According to Garvie, Turgeon was told by Quinnipiac coach Dan Gooley he may have a shot to start at second base, shortstop or third base. “It's a pretty good environment down there and I think it's a good up-and-coming baseball program,” Garvie said. “And they're taking the right step with him.

“Projecting Tyler out is not difficult. What you're getting now is a good baseball player and what you're getting two years down the road could be extremely special.”

Gooley is entering his sixth year of his second stint at his alma mater (ironically, he coached against Tyler's dad back in the 1970s when Quinnipiac was a Division II school). The Bobcats were 22-24-1 last season. Two years ago, they won the Northeast Conference tournament and qualified for the NCAA Regionals — traveling to Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas to play the eventual national champion Longhorns.

“That would be great to go back,” Tyler Turgeon said. “I wouldn't even care if we got blown out by Texas ... that would be awesome (to play at Disch-Falk).”

For now, though, Turgeon can concentrate on playing pressure-free in the spring. “It's great to just relax now and finish up with school,” Turgeon said.