Coro, Willette each sign NLI, Raposo commits

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Johnston High School baseball standouts Jake Coro, Nick Raposo and John Willette will be continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level.

The trio made it official during a ceremony in the school’s library on Monday afternoon, as Willette, who will be attending the University of Rhode Island, and Coro, who will be attending Southern New Hampshire University, each signed a National Letter of Intent. Raposo, on the other hand, verbally committed to Division III Wheaton College.

There was no question that it was a special day for the baseball program.

“Having three guys progress and go on to play college baseball is pretty neat,” Johnston head coach Steve DeMeo said. “They’re all good guys, and all good students.”

Coro, Johnston’s starting shortstop last spring, will be suiting up for Division II SNHU, which plays in the Northeast-10 Conference, next year.

The Penmen have been one of the better teams in the league in recent years, and last season was no exception, as they compiled an overall record of 31-14, earning a bid to the NCAA East Regional.

“It’s been a big process since I decided I was going to play college baseball sophomore year and started going to a lot of showcases,” Coro said. “Southern New Hampshire caught me really late with a good scholarship, and I had to take it. There’s great competition there and a lot of big-time names come out of that program.”

Raposo didn’t have a National Letter of Intent to sign on Monday, but declared his commitment to Wheaton, another school with an impressive baseball program.

The Lyons were 25-15 last season out of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.

Raposo feels that Wheaton is definitely a good fit for him, both athletically and academically.

“I’m really excited to enter the next chapter of my life at Wheaton,” Raposo said. “It was a great fit academically, school population-wise and baseball-wise. They compete for a national title every year and I’m very excited to further my education, as well.”

Willette had committed to URI while playing for Bishop Hendricken last year, but recently transferred to Johnston. He was able to sign his National Letter of Intent alongside his friends and now teammates, Coro and Raposo, as a member of the Panthers’ baseball team.

Willette will fulfill his childhood dream when he throws on a Rams’ uniform next year.

“When you’re a little kid, your goal is to play past the level that most of your peers get to,” Willette said. “When you can seal the deal and get some money to go on to play Division I baseball, it’s a great feeling, without a doubt.”

“It’s a good fit, it feels like home,” Willette said of URI.

Before the three standouts move on, though, they have one more season left at Johnston, and they have high expectations for the upcoming spring.

“I’m expecting big things this year, but we just have to take it slow and take it game by game,” Raposo said. “Everybody’s been putting in a lot of work in the offseason, so I think we’ll be good this year.”

“The biggest goal is to get to McCoy [Stadium], I’ve been trying since freshman year,” Coro said. “Hopefully, with John, we can succeed and make it to McCoy.”

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