Rising NJ baseball star, all-time strike leader at Ramapo College, dies in crash

🔴 Nick Danbrowney dies in crash

🔴 He recently signed to play for a professional team in California

🔴 A GoFundMe for his family has raised over $32,000

A promising prospect from Barnegat has died in a crash just months after signing to play professional baseball.

Nick Danbrowney, 22, was involved in the fatal crash in North Carolina on Monday night.

That's according to the right-handed pitcher's new team, the Bakersfield Train Robbers. The ball club is part of the Pecos League, which is an independent league not associated with Major League Baseball.

Bill Rogan, the Train Robbers manager, said the news of Danbrowney's death left him numb.

"Our entire team is devastated. Even though we went our separate ways after the season, we're still a close knit group. We're having trouble dealing with this. Nick was a gentleman off the field and a terrific pitcher on the mound with a bright future. We loved Nick and will never forget him," Rogan said.

Pitching career for Ramapo College

Danbrowney signed with the professional team in June, just after he graduated from Ramapo College with a major in social science.

In his final season at Ramapo, Danbrowney broke the college's record for strikeouts with 225 throughout his tenure.

He also pitched a shutout among his seven wins and three losses.

Standout at Barnegat High School

Danbrowney's strong college career followed a standout performance at Barnegat High School.

He was First Team All-Shore Conference and Second Team All-State in high school, according to his profile.

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“Our hearts are broken in the Barnegat Community, and our deepest prayers and support are with Nick’s Family. He was an amazing student-athlete, a man of few words, but his smile would light up every room he entered,” Barnegat Director of Athletics John Germano said to NJ.com.

A GoFundMe for Danbrowney's family has raised $32,000 as of Thursday morning. It seeks to cover transportation and funeral expenses.

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