Malden’s Bowdridge commits to D1 UMaine Black Bears Baseball program

Former Malden High and St. Mark’s School standout

By Justin McAllister

Since his earliest days as a Malden Youth Baseball Little Leaguer, Ryan Bowdridge has been a cut above on the diamond. Rising up through the local youth baseball ranks, the baseball standout made a stop at Malden High School his freshman year and ended up with a record-setting season to remember.

The “baseball music” is still playing for the Edgeworth neighborhood resident and it is loud and clear with the latest news. Earlier this month a recruiting visit up north in Orono, Maine, proved to be quite fruitful for Bowdridge. All it took was about a day and half with the coaching staff and players at the NCAA Division 1 University of Maine Black Bears baseball program to convince him and family that this is THE right place.

Bowdridge accomplished a goal he had set as a young player growing up in Malden when UMaine offered him a Division 1 Baseball Scholarship as a pitcher… and he said “Yes!” “It just felt right, this felt like the place I wanted to start my college baseball career,” said Bowdridge, who said he was also offered the option of possibly playing D1 Football at UMaine as well.

The 6-5, 225 Bowdridge is now a Class of 2028 student at Canterbury School in Connecticut, having spent the last two years a St. Mark’s School in Central Mass. He transferred to Canterbury over the summer. He is now in the midst of Canterbury’s football season; he  is playing quarterback. In the spring he will play on the baseball team in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Conference.

In the 2024 season, Bowdridge — at Malden High School — was the top pitcher in the Greater Boston League who fashioned a perfect 7-0 record as a freshman, helping the Golden Tornado squad to its best record in 35 years, at 16-5. “Ryan has all the tools and the work ethic to go as far as baseball will take him,” said Malden High Baseball Head Coach Steve Freker. “We only had him for one season, but he certainly made a significant impact. The GBL was a strong, solid league in 2024 and Ryan quickly established himself as one of the top players.”

“We thought he was the Most Valuable Player that year,” said Coach Freker of Bowdridge, who was GBL All-Star, finished second in MVP balloting and was a Boston Herald Honorable Mention All-Scholastic.

It is no surprise that Bowdridge’s upward journey in Baseball has continued. Coach Freker — who has coached 17 players who have been drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB) or signed free agent professional contracts coming out of either Malden High (7) or Malden Catholic (10) — said the sky’s the limit for Bowdridge. “He could be the next one,” Coach Freker said of Bowdridge’s steady rise and post-college aspirations. “We are very happy he’s accomplished a very big goal and we know he has bigger ones ahead.”