Introducing the 2021–2022 Wake Forest Baseball Analytics Team

The Wake Forest Baseball Analytics program is excited to announce the members of the 2021–2022 team. Throughout the fall and winter, the Analytics team has worked tirelessly to support the Wake Forest Baseball team in all aspects of player development, advance scouting, and biomechanics. With an entirely new pitching coaching staff, our team has developed many new systems to complement our existing ones with the goal of creating an environment for efficient performance assessment and player development.

Our team of seventeen thoughtful and energetic student analysts are eager to continue providing actionable insights that support the Baseball program. We are excited for a successful season in Winston-Salem, NC.

Presenting the 2021–2022 Wake Forest Baseball Analytics team:

Chris Lewis: Lead Analyst, Baseball Systems & Analytics

• Undergraduate Accounting Major (History Minor), Class of 2022 (MSA ’23)
• Twitter: @CLewis1922
• Hometown: Saddle River, New Jersey
• The 2022 season will be Chris’s third season with the Wake Forest Baseball Analytics program. Chris is a senior at Wake Forest University, where he is pursuing a major in Accounting and minor in History. As part of his major, Chris will be completing an Audit internship with Ernst & Young during the first half of the 2022 spring semester. Prior to the 2022 season, Chris worked as a Project Manager in Advance Scouting. Chris previously worked as an intern for MLB Network, where he researched and analyzed the top 50 draft prospects in the 2018 MLB Draft.
• Fun fact: Chris played the alto saxophone in his high school’s jazz band.
• Favorite Baseball Team: New York Yankees
• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn here.

Joey Mylott: Biomechanics & Player Development Graduate Assistant

• Graduate Biomedical Engineering MS, Class of 2022
• Twitter: @MylottJoey
• Hometown: Aurora, Ohio
• This year will be Joey’s second year with the Wake Forest Baseball Analytics team. Joey is finishing his Master’s degree in biomedical engineering at Wake Forest University this spring. His research in the Wake Forest Pitching Lab is focused on biomechanics for sports performance and injury prevention. The topic of his thesis project is “Kinematic and Kinetic Differences Between Medicine Ball Rotational Exercises and the Throwing Motion Among Collegiate Baseball Players.” During Joey’s undergraduate studies, he played D3 baseball at RIT in Rochester, NY and really started diving into data driven development through his own training.
• Joey recently began working as a biomechanist for the Baltimore Orioles and will be moving to Baltimore after his graduation.
• Fun Fact: Joey has an identical twin brother, Patrick who also played baseball at the Rochester Institute of Technology and completed an undergraduate engineering degree.
• Connect with Joey on LinkedIn here.

Nihar Maskara: Director, Advance Scouting

• Undergraduate Mathematical Business Major (Statistics Minor), Class of 2023
• Twitter: @NiharMaskara
• Hometown: Princeton, New Jersey
• Nihar Maskara is a current junior at Wake Forest University majoring in Mathematical Business and minoring in Statistics. This is his second year with the baseball analytics team. Nihar is an incoming Baseball Research Fellow for the Minnesota Twins for the Summer of 2022. Previously, he took part in the NBA’s inaugural Future Analytics Stars Program, and he was a Baseball Video Scout at Sports Info Solutions. Using his knowledge and passion for sports and analytics, Nihar is hoping to get a full-time offer from an MLB team after graduation.
• Fun Fact: Nihar is probably the biggest New York Giants fan you will ever meet.
• Favorite Baseball Team: New York Mets
• Connect with Nihar on LinkedIn here.

Lauren McGovern: Director, Advance Scouting

• Undergraduate Engineering Major (Statistics and French Minors), Class of 2023
• Twitter: @laurengmcgovern
• Hometown: Clifton, Virginia
• Lauren McGovern is a current junior Engineering major at Wake Forest University. This is her second year with the baseball analytics team. Throughout her time at Wake on the analytics team, she has been able to work on Advance Scouting and other analytics projects. She grew up going to Nationals games and her interest has only grown as she has gotten older. As Lauren began to understand the game more, she learned more about how much analytics has guided the modern game. Lauren hopes to combine her love of baseball and problem solving into a career.
• Fun Fact: Lauren lived in Hawaii for 2 years when she was little.
• Favorite Baseball Team: Washington Nationals
• Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn here.

Ryan Kapur: Project Manager, Baseball Systems & Analytics

• Master’s in Business Analytics, Class of 2022
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Prior to pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics at Wake Forest, Ryan graduated from Harvard College in 2020 with a B.A. in Theater, Dance & Media. Ryan’s love of baseball is rivaled only by his love of Peaky Blinders and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. Ryan is excited to work with his teammates this year to help our Demon Deacons win.
• Fun Fact: Ryan once danced backup for Gloria Gaynor.
• Favorite Baseball Team(s): Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees
• Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn here.

Ryan Melnick: Project Manager, Player Development

• Undergraduate Mathematical Business Major (Statistics Minor), Class of 2023
• Twitter: @RyanMelnick_
• Hometown: Livingston, New Jersey
• Ryan Melnick is a junior at the Wake Forest University School of Business pursuing a B.S. in mathematical business and a minor in statistics. He is a driven, passionate, and inquisitive worker who maintains a skill set including technical, verbal, and quantitative capabilities. Ryan has completed significant coursework in mathematics and statistics at Wake Forest including Calculus (II & III), Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Statistical Modeling, Statistical Learning and is looking forward to completing a course in Design and Sampling this spring. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. He is eager to combine his strong quantitative skills with his love of baseball to contribute to a productive analytics team.
• Fun Fact: Ryan is also a member of the Wake Forest Men’s Club Soccer Team.
• Favorite Baseball Team(s): New York Mets
• Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn here.

Lilly Mitchell: Project Manager, Player Development & Analytics

• Master’s in Business Analytics, Class of 2022
• Twitter: @millylitchell
• Hometown: Roanoke, Virginia
• Prior to coming to Wake Forest, Lilly graduated with a B.A. in Cognitive and Behavioral Science and a minor in Data Science from Washington and Lee University. While at W&L, Lilly provided play-by-play and color commentary for the baseball team, in addition to the men’s and women’s soccer teams. This is her first year with the baseball analytics team. Lilly is actively looking for professional opportunities in the sports analytics field and is excited for the experience working for the baseball analytics team will provide.
• Fun Fact: Lilly provided color commentary for an NCAA DIII Men’s Soccer championship.
• Favorite Baseball Team(s): New York Yankees
• Connect with Lilly on LinkedIn here.

Anthony Coniglio: Project Analyst, Player Development & Analytics

• Undergraduate Mathematical Business Major, Class of 2023
• Twitter: @anthonyconiglio
• Hometown: Manalapan, New Jersey
• Anthony was a part of his high school’s Digital Network for 2 years, both commentating and working the camera for multiple sports games and getting the opportunity to watch ESPN’s Around the Horn live in studio. This past summer, Anthony interned with a sports merchandise company where he ran data analytics for them and helped the owner and salespeople determine their best selling teams and other crucial information to better the company. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team.
• Fun Fact: Anthony has been to 10 MLB stadiums so far with a goal to get to all 30 (11 counting the Old Yankee Stadium)
• Favorite Team: New York Yankees
• Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn here.

Matt Innella: Project Analyst, Baseball Systems & Biomechanics

• Graduate Master’s in Mathematics, Class of 2022
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Commack, New York
• Ever since Matt could walk, baseball has been a huge part of his life. From playing catch with his dad in the backyard, up to playing college ball at Juniata, baseball has always held a special place in Matt’s heart. Juniata was also where Matt really fell in love with mathematics, and knew that he wanted to pursue it as a career. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. Matt is extremely excited to combine his love for math and baseball with this team and is really looking forward to being a part of WFU Baseball Analytics.
• Fun Fact: Matt played four years of baseball at Juniata College.
• Favorite Team: New York Mets
• Connect with Matt on LinkedIn here.

Alysia Nielson: Project Analyst, Baseball Systems & Analytics

• Master’s in Business Analytics, Class of 2022
• Twitter: @alysianielson
• Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Alysia is a graduate student pursuing her Master of Science in Business Analytics at Wake Forest. This is her first year with the baseball analytics team. She is from Las Vegas and played volleyball for Wake Forest during her undergrad. She has always been passionate about sports and has always been intrigued with the analytical side of baseball.
• Fun Fact: Before college Alysia was a world champion equestrian.
• Favorite Baseball Team: Los Angeles Angels
• Connect with Alysia on LinkedIn here.

Gehrig Anderson: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate Business and Enterprise Management Major (Psychology & Entrepreneurship Minors), Class of 2022
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Asbury, New Jersey
• Yes, Gehrig was named after Lou Gehrig, and yes, the New York Yankees are his favorite baseball team. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. He is a Business and Enterprise Management major with minors in Psychology and Entrepreneurship and will be graduating in 2022.
• Fun Fact: Gehrig is named after Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.
• Favorite Baseball Team: New York Yankees
• Connect with Gehrig on LinkedIn here.

Hunter Balck: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate Mathematical Business Major (Statistics Minor), Class of 2022
• Twitter: @catfishbalck
• Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina
• Hunter is a senior at Wake Forest studying Mathematical Business and Statistics. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. He enjoys spending time outdoors, playing golf, and digging deep into the numbers behind any sporting event. As a young professional, Hunter has started his career in the insurance industry and plans to continue his career path in modeling and analytics.
• Fun Fact: Hunter’s favorite place to visit is out west.
• Favorite Baseball Team: Atlanta Braves
• Connect with Hunter on LinkedIn here.

Sydney Bryan: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate English and Communications Major
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Davidson, North Carolina
• Sydney Bryan is a sophomore from Davidson, North Carolina. This is her first year with the baseball analytics team. She is majoring in English and Communications. Her favorite baseball team is the Baltimore Orioles. She also works in Fan Experiences at Wake Forest to assist in game-day operations for different sports at Wake Forest.
• Fun Fact: Sydney can do the worm.
• Favorite Baseball Team: Baltimore Orioles
• Connect with Sydney on LinkedIn here.

John Marshall: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate Business and Enterprise Management Major, Class of 2022
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Bronxville, New York
• This is John’s first year with the baseball analytics team. John played three years of varsity baseball at Bronxville HS in New York as a pitcher/outfielder. John is a Yankees fan, but his favorite player is Jacob DeGrom. John is especially interested in situational research and applications of data analytics.
• Fun Fact: John doesn’t eat cheese and hewrote his CommonApp essay about his despise for it.
• Favorite Baseball Team: New York Yankees
• Connect with John on LinkedIn here.

Jack Sanders: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate Economics Major (Statistics Minor), Class of 2022
• Twitter: @Jack2Sanders
• Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina
• Jack is currently a senior at Wake majoring in Economics and minoring in Statistics. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. Jack has been a baseball fan all his life, and while he has not played baseball since he was about 13, he still enjoys watching the Braves as well as the Wake Forest team. This is his first year as a member of the Wake Forest baseball team as a data analyst. He loves hunting and fishing. Jack has also worked as a lifeguard at the Wake Forest pool since his sophomore year and plays on the club lacrosse team, where he serves as co-president during his final season.
• Fun Fact: He is one of the biggest college football fans you will ever meet.
• Favorite Baseball Team: Atlanta Braves
• Connect with Jack on LinkedIn here.

Bennett Treadway: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate Finance Major (Entrepreneurship Minor), Class of 2023
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
• Bennett is a Junior at Wake Forest University majoring in Finance. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. He has been passionate about baseball since he was 6 and has kept that passion strong through his efforts playing for school and club teams in Atlanta and London, England. Bennett has also worked for the Braves the 2019 and 2021 seasons with their Guest Services department. He has a strong desire to work in some capacity within baseball, in particular, analytics.
• Fun Fact: Bennett played baseball in London, England growing up.
• Favorite Baseball Team(s): Atlanta Braves
• Connect with Bennett on LinkedIn here.

Stephen Wilson: Data Analyst

• Undergraduate Business and Enterprise Management Major (Statistics Minor), Class of 2022
• Twitter: NA
• Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Stephen is a senior at Wake Forest University, where he is majoring in Business and Enterprise Management and a minor in statistics. This is his first year with the baseball analytics team. Stephen grew up in Winston-Salem where he became a Wake Forest Sports fan. Outside of baseball, Stephen also enjoys playing soccer and golf. After college, Stephen is hoping to pursue a professional career in data analytics.
• Fun Fact: Stephen grew up as a Wake Forest fan and attended many Wake Forest athletic events.
• Favorite Baseball Team: Atlanta Braves
• Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn here.