Former Northeastern baseball pitcher Cam Schlittler recently faced the biggest moment of his athletic career thus far. The 24-year-old starting pitcher for the New York Yankees took the mound in the series-clinching Game 3 of the American League Wildcard Series against the Boston Red Sox Oct. 2, making MLB postseason history as the first pitcher to throw eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks allowed. 

Since being called up July 9, Schlittler has been nothing but dominant. The Walpole native posted a regular season ERA of 2.96 over 73 innings pitched while rotating between the five pitches in his arsenal. In his very first start, Schlittler threw nine out of 10 fastest pitches by a Yankee in the 2025 season up to that point and only continued to improve.

For most, it may be difficult to imagine that a 2022 seventh round draft pick would become one of the Yankees’ most reliable arms, but in the opinion of Northeastern baseball’s pitching coach Kevin Cobb, Schlittler is right where he belongs. 

“He always threw strikes, and he always had a good feel for the baseball,” Cobb said, discussing Schlittler’s time with Northeastern. “The velocity was fluctuating a lot because he was young and weak, but you kind of knew that the best years were ahead of him at that time.” 

The Northeastern baseball recruiting staff had its eye on Schlittler going back to his sophomore year of high school — an early investment with clear payoff. At the time of his recruitment, the right-hander stood at a towering 6-feet, 6-inches and weighed just 175 pounds, leading to some growing pains that he and his coaches worked through during his time at Northeastern. 

“He was always really tall, even at that age,” Cobb said. “And the stuff was good. I wouldn’t say he was awesome, but you could see the potential and growth when he started to add weight and learn how to use his body a little bit more and develop.”

Through this period of growth, Schlittler continued to show incredible promise — not only with his physical ability but his attitude toward the game. Greg Bozzo, former catcher for the Huskies and recent Yankees signee, recalled what made Schlittler stand out as a teammate. 

“I think the biggest difference was just his mindset and how he took the mound every time,” Bozzo said. “When he took the mound, we knew we weren’t worried. We had full confidence in him because he was giving it his all, every single pitch.”

Even now, three years removed from Northeastern baseball, Schlittler cites his time with the Huskies as a key influence on his on-the-mound mindset. 

“The Yankees are a winning organization, and they expect you to win games,” Schlittler said. “So for me, it was kind of like every game was kind of high leverage, and just being able to go off the experience I’ve had in college … I’m definitely comfortable getting the ball and starting in those critical games.”

The rookie arm reflected on his experience helping bring home Northeastern’s first CAA championship title in 2021. After a shortened freshman season due to COVID-19, the 2021 Northeastern baseball team ended the regular season with a 20-3 record, ending at the top of the CAA North Division. Schlittler started in the season’s final game against the University of North Carolina Wilmington, which ended with a walk-off home run by Northeastern’s then-freshman Max Vierra. It was the Huskies’ first CAA championship since joining the conference in 2004 and a major moment that cemented Northeastern baseball as a winning team for years to come.

“That moment, specifically for me, is probably the biggest one that I’ve always taken pride of while I was a part of Northeastern baseball,” Schlittler said.

A high-stakes, series-deciding game like that second matchup against UNCW in 2021 is the exact kind of circumstance that prepared Schlittler for his historic appearance in Game 3 of the 2025 wild card series. The Massachusetts native pitched eight shutout innings against his childhood team, the Boston Red Sox. Prior to his start, tensions were high — not only between the Boston and New York crowds, but with Schlittler and his hometown friends. 

“Practically everyone I am close with is from Boston or [are] Red Sox fans. We lost that Tuesday game, they started kind of giving me some crap about it, just kind of like, that they’re going to win and all,” Schlittler said. “So as a competitor, it made me frustrated. But, I kind of just stayed off my phone for two days, and I kind of knew that we were going to win the second game, and I was very prepared for the third game. And I think my attitude was good.”

Schlittler understood the magnitude of the moment and put his best foot — and arm — forward. The right-hander dominated through the first seven innings and was surprised that his manager, Aaron Boone, chose to send him back on the field for the eighth.

“You know, he might cut me loose,” Schlittler said. “I was very surprised that he didn’t, so when I was going back out for the eighth, it kind of gave me that extra confidence boost I was looking for.”

While the Yankees postseason was cut short by a Game 4 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series, Northeastern students, Yankees fans and Bostonians alike are eager to see Schlittler continue to grow and succeed as a major league pitcher.

“I’m really proud of him,” Cobb said. “He’s come very far, matured a lot. I always believed he would pitch in the big leagues.”