Bradford High Senior Dan Manion signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to play baseball for St. Bonaventure University next year.

Manion was joined by members of his family — including his parents Dan and Carla — as well as Bradford Athletic Director Dave “Pug” Fuhrman and Owls head coach Andy Carlson.

Manion had announced his verbal commitment this past summer. He will be joined in 2018 by Cameron County’s Adam Shaffer, who also announced his commitment to play for the Bonnies.

Coach Carlson sees the moment as a just reward for a young man who has brought so much to the program.

“It’s an honor for the entire program,” Carlson said. “Dan’s put in a lot of time these last few years. He’s a good player but he’s an even better kid. We’re all proud of his accomplishments.”

As a junior in 2017, Manion served as the Owls’ number one starting pitcher as well as the number three hitter in the lineup while playing in the infield.

For Carlson, it’s been no surprise to see how far Manion has been able to take his talents on the diamond.

“When he arrived on day one, we knew he was going to be good,” Carlson said. “The talent was there. He’s got a natural swing, he works hard between the lines, and he loves to win. He’s always trying to get better.”

Despite finishing with an overall record of 8-13, the Owls fell just one game shy of a district title, falling to Clearfield 12-2 in the D-9 Class 4A final this past June.

Things are looking even better for the 2018 campaign, as Bradford will be returning a large chunk of last year’s squad that relied heavily on underclassmen and was better than its record might indicate.

Yesterday’s signing only served as an affirmation of what Manion can do, and of what he and his teammates hope to do this coming spring.

“Dan knows he that he can play at that [D-I] level,” Carlson said.

He then went on to add, “We kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s go win a District 9 title.’”

Manion will be joining a St. Bonaventure program that is coming off a successful 2017 season that was filled with individual accolades.

Longtime manager Larry Sudbrook earned his third Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Award after leading the Bonnies to a 26-22 overall record including a 15-8 mark in conference play.

On the diamond, Junior pitcher Aaron Phillips was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year. He was also just the second Bonnie to be named an All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association, and followed that up by becoming the highest-drafted player in school history when the San Francisco Giants selected him in the ninth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

It will be a while until Manion makes the trek up to Olean, and he still has a whole other season left with the Owls. But for Manion, his family, friends, and coaches, those are worries for another day.

“He’s just a really great kid,” Carlson said.