Senior infielder Miles Feaster’s career at Montclair State University has been a bit of a rollercoaster but Feaster has persevered and established himself as a great player for the program.
During Feaster’s freshman season, which was the coronavirus (COVID-19) year, head coach Dave Lorber was hired in the spring. With the new hire, it basically became like tryouts again for the team, according to Feaster, because not everyone was going to be guaranteed a roster spot in the fall.
Lorber didn’t recruit those players to Montclair State and that’s just what comes with hiring a new coach. They want to implement their ideas and find the players that best fit what he or she wants to accomplish.
“He had to cut a lot of people,” Feaster said. “And I remember that I was 100% certain at the time I was getting cut.”
Miles Feaster rounds the bases during a game. Photo courtesy of Maria Barbieri
Feaster started all 12 games that year before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and put up a .238 average with 10 hits, eight runs scored and seven RBI’s while stealing five bases, a season that earned him a spot within Lorber’s future plans.
Following that year and now into Feaster’s sophomore season, he tore his rotator cuff in the fall which was a setback. It was unknown whether or not Feaster would be able to play at all during his sophomore season but he ended up starting in 19 games as the designated hitter for the Red Hawks and he shined with a .329 batting average.
During his junior year (last season), Feaster was dealing with injuries again which forced him to miss yet another fall of baseball. He did not get cleared until just 10 days before the 2022 season started.
Once again, it was another season of battling the unknown.
“I was out all last fall,” Feaster said. “[Lorber] didn’t really know what I could do and neither did I. Like I just got cleared, I was doing a throwing program but I just got shoulder surgery. Last year, I kind of wasn’t really in the starting lineup yet and then I kind of had to earn my way back in the starting lineup once again for the third year in a row and that was tough but last year was a great year.”
Despite all of the adversity Feaster dealt with, he had a monster junior season. Feaster was named First Team D3baseball.com All-Region and First Team All-NJAC. One of his most notable performances from last season was on April 15 against New Jersey City University where Feaster went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and six RBI’s.
Miles Feaster fist bumps senior infielder Sam Angelo during a game.
Photo courtesy of Maria Barbieri
After three consecutive seasons of not knowing if he had a permanent spot, this year was completely flipped and he was more confident than ever.
“This year is the most confident I’ve ever been coming into the season,” Feaster said. “It was the first time that I came in and was like, I have a spot to keep rather than a spot to go get. And I think playing with that mentality makes you so much more comfortable and relaxed.”
And it’s showing, as Feaster is playing the best baseball of his career and has become one of the premiere hitters in the entire New Jersey Athletic Conference.
“I really don’t enjoy swinging and missing so I don’t really have a big swing,” Feaster said. “I keep everything pretty short and simple. And I’m also looking to get my pitch as soon as possible. Most of the time, depending on the situation, the first pitch that you get is probably going to be the best one you see in that at-bat. It’s normally going to be a fastball or get me over off speed. So committing to that and expecting that has helped a lot.”
Miles Feaster goes for a hit against Stockton University.
Trevor Giesberg | The Montclarion
With the way Feaster is playing, he is well on his way to earning more honors this season.
It wasn’t a smooth path to success for Feaster but he kept his head down and pushed through all of the trials and tribulations, which has led to a fantastic career at Montclair State.
