Alex Madera, a former infielder for Arcadia University’s baseball team, is head to the NCAA Division 1 College World Series.

Madera, the 2022 and 2023 Middle Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and a Division III All-American, transferred to North Carolina University last summer for his final year of eligibility. The No. 4 national seed North Carolina (47-14) completed its Super Regional sweep over West Virginia (36-24) on Saturday night in Chapel Hill, securing its first trip to the College World Series since 2018.

He hit .432 over four seasons at Arcadia and is hitting .304 in the highest level of college baseball.

“Every day is such a blessing and a privilege to be here,” Madera said, as quoted by the Inquirer in an article that came out last week. “It’s absolutely incredible, and I’m forever grateful to have this opportunity.”

The South Jersey native came to Glenside after one of Arcadia’s assistant coaches spotted him at a travel tournament, the Inquirer said.

“I loved my time there,” Madera said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was awesome. All the guys there were great. I made some of my best friends there for the rest of my life. It’s been an incredible journey.”

“They were playing in Miami earlier this season and I asked him how the travel had been,” Bryan Torresani, who coached him at Arcadia, said. “He said ‘Coach, we fly charter. The bus pulls up to the plane, we get off, we get on the plane, and we get to Miami.’ I said, ‘You’re living the dream.’ I think he appreciates it. If you go right there, you don’t know any difference and think that’s how it is everywhere in the country. I’m sure Alex is telling his teammates, ‘No, guys. We had to bring our own sandwiches before the game’ and ‘We had to rake the field.’”

The College World Series will take place from Friday, June 14 to Monday, June 24 in Omaha, Nebraska.

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Photos: Arcadia, NCU