Jordan Higgins is a confident young pitcher. He stands on the mound knowing the game is under his control, and nothing can happen on the baseball field until he decides it is time to play. This confidence led to an impressive resume of pitching milestones and plenty of wins for the North Haven resident’s Max Sinoway fall ball team, who Jordan helped take home a championship this November.

Max Sinoway is a baseball program that provides recreational and competitive baseball for kids of all ages who live in North Haven. Jordan has been playing with the program since he was in t-ball and has accomplished many things over his time with them, including pitching his 11u team to a district win, his 12u team to its first state tournament, and leading his 14u team to the Babe Ruth State Championship in 2021.

Pitching is something Jordan has gravitated to more than any other position on the baseball diamond.

“I like the competitive nature of it,” says Jordan. “I like that the whole game is dependent on how fast I move, the pacing of the game is dependent on when I want to throw the ball.”

Along the way, Jordan has pitched a couple of no-hitters but also accomplished what few pitchers dream of: the perfect game. Every single batter who came up to the plate was sat down in order. No hits, no walks, no one reached base.

On that day of pitching a perfect game in early November, Jordan felt he was capable of something truly special once the game reached the fourth inning.

“Around the fourth inning when I got through the order one time and got everyone out you have a good feeling,” says Jordan. “You have the confidence to get them out again.”

Jordan’s perfect game helped ultimately lead the 17u team to place first in the East Shore travel league, which eventually went on to win the Fall League Championship as well.

A perfect game is one of the most team-centered feats of pitching that a baseball team can accomplish, an error in the field can spoil the brewing perfection. It takes tremendous trust in your teammates as a pitcher to continue to throw strikes and trust your defense to make the necessary plays behind you.

That trust is a huge part of what makes Jordan a great pitcher and great teammate. A pitcher trying to run up his strikeout total can try to be overpowering all game long, but the subtly in understanding when to just get it over the plate and allow your defense to make a play takes a maturity that Jordan has gained in his young career. This is an area of growth that his Max Sinoway Head Coach Rob Manzo, who has coached Jordan since youth baseball, sees as valuable.

“[Jordan is] very talented, you always thought he had a little more potential than the other players in the league, relatively speaking,” says Coach Manzo. “The way he’s progressed not only with his talent as far as different pitches he can throw, he is really developing as a player and a teammate which is huge for me as a manager to see him grow. He’s supporting his teammates, he wants the ball, there’s a couple times he’s like Coach I want the ball, I appreciate that… he’s become a really strong player and teammate.”

Coach Manzo has worked with Jordan to gain the confidence to call his own game — working with the catcher in the moment to decide what pitches make the most sense in any given scenario. This, along with velocity, are aspects of Jordan’s game he is working to perfect, rounding his entire arsenal into form as he heads into his junior season. During his perfect game, Jordan leaned on his catcher’s advice and stuck with a pitch that worked.

“That day I remember my fastball was clicking that day,” says Jordan. “They weren’t really swinging at it, my catcher kept calling it, I kept throwing it.”

Jordan trusts that with age and strength velocity will follow, and he understands that location is the foundation to any great pitcher. When he is at his best this is how he controls games.

“I’m just trying to get my mechanics down so I can be more consistent,” says Jordan. “Right now I’m more placement, don’t think my fastball’s that fast yet to overpower people, so I’m just focusing on placement.”

Coach Manzo believes Jordan’s work ethic will lead to steady improvement in confidence and velocity, eventually a baseball career beyond high school.

“His velocity is getting there; I tell him you have to work that strength and conditioning and it’s going to show,” says Manzo. “If he’s doing that, I expect that velocity will continue to come, he’s only 16 years old so it should continue to develop and he should continue to get more velocity…[he has a] really good opportunity to go beyond high school baseball.”

Jordan has a strong example of the opportunities beyond high school baseball from within his own family. PJ Higgins, Jordan’s first cousin, is a huge role model for Jordan and played in 74 games as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs this season. Jordan was able to see him after a game at Yankee Stadium this past summer.

Elsewhere in the Major Leagues, Jordan studies and takes mechanical notes from reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander. While Jordan would have preferred that he not sign with his Yankees’ crosstown rival in the New York Mets, he recognizes greatness on the mound when he sees it.

“I would probably say [a big-league pitcher I respect is] Justin Verlander. I like try to model my mechanics after him because he’s very good,” Jordan says. “I try to model my pacing and mechanics after him.”

Jordan heads into his junior season for the North Haven baseball team this year. He will play for North Haven’s new head coach Joe Romanelli, who takes over for legend Bob DeMayo. Jordan is excited for his junior year and what Joe will bring to the team this spring.