The 2024 MLB Draft has come to a close, and there is a new crop of amazing talent heading to the Kansas City Royals! The Royals went into the 2024 MLB Draft with a plan and went very college pitcher-heavy for a few rounds. One of those pitchers was right-hander Dennis Colleran, Jr., out of Northeastern. 

Colleran only threw 22 innings in 2022 and missed all of 2023 after Tommy John surgery, according to Prospects Live. He came back in 2024 with some extra loud stuff. He features a fastball that sits anywhere from 96-100 mph. He even robbed out at 99mph in the MLB Draft Combine in June. He has a nasty power slider to go with his fastball and gives a lot of Dylan Coleman vibes. He could be a quick riser in the minors as a reliever due to his nasty stuff.

So, who is Dennis Colleran? I sat down with him to get to know the new Royals reliever a little bit more as we discussed his journey through baseball, his background in life, his MLB Draft experience, his passions away from the game, and more!

Jared Perkins: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get where you are today?

Dennis Colleran: So I’m from Massachusetts, and I grew up in North Attleborough. I was there my entire life. Except for actually, right after I was born, moved down to Texas for two years and then came, came right back.I was very young then, so I don’t remember much. Grew up in Massachusetts and I’ve always been playing baseball. I wrestled and did cross country for a little bit through high school, but just stuck to baseball once I got to my junior year. 

I have two sisters. One older and a younger sister. They’re both pitchers, they both play softball. My older sister, she was at UMass Amherst. And graduated a little while ago. And my younger sister right now, she’s at Boston College. Both of my parents never played softball or baseball. My dad played hockey through college. So I was never allowed to play hockey, just cause he had played. He knew like how long the days were and the risk of injury

Jared Perkins: Did you ever get super competitive with your sisters? 

Dennis Colleran: Oh yeah, definitely. Both of them won Gatorade Player of the Year and I never won it. So that’s the one thing they both have on me.

Jared Perkins: What led you to attend Northeastern? I assume a lot had to do with staying close to home, but you that school is also known for its education and other things like that. So what led you kind of go in there?  

Dennis Colleran: Yeah, the academics was a big, big part of it. And I love (Mike) Glavine. He runs a really good program. Year over year, the program’s gotten better and better. And I know it’ll continue to get better and better every year.  We were pretty close. If we did a little bit better in our conference tournament, we might’ve been in a regional this year. But yeah, it was definitely the academics and also Glavine. Just him being a great coach and obviously, it was pretty close to home. So it’s pretty convenient for me. 

Jared Perkins: You fluctuated between starting and relieving at Northeastern. What were the differences for you in terms of preparation, mindset, your comfortability between starting and relieving?  

Dennis Colleran: Starting out, you have to pace yourself a little bit. And that’s one of the things I’d kind of gotten caught up in. When I was starting, I was pacing myself too much. I wasn’t going out there and attacking hitters at 100 percent, and that’s kind of how I transitioned into the reliever role. As a reliever, you can go out there and just leave it all out there for an inning or two. You don’t have to worry about having to save that little extra percent for another inning. So  it’s definitely a different mindset. Obviously you get a nice schedule when you’re starting. All your bullpens are scheduled, and everything’s kind of laid out for you. But with relieving, I like that you have that adrenaline rush when your name’s called and you got to get up and you get moving. You do a couple of sprints. And so that’s the part I really like about it. 

Jared Perkins: What was the scouting process like with you and the Royals? Were they pretty visible in their scouting of you, or was it kind of a surprise for you on draft day?

Dennis Colleran: At the combine, I had one interview and it was with the Royals. I knew they were pretty high on me andour conversation had gone well. The area scout loved me and then we had talked a lot, especially leading up to the draft. I knew they were, they were very high on me. It definitely  wasn’t out of left field or anything.

Jared Perkins: You just mentioned the MLB Draft Combine. you talked about the draft combine. Take us into that experience. I think you hit what, 99.2 mph on a big league mound. What was it like getting that experience at the combine with all of those top prospects? 

Dennis Colleran: There are some kids that I had played with down the Cape Cade Obermueller that I had seen, obviously my teammate Mike Sirota was there so it was definitely cool getting to see some of those people. And obviously playing and pitching on a big league field was pretty cool so I was happy I was able to go out there and perform a little bit.

It was definitely a cool experience. It was pretty hot out when I was down there. I think it had gone up to like 130. So it’s a little bit cooler now in Arizona. It’s only getting up to 110. But you know it was hot.

Jared Perkins: What was it like for you and your family to finally hear your name called on draft day? 

Dennis Colleran:  I was actually outside barbecuing some ribs while watching the draft outside with my girlfriend. My dad was inside and he was working and had the stream up. My mom was in the same room. I just listened to names being read off and I think my parents were like 30 seconds ahead because I heard my mom scream, and then I heard my name called, and I was like “oh, come on, she spoiled it for me!”. But, no, it was definitely a cool experience. 

Jared Perkins: Now that you’ve finally signed that contract, you’re getting ready to start pro ball and you’re already going kind of through some of those routines. What are you looking forward to most as you start your career with the Royals?

Dennis Colleran: Definitely just that next level of competition. Everyone is just another tick better. Everyone’s gonna be at their best.  I’ve heard someone describe it as college is the best hitter from every single high school, like, they were the best men on their roster. Now it’s like, same thing, all the hitters here were the best men on their roster, and now they’re here. Sojust like that next level of competition.

Everything’s a lot more a lot more in-depth here. Like they’ve gone through a lot of stuff with us. One of the funny things they won’t let you do is they don’t let you carry bags around with your throwing arm. You have to you have to carry around with your non throwing arms.

Jared Perkins: The last question I always ask guys, just so people can get to know the human being behind the player, what are some of your passions outside of baseball? What do you do to really get your mind off the game and the performances on the field?  

Dennis Colleran: I love fishing. I try to fish whenever I can. Also golfing when I can, whenever I can get out there.I really want to get out down here because the greens are nice and dry so the ball would just carry, I think that will help my game a little bit. I also recently got into barbecuing. I know Kansas City is known for his barbecue, obviously so I’m excited to get out there and try that. But yeah I like being outside that’s my thing. I love, I love the outdoors. I love nature.

Jared Perkins: I gotta ask, do you have a smoker?

Dennis Colleran: I got a smoker box that I put in the grill. I don’t have the full setup cause I’m kind of new to it. So I’ll just test the waters out. But I do want to get one of those nice smokers so I can have a brisket going overnight while I sleep.