LEWES, DE -- 24-year-old Mason Fluharty will make his World Series debut Friday night as a relief pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays. Fluharty has roots on Delmarva as a 2019 graduate of Cape Henlopen High School.
Fluharty was drafted to the Blue Jays in 2022 and made his MLB debut in April of 2025. Before that, he played collegiate baseball at Liberty University.
Fluharty was a pitcher for the Cape Henlopen High Vikings Baseball team. He played from his freshman year up until he graduated in 2019, according to his former coach Ben Evick. Evick still coaches for the school district.
"When Mason came in as a Freshman, he was ready to compete," Evick said. "He got here, he set clear goals for himself, and he continued to work his entire four years for us. He's put in the time to get where he is."
Fluharty has left a legacy from his time as a Viking; in 2018, he helped the team earn its first state championship title in school history.
"For us, he was a guy that was a fierce competitor," Evick said. "We could see it on the mound. He closed out the first state championship we won in 2018. He came in relief and got the strikeout at the end of the game in a big situation."
Evick said Fluharty is an inspiration for students currently in the athletics program.
"I think it really lets these kids know that you really can do anything," Evick said. "Set goals, and whatever you choose that goal to be, it's in reach. Even guys from Southern Delaware can make it big time."
Evick said he is traveling to Toronto to watch Fluharty play this weekend; he said this is his first time watching a World Series game, and also the first time a Cape Henlopen graduate has played in the World Series.
MaryEllen Kiernan manages the Irish Eyes Pub and Restaurant in Lewes. Kiernan said they're switching teams this time around.
"It's a rare occasion inside this building that we root for anybody but the Phillies, but we're going to go Blue Jays all the way," Kiernan said. "Mason's mother is our bookkeeper, so we've all kind of seen him grow up. We've seen him in Little League, travel ball, and high school baseball. It's just so exciting."
Kiernan said they expect a lot of community members to turn out throughout the World Series.
"There's a sense of community and camaraderie with our local boy going to the World Series. It's a big deal," Kiernan said.