NASHUA – The Nashua Silver Knights will have a new opponent for the 2021 season.

The Futures Collegiate Baseball League announced on Thursday it has added the Vermont Lake Monsters, which formerly was a professional franchise (Oakland A’s affiliate) in the now extinguished New York-Penn League.

It was expected the FCBL would be eyeing franchises or communities that were victims of the contraction/reorganization imposed by Major League Baseball. In this case, one of the current owners of the FCBL, Brockton Rox owner Chris English, has led an investment group, Nos Amours Baseball Club, to buy the Vermont franchise.

English, of course, owned the now defunct but once popular professional independent league team the Nashua Pride from 1998 to 2004.

“It’s a natural fit,” FCBL commissioner Joe Paolucci said on Thursday. “We couldn’t have hit a further home run than we did with this one.”

The Lake Monsters play in the University of Vermont-owned Centennial Field, a state of the art facility that seats 4,415. It has fond memories for Paolucci, who as a member of the Northeastern University baseball team won an America East conference title game there in 1997.

Nashua general manager Cam Cook said he couldn’t be happier to add Vermont to the FCBL mix, especially after adding New Britain last year, taking the place of affiliated and independent league franchises.

“It’s awesome,” Cook said. “We’re a New England league, so adding another state is nice.”

It will mean about a three hour or so drive for the Silver Knights, but much further for some other FCBL teams, especially New Britain. Paolucci said there may be some back-to-backs (or two game series) for some teams with Vermont to cut down the travel.

“We’re trying to prepare these players to prepare in the minor leagues someday,” he said. “Four hour bus rides are part of that.”

This brings the total number of teams in the FCBL to eight, and Paolucci said that the league may not be done. It’s just a question of whether other potential franchises can be added in time to get a schedule out.

“We’ve got a couple of irons in the fire,” he said.

Once the number of teams is set, Paolucci said, the league is shooting to release its schedule in mid- March. Cook says he can’t wait, so sales can be ramped up, tickets and otherwise.

“I’ve been bugging Joe just about every other day,” he said.

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