Middleborough’s Horan at home in Danbury

“We’ve built our team around our field and Tyler fits that mold.’’

Horan was MVP of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League last summer with league champion Lake Norman in North Carolina. He paced the Copperheads with a .360 batting average while driving in 27 runs and slugging .436 with eight doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He also finished 16 for 16 in stolen base attempts. He drove in two runs in Game 1 of the championship series and went 2 for 4 at the plate in the clinching Game 3.

In Danbury, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Horan has hit fourth or fifth in the lineup, played right field, and taken a few cuts at designated hitter.

“He just runs so well for his size, steals a lot of bases, and that speed translates to his fine play in the outfield,’’ added Shevchik. “And he’s got a very strong arm.’’

Horan said he was happy to be assigned to Danbury by Virginia Tech’s coaches, who watched him blossom late this season because of an injury to the Hokies’ rightfielder.

“It’s a 2Æ-hour ride home now from Danbury instead of 15 hours last summer, so my family has more chances to see me play, and my dad, whose job takes him to Connecticut, has made a few trips to Danbury,’’ said Horan, who had seven doubles, a triple, three homers, and 12 RBIs for Virginia Tech while playing in 28 games, nine as a starter.

“Even though I was a part-time player this season, getting most of my at-bats at the end of the season definitely carried over when I came to Danbury,’’ said Horan, a Globe-All Scholastic in baseball and the Globe’s Division 1 Player of the Year in football at Boston College High. He played on state championship baseball teams in 2008 and 2009. A running back and linebacker, Horan scored 16 touchdowns, including a pair in a 13-7 win over Brockton in the Division 1 Super Bowl in 2008.