Coastal Athletic Association baseball tournament
The Coastal Athletic Association baseball tournament, sometimes referred to simply as the CAA Tournament, is the conference baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Coastal Athletic Association (formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association up through the 2023 season). The top six finishers in the regular season of the conference's twelve baseball teams advance to the double-elimination tournament, whose most recent edition was held in 2023 at The Ballpark at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the off-campus baseball home of the College of Charleston. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
| Coastal Athletic Association baseball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference baseball championship | |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Conference | Coastal Athletic Association |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Format | Double-elimination |
| Current stadium | Brooks Field |
| Current location | Wilmington, NC |
| Played | 1986–present |
| Last contest | 2023 |
| Current champion | UNC Wilmington |
| Most championships | East Carolina & UNC Wilmington (7) |
| Official website | CAASports.com baseball |
| Host stadiums | |
| Walter C. Latham Park (2022) Brooks Field (1989-90, 1993, 2004-2011, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2024) Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park (2012-13, 2018–19) CofC Baseball Stadium at Patriots Point (2015–2016, 2023) Coy Tillett Sr. Memorial Field (2000-2003) Grainger Stadium (1995-1999) Bud Metheny Baseball Complex (1994) Harrington Field (1986, 1991-92) The Diamond (1987-88) | |
| Host locations | |
| Elon, NC (2022) Wilmington, NC (1989-90, 1993, 2004-2011, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2024) Harrisonburg, VA (2012-13, 2018–19) Mount Pleasant, SC (2015–2016) Manteo, NC (2000-2003) Kinston, NC (1995-1999) Norfolk, VA (1994) Greenville, NC (1986, 1991-92) Richmond, VA (1987-88) | |
Format
editThe first CAA Tournament in 1986 was a four team double-elimination tournament, with the bottom three finishers not participating. From 1987 through 1993, all six teams participated in a double-elimination tournament. After Old Dominion joined the league in 1992, the last place team did not participate in tournament. The CAA adopted a seven team format in 1994, with the top seed getting a bye and playing the winner of the opening round game between the four and five seeds. This format was used until VCU joined the conference in 1996 and the league adopted a traditional 8 team double-elimination tournament. After the conference shakeup prior to the 2002 season, the league split into divisions and brought six teams to the tournament. The two division champions were automatically in the field as the top two seeds, and the top four remaining finishers were seeded three through six. This format lasted only two years, as Drexel discontinued baseball and the league dropped to nine teams and eliminated divisions. The six team format survived through the 2009 season, and the league used a four team format for 2010 and 2011. The six team format was adopted again in 2012 and maintained through 2019. In the aftermath of the cancellation of the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CAA decided to include all 9 teams in the tournament in 2021, with the bottom two seeds participating in a play-in game before the traditional double-elimination tournament.[1][2]
Champions
editBy year
editThe following is a list of conference champions and sites listed by year.[3]
| Year | Program | Site | MVP, Pos, School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Richmond | Harrington Field • Greenville, NC | Kevin Sickinger, P/DH, Richmond |
| 1987 | East Carolina | The Diamond • Richmond, VA | Gary Smith, P, East Carolina |
| 1988 | George Mason | The Diamond • Richmond, VA | John Styles, P, George Mason |
| 1989 | East Carolina | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Brien Berckman, P, East Carolina |
| 1990 | East Carolina | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Calvin Brown, 1B, East Carolina |
| 1991 | East Carolina | Harrington Field • Greenville, NC | David Leisten, OF, East Carolina |
| 1992 | George Mason | Harrington Field • Greenville, NC | Chris Widger, C, George Mason |
| 1993 | East Carolina | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Lyle Hartgrove, P, East Carolina |
| 1994 | Old Dominion | Bud Metheny Baseball Complex • Norfolk, VA | Matt Quataro, 1B/OF, Old Dominion |
| 1995 | Old Dominion | Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC | Maika Symmonds, OF/P, Old Dominion |
| 1996 | Old Dominion | Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC | Ron Walker, 3B/P, Old Dominion |
| 1997 | Richmond | Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC | John Wagler, OF, Richmond |
| 1998 | Richmond | Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC | Mike Dwyer, 1B/P, Richmond |
| 1999 | East Carolina | Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC | James Molinari, OF, East Carolina |
| 2000 | East Carolina | Coy Tillett Sr. Memorial Field • Manteo, NC | Lee Delfino, SS, East Carolina |
| 2001 | William & Mary | Coy Tillett Sr. Memorial Field • Manteo, NC | Mike O'Kelly, 1B, William & Mary |
| 2002 | VCU | Coy Tillett Sr. Memorial Field • Manteo, NC | Brian Marshall, P, VCU |
| 2003 | VCU | Coy Tillett Sr. Memorial Field • Manteo, NC | Matt Prendergast, P, VCU |
| 2004 | UNC Wilmington | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Matt Poulk, 3B, UNCW |
| 2005 | VCU | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Tim St. Clair, 1B/DH, VCU |
| 2006 | UNC Wilmington | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Chris Hatcher, C, UNCW |
| 2007 | VCU | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | John Leonard, P/OF, VCU |
| 2008 | James Madison | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Alex Foltz, OF, James Madison |
| 2009 | Georgia State | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Bradley Logan, 3B/1B, Georgia State |
| 2010 | VCU | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Joe Van Meter, 3B, VCU |
| 2011 | James Madison | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Johnny Bladel, OF, James Madison |
| 2012 | UNC Wilmington | Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA | Jimmy, Yezzo, 1B, Delaware |
| 2013 | Towson | Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA | Zach Fisher, 3B, Towson |
| 2014 | College of Charleston | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Bailey Ober, P, College of Charleston |
| 2015 | UNC Wilmington | CofC Baseball Stadium at Patriots Point • Mount Pleasant, SC | Corey Dick, 1B, UNCW |
| 2016 | William & Mary | CofC Baseball Stadium at Patriots Point • Mount Pleasant, SC | Josh Smith, OF, William & Mary |
| 2017 | Delaware | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC | Jeremy Ake, SS, Delaware |
| 2018 | UNC Wilmington | Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA | Cole Weiss, 3B, UNC Wilmington |
| 2019 | UNC Wilmington | Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA | Greg Jones, SS, UNC Wilmington |
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Northeastern | Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC[4] | Ben Malgeri, OF, Northeastern |
| 2022 | Hofstra | Walter C. Latham Park • Elon, NC[4] | Brad Camarda, P, Hofstra |
| 2023 | UNC Wilmington | The Ballpark at Patriots Point • Mount Pleasant, SC | Dillon Lifrieri, OF, UNCW |
By school
editThe following is a list of conference champions listed by school.[3]
| Program | No. of titles | Title years |
|---|---|---|
| East Carolina | 7 | 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2000 |
| UNC Wilmington | 7 | 2004, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023 |
| VCU | 5 | 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010 |
| Old Dominion | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1996 |
| Richmond | 3 | 1986, 1997, 1998 |
| George Mason | 2 | 1988, 1992 |
| James Madison | 2 | 2008, 2011 |
| William & Mary | 2 | 2001, 2016 |
| Charleston | 1 | 2014 |
| Delaware | 1 | 2017 |
| Georgia State | 1 | 2009 |
| Hofstra | 1 | 2022 |
| Northeastern | 1 | 2021 |
| Towson | 1 | 2013 |
- Italics indicate that the program is no longer a CAA member, as of the upcoming 2024 season.
References
edit- ^ "2021 Baseball Bracket" (PDF). Colonial Athletic Association. June 23, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ "All Teams Will Compete at CAA Conference Championships in 2020–21". Colonial Athletic Association. June 23, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ a b "2021 Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ a b "UNCW to Host CAA Baseball Championship in 2021, Elon Will Host in 2022". Colonial Athletic Association. May 18, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.