The Northeast Conference baseball tournament is the conference baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Northeast Conference (NEC). In the current format, established in 2023 after the NEC absorbed the former baseball league of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the top six regular-season finishers among teams eligible for postseason competition[a] advance to the double-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament, if eligible to participate, receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
| Northeast Conference baseball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference baseball championship | |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Conference | Northeast Conference |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Format | Double-elimination |
| Current stadium | Heritage Financial Park |
| Current location | Wappingers Falls, New York |
| Played | 1993–present |
| Last contest | 2023 |
| Current champion | Central Connecticut (8) |
| Most championships | Central Connecticut (8) |
| Official website | website |
| Host stadiums | |
| Heritage Financial Park (2023–) Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium (2011–12, 2014–2022) First Energy Park (2002–06, 2013) TD Bank Ballpark (2010) New Britain Stadium (2007, 2009) Surf Stadium (2000–01, 2008) The Ballpark at Harbor Yard (1999) Cochrane Stadium (1998) | |
| Host locations | |
| Wappingers Falls, NY (2023–) Norwich, CT (2011–12, 2014–2022) Lakewood, NJ (2002–06, 2013) Bridgewater, NJ (2010) New Britain, CT (2007, 2009) Atlantic City, NJ (2000–02, 2008) Bridgeport, CT (1999) Jersey City, NJ (1999) Sussex, NJ (1997) Ewing Township, NJ (1993–96) | |
Champions
editBy year
editThe following is a list of conference champions and sites listed by year.[2]
| Year | Program | Site | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | St. Francis | Moody Park • Ewing Township, NJ | John Gambale, St. Francis |
| 1994 | Rider | Moody Park • Ewing Township, NJ | Mark Gola, Rider |
| 1995 | Rider | Moody Park • Ewing Township, NJ | Lou Deman, Long Island |
| 1996 | Rider | Moody Park • Ewing Township, NJ | Jim Gordon, Rider |
| 1997 | Marist | Skylands Park • Sussex, NJ | Ben Shove, Marist |
| 1998 | Monmouth | Cochrane Stadium • Jersey City, NJ | Joe McCullough, Monmouth |
| 1999 | Monmouth | The Ballpark at Harbor Yard • Bridgeport, CT | Mike Benfield, Monmouth |
| 2000 | Wagner | The Sandcastle • Atlantic City, NJ | Steve Coppola, Wagner |
| 2001 | UMBC | The Sandcastle • Atlantic City, NJ | Eric Weltmer, UMBC |
| 2002 | Central Connecticut | First Energy Park • Lakewood, NJ | Kevin Rival, Central Connecticut |
| 2003 | Central Connecticut | First Energy Park • Lakewood, NJ | Zack Herrick, Central Connecticut |
| 2004 | Central Connecticut | First Energy Park • Lakewood, NJ | Evan Scribner, Central Connecticut |
| 2005 | Quinnipiac | First Energy Park • Lakewood, NJ | Ryan Rizzo, Quinnipiac |
| 2006 | Sacred Heart | First Energy Park • Lakewood, NJ | Bobby McKee, Sacred Heart |
| 2007 | Monmouth | New Britain Stadium • New Britain, CT | Matt Coulson, Monmouth |
| 2008 | Mount St. Mary's | Bernie Robbins Stadium • Atlantic City, NJ | Josh Vittek, Mount St. Mary’s |
| 2009 | Monmouth | New Britain Stadium • New Britain, CT | Chris Collazo, Monmouth |
| 2010 | Central Connecticut | TD Bank Ballpark • Bridgewater, NJ | Pat Epps, Central Connecticut |
| 2011 | Sacred Heart | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | John Murphy, Sacred Heart |
| 2012 | Sacred Heart | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Troy Scribner, Sacred Heart |
| 2013 | Bryant | First Energy Park • Lakewood, NJ | Jordan Mountford, Bryant |
| 2014 | Bryant | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Craig Schlitter, Bryant |
| 2015 | Sacred Heart | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Jesus Medina, Sacred Heart |
| 2016 | Bryant | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Cole Fabio, Bryant |
| 2017 | Central Connecticut | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | TT Bowens, Central Connecticut |
| 2018 | LIU Brooklyn | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Gregory Vaughn, LIU Brooklyn |
| 2019 | Central Connecticut | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Gregory Vaughn, LIU Brooklyn |
| 2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | ||
| 2021 | Central Connecticut | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Buddy Dewaine, Central Connecticut |
| 2022 | LIU | Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT | Nick Torres, LIU |
| 2023 | Central Connecticut | Heritage Financial Park • Wappingers Falls, NY | Dominic Niman, Central Connecticut |
| 2024 | LIU | Heritage Financial Park • Wappingers Falls, NY | Seth Surrett, LIU |
By school
editThe following is a list of conference champions listed by school. Schools in italics no longer field baseball teams in the NEC.
| Program | No. of titles | Title years |
|---|---|---|
| Central Connecticut | 8 | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 |
| Monmouth[b] | 4 | 1998, 1999, 2007, 2009 |
| Sacred Heart | 4 | 2006, 2011, 2012, 2015 |
| Bryant[b] | 3 | 2013, 2014, 2016 |
| Rider[b] | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1996 |
| LIU | 3 | 2018,[c] 2022, 2024 |
| Marist[b] | 1 | 1997 |
| Mount St. Mary's[b] | 1 | 2008 |
| Quinnipiac[b] | 1 | 2005 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn[b] | 1 | 1993 |
| UMBC[b] | 1 | 2001 |
| Wagner | 1 | 2000 |
- ^ Under NEC rules established in advance of the 2022–23 academic year, NEC members that are reclassifying from Division II are eligible for NEC postseason tournaments in the third year of the four-year reclassification period, although they remain ineligible for NCAA championships until completing the process.[1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h No longer an NEC member.
- ^ This championship was won by LIU Brooklyn. When Long Island University merged the athletic programs of its Brooklyn and Post campuses after the 2019 baseball season, the merged program inherited the history of the Brooklyn program in all sports that were sponsored by that campus before the merger.
Among current NEC baseball members:
- Coppin State, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Maryland Eastern Shore, Merrimack, and Norfolk State have yet to win a championship. Fairleigh Dickinson is the only one of these schools to have been an NEC member before the 2019–20 school year. Merrimack first became eligible for the NEC tournament in the 2023 season, having begun a transition from Division II when it joined the NEC in 2019, but did not qualify for that tournament. The other four schools, all full MEAC members, joined NEC baseball for the 2023 season when the NEC absorbed the MEAC baseball league.
- Stonehill will be eligible for the NEC tournament for the first time in 2025, and Le Moyne in 2026.
References
edit- ^ "2022 NEC Spring Meeting Recap" (Press release). Northeast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Northeast Conference Baseball Past Champions". northeastconference.org. Retrieved 2012-03-03.