Northeast Conference baseball tournament

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
SportBaseball
ConferenceNortheast Conference
Number of teams6
FormatDouble-elimination
Current stadiumHeritage Financial Park
Current locationWappingers Falls, New York
Played1993–present
Last contest2023
Current championCentral Connecticut (8)
Most championshipsCentral Connecticut (8)
Official websitewebsite
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

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By year

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The 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 ParkSussex, NJ Ben Shove, Marist
1998 Monmouth Cochrane StadiumJersey City, NJ Joe McCullough, Monmouth
1999 Monmouth The Ballpark at Harbor YardBridgeport, CT Mike Benfield, Monmouth
2000 Wagner The SandcastleAtlantic City, NJ Steve Coppola, Wagner
2001 UMBC The Sandcastle • Atlantic City, NJ Eric Weltmer, UMBC
2002 Central Connecticut First Energy ParkLakewood, 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 StadiumNew 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 BallparkBridgewater, NJ Pat Epps, Central Connecticut
2011 Sacred Heart Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial StadiumNorwich, 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 ParkWappingers Falls, NY Dominic Niman, Central Connecticut
2024 LIU Heritage Financial Park • Wappingers Falls, NY Seth Surrett, LIU

By school

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The 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
  1. ^ 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]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h No longer an NEC member.
  3. ^ 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

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  1. ^ "2022 NEC Spring Meeting Recap" (Press release). Northeast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  2. ^ "Northeast Conference Baseball Past Champions". northeastconference.org. Retrieved 2012-03-03.