Colleges in the NECBL

The NECBL is exactly what its name suggests, a collegiate baseball league. The league is composed of 13 teams with over 400 players from tons of different colleges across the country, and what many people may not realize is that a lot of players have teammates in the league as well, or even on the same team. In a fun piece, I decided to break down the top five colleges with the most representatives in the league this season. Each college has a brief snippet on their regular season and a piece on their highest ranked player in my smart rankings this year. The rankings are separated by pitchers and hitters.


T1. Vanderbilt University
NECBL Members: 9
Notable Member: P Steven Rice, Sanford Mainers (rank: #1)
Information: Vanderbilt is tied for the most players in the NECBL this year with nine. The Commodores went 54-12 and won the Southeastern Conference championship while earning the #2 overall seed in the D1 baseball tournament. Vanderbilt won the Nashville regional before being eliminated by Louisville in the super regional. They lost 5-3 and 2-1 to the Cardinals.



T1. Franklin Pierce University
NECBL Members: 9
Notable Member: P Paul Covelle, Keene Swamp Bats (rank: #21)
Information: Franklin Pierce also has nine players represented in the NECBL. The Ravens won the Northeast Division of the NE-10 conference, going 37-19 overall as well as a 22-6 conference record. Franklin Pierce went down in the first round of the NE-10 championship, but were back at it in the D-II college world series. The Ravens made it to the final six teams, but took a loss to Grand Valley State by a score of 10-5 that knocked them out.

2. Fairfield University
NECBL Members: 8
Notable Member: OF Ryan Plourde, New Bedford Bay Sox (rank: #5)
Information: In second in players represented with eight, the Fairfield Stags went 20-29 and faltered in the first round of the New England-10 championship. The #1 Northeast seed, the Stags went down 4-1 to #4 Merrimack.

T3. Louisville University
NECBL Members: 7
Notable Member: P Robert Strader, Vermont Mountaineers (rank: #32)
Information: The Louisville Cardinals had a great year, going 51-12 and earning the #1 seed in the Big East Conference championship. They lost in the first round to the eventual champion UConn 3-2 in a 12-inning affair, sending them to the losers game. They were pounded by Rutgers, 9-1 to be eliminated. The Cardinals did, however earn a #1 seed and hosted the Lousiville Regional in the D1 championship. Louisville went 3-0, and then beat Vanderbilt 5-3 and 2-1 to knock out the Commodores and earn a spot in the World Series. In the World Series, the Cardinals lost to Indiana 2-0, and were eliminated by Oregon State the next day in the losers bracket, 11-4.

T3. Hartford University
NECBL Members: 7
Notable Member: Brian Hunter, Keene Swamp Bats (rank: #11)
Information: Hartford didn't qualify for the America East championship, going 17-36. The Hawks have sent seven members to the NECBL, including Swamp Bat starter Brian Hunter who is 2-2 with a 2.16 ERA.

Next 15

RK	SCHOOL	#	NOTABLE PLAYER
T4.	Central Connecticut	6	JP Sportman, Keene Swamp Bats (#1H)
T4.	Michigan	6	Mick Van Vossen, Newport Gulls (#52P)
T4.	Rhode Island	6	Joe Landi, North Adams Steeplecats (#8H)
T4.	Virginia	6	Nathan Kirby, Keene Swamp Bats (#2P)
T5.	Arizona State	5	Brett Lilek, Newport Gulls (#41P)
T5.	Bryant	5	Kyle Wilcox, Newport Gulls (#12P)
T5.	Binghamton	5	Zachary Blanden, Danbury Westerners (#9H)
T5.	Boston College	5	Chris Shaw, New Bedford Bay Sox (#5H)
T5.	Hofstra	5	Matt Ford, Keene Swamp Bats (#17H)
T5.	Maine Orono	5	Troy Black, Sanford Mainers (#48H)
T5.	Maryland (College Park)	5	Kevin Martir, North Adams Steeplecats (#41H)
T5.	Seton Hall	5	Tyler Boyd, Mystic Schooners (#6H)
T5.	Southern California	5	Vahn Bozoian, Holyoke Blue Sox (#55H)
T5.	Southern New Hampshire	5	Riley Palmer, Danbury Westerners (#26H)
T5.	St. Johns	5	Matthew Clancy, Keene Swamp Bats (#24P)