Stony Brook Seawolves baseball


The Stony Brook Seawolves baseball team represents Stony Brook University in NCAA Division I men's college baseball. Stony Brook currently competes in the America East Conference and plays its home games on Joe Nathan Field. Matt Senk has coached the team since the beginning of the 1991 season. The team has won the America East tournament six times in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2019. In 2011, the Seawolves claimed their first America East regular season championship. Stony Brook has participated in the NCAA Tournament on six separate occasions, winning their first game in 2010.
In 2012, the Seawolves clinched their second consecutive regular season championship and their fourth America East Conference Baseball Tournament championship, earning the league's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The team went on to win the Coral Gables Regional and the Baton Rouge Super Regional, becoming the first ever team from the America East Conference to advance to the College World Series.

History

Pre-Division I era (1966–98)

Stony Brook first fielded NCAA–sanctioned baseball in 1966. The program struggled hard initially, posting only six winning seasons until the hiring of Matt Senk as head coach in 1991. Senk's leadership helped the team succeed at the Division III level, and Stony Brook finished 1995 with a 30–8 record and a trip to their first Division III NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook shortstop Joe Nathan was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the sixth round with the 159th overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft. He debuted for the Giants in 1999 as a pitcher, becoming the first player in program history to play in the MLB.

Early years in Division I (1999–2004)

Stony Brook began in Division I as a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference. In 2002, the Seawolves joined the America East Conference. In 2003, Stony Brook advanced to their first America East Tournament title game, needing to beat Northeastern twice to win the championship. While they won 11–10 in game one, they were blown out 11–0, leaving them one game away from their first NCAA Tournament berth. In 2004, the fourth-place Seawolves upset first-place Northeastern 15–6 in the first round of the America East Tournament, and advanced to the championship game for a second straight year, this time defeating Maine 3–1 to win their first America East championship and advance to their first NCAA Tournament in the program's Division I history. Stony Brook was assigned as the fourth seed in the Kinston Regional, where they lost to host East Carolina 8–2 and Tennessee 1–0 and were eliminated from the tournament in two games.

Program on the rise (2005–11)

After reaching their first NCAA Tournament in 2004, Stony Brook followed up with their first losing season since 1997, not qualifying for the America East Tournament. Stony Brook suffered another losing season in 2006 and a quick elimination from the America East Tournament in 2007. On December 6, 2006, Joe Nathan's No. 22 was retired, becoming the first retired number in Stony Brook athletics history. In 2008, Stony Brook finished 34–26 in second place in the regular season behind the Binghamton Bearcats. In the double-elimination tournament, the Seawolves beat UMBC and Binghamton twice to clinch their second tournament championship and advance to their second NCAA Tournament Regionals. Steve Mazzurco was named the Most Outstanding Player in the league. In the Tempe Regional of the NCAA Tournament, Stony Brook lost 9–7 to Arizona State and 9–4 to Vanderbilt, resulting in another early exit from the tournament.
The 2009 season was less promising and the Seawolves ended the regular season in third place with a 29–23 record. Stony Brook was ousted early in the America East tournament after consecutive losses against second-seeded Albany and fourth-seeded Vermont.
Following a disappointing season, the Seawolves came out stronger in 2010, ending the season 30–27, 15–9 in the America East. Stony Brook entered the tournament as the third seed but surprised with victories against Maine and consecutive victories against Albany to earn their third tournament championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time. Pat Cantwell, William Carmona, Maxx Tissenbaum, Nick Tropeano, and Adam Brown were named to the All-Tournament team and Cantwell additionally earned the MOP award. In the NCAA Tournament, the Seawolves played in the Myrtle Beach Regional. They lost to Coastal Carolina 6–0, but defeated NC State 6–2 in the loser's bracket to earn their first victory in the tournament. The Seawolves were then eliminated in a rematch with Coastal Carolina, losing 25–7.
In 2011, Nathan's donation allowed for the construction of a new venue, Joe Nathan Field, which was unsuitable for play entering the season. As a result, the Seawolves played their home games at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, New York. Joe Nathan Field opened on May 20, 2011. Stony Brook won their first conference regular season title in 2011 after going 22–2 in America East play; the Seawolves ended with a program-record 42 wins and went 42–12. However, Stony Brook was upset twice in the America East Tournament, once by Albany and again by Maine to eliminate the Seawolves before reaching the title game, putting their record-breaking season to a stunning halt.

2012: Conference championships, national recognition and College World Series

Stony Brook opened their 2012 campaign with a perfect 4–0 weekend at Thibodaux, Louisiana, with pair of victories over Alabama State and Nicholls State in the Coronel Round Robin. The team then traveled to Greenville, North Carolina, to face off against East Carolina, swept in three consecutive one-run games. They returned to the Northeast for a single game against Fairleigh Dickinson, routing the Knights at Teaneck, New Jersey. Stony Brook participated in the Dairy Queen Classic splitting the weekend against Kansas and host Minnesota. Stony Brook opened their home season on March 10 against Iona beating the Gaels 12–7. The Seawolves followed up beating the Yale Bulldogs three out of four in a weekend series and compiled a string of victories against Fordham and Columbia for their first five-win streak of the season. Stony Brook couldn't keep the pace and lost back-to-back games against Sacred Heart but bounced back to win a pair of games against NYIT and victories against Marist and Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Seawolves opened conference play against Binghamton taking two of three at home. The team went on to win their following two games against Iona and Marist at home and then traveled to Albany for a weekend series; the Seawolves took three out of four. The team returned home to beat Rhode Island 8–2 and swept a four-game series against Hartford. Stony Brook played a pair of games against Fairfield and Central Connecticut coming out victorious on both occasions and swept a four-game series at UMBC extending their winning streak to ten games and taking command of first place in the America East.
Stony Brook took two out of three against Binghamton at home and swept another four-game series against UMBC to clinch a second consecutive regular season championship. Stony Brook closed the regular season with a four-game sweep at conference rival Maine to win a program record 43 games with 11 losses. The Seawolves headed into the conference tournament with the best winning percentage in Division I.
Stony Brook won three consecutive games in the America East tournament to earn the program's fourth title, beating Maine 13–6 in the finals to advance to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament with a 46–11 record, the best record in Division I. The Seawolves were the first team in the America East since 2002 to earn both the regular season and conference tournament championships in the same season. For the first time in the history of the program, Stony Brook found itself ranked, sitting at No. 25 in the Baseball America poll and No. 29 in the NCBWA poll.
Stony Brook traveled to South Florida to play in the Coral Gables Regional as the fourth seed. In the first game the Seawolves knocked off top-seeded Miami and went on to the winners bracket. Following a loss to second-seeded Central Florida, Stony Brook beat Missouri State to eliminate the Bears and force a rematch against the Golden Knights. The Seawolves topped Central Florida 12–5 and 10–6 in consecutive days to win the regional and advance to face LSU in the Super Regionals.
In a rain-soaked Baton Rouge Super Regional, Stony Brook fell in the first game to the LSU Tigers in an extra-innings affair that spanned two days due to rain. The Seawolves bested LSU in game two just hours after the end of the first game to set up a series-determining game three. Stony Brook won the third game 7–2 and advanced to the 2012 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Seawolves are the second team to be the fourth seed in its region and advance to the College World Series.

NCAA participation

AE Tourney championsPostseason game and locationOpponents and results
2004NCAA Regional
– Kinston, NC		Loss vs. East Carolina
2004NCAA Regional
– Kinston, NC		Loss vs. Tennessee
2008NCAA Regional
– Tempe, AZ		Loss vs. Arizona State
2008NCAA Regional
– Tempe, AZ		Loss vs. Vanderbilt
2010NCAA Regional
– Myrtle Beach, SC		Loss vs. Coastal Carolina
2010NCAA Regional
– Myrtle Beach, SC		Win vs. North Carolina State
2010NCAA Regional
– Myrtle Beach, SC		Loss vs. Coastal Carolina
2012NCAA Regional
– Coral Gables, FL		Win vs. Miami FL
2012NCAA Regional
– Coral Gables, FL		Loss vs. Central Florida
2012NCAA Regional
– Coral Gables, FL		Win vs. Missouri State
2012NCAA Regional
– Coral Gables, FL		Win vs. Central Florida
2012NCAA Regional
– Coral Gables, FL		Win vs. Central Florida
2012NCAA Super Regional
– Baton Rouge, LA		Loss vs. LSU
2012NCAA Super Regional
– Baton Rouge, LA		Win vs. LSU
2012NCAA Super Regional
– Baton Rouge, LA		Win vs. LSU
2012College Word Series
– Omaha, NE		Loss vs. UCLA
2012College Word Series
– Omaha, NE		Loss vs. Florida State
2015NCAA Regional
– Fort Worth, TX		Loss vs. North Carolina State
2015NCAA Regional
– Fort Worth, TX		Win vs. Sacred Heart
2015NCAA Regional
– Fort Worth, TX		Loss vs. TCU
2019NCAA Regional
– Baton Rouge, LA		Loss vs. LSU
2019NCAA Regional
– Baton Rouge, LA		Loss vs. Arizona State

Notable players

Below is a list of notable players who have played for the Stony Brook Seawolves Baseball program:

Joe Nathan Field

Joe Nathan Field, located in the north end of the Stony Brook campus, is the home field of Seawolves baseball. Known as Seawolves Field until 2002 and University Field from 2002 to 2011, the field was named after Stony Brook alumnus and six-time MLB All-Star relief pitcher Joe Nathan, who donated $500,000 for the construction of a new baseball field in 2008. As part of the renovations, a new FieldTurf was installed and dugouts were constructed. Additional donations allowed for a new scoreboard adjacent to the field.
The field's dimensions are 330 feet to left and right field, 365 feet to left and right center, and 390 feet to center field. Joe Nathan Field's capacity stands at 1,000 spectators. Stony Brook has hosted the 2011 and 2012 America East Baseball Tournaments at Joe Nathan Field.

Year-by-year results