The New England Collegiate Baseball League will begin its 30th season Tuesday June 4. The North Division, comprised of Keene, Vermont, Upper Valley and Sanford, welcomes 135 new players and 11 returners. Last summer, the Mountaineers finished at the top of the North Division and second in the league. With veteran coaches and fresh competition, the 2024 season will be full of exciting, ambitious matchups. See how each team is panning out below:
Keene SwampBats
Shaun McKenna is returning to Keene for his fourth season as head coach, with eyes on what would be the SwampBats’ sixth NECBL title. Assistant coach Casey O’Brien is returning for his second year in Keene and assistant coach John Nowak is joining the staff after graduating from Bates College, where he played baseball for four years. In 2023, the SwampBats finished the summer 15-28, placing fourth in the North Division and 12th in the league. This season the SwampBats have a brand-new roster of 38 players and no returners, including trios from No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 22 Wake Forest, Louisville and Kent State.
The SwampBats begin their season at home, hosting North Shore at Alumni Field June 5 at 6:35 pm. Keene home games will be exclusively streamed on ESPN+.
Vermont Mountaineers
The Mountaineers finished the 2023 season with the fourth-highest team batting average in the league (.250) and third-lowest ERA (3.41). They finished first in the North Division and second in the league with a 25-15 record, but fell to Danbury in the playoffs. Head coach Mitch Holmes is returning for his third season, looking to capture Vermont’s fourth NECBL championship.
Three Mountaineers are welcomed back to Montpelier: Brian Foley, a sophom*ore RHP from UMass Lowell, threw 19 strikeouts in 20 innings this season; Max Moss, a graduate student RHP from UMass Boston, was named to All Little East Conference Second team; and Nathan Waugh, a catcher from Cornell, hit .283 this spring and will be playing at Georgia Tech next year for his fifth season.
Vermont opens up its season at Montpelier Recreation Field against Sanford June 4 at 6:30 pm.
Upper Valley Nighthawks
The Nighthawks ranked third in the North Division and tied for eleventh in the league at the end of the 2023 season with an 18-24 record. They hit the third-best in the league with a .252 team batting average. Mat Pause is returning for his second year as head coach. Previously, Pause served as a hitting coach for the Nighthawks for three seasons, the head coach of St. Michael’s and an assistant coach at Colby Sawyer and St. Joseph. In eight years of play, Upper Valley has not secured an NECBL title.
There are three familiar faces at Maxfield this season: Nate Crider, a junior RHP from Louisiana Tech, logged a 4.70 ERA this season; Monmouth junior RHP Nicholas Tamburro threw a 5.23 ERA; and Marist College junior infielder Marco Ali hit .306.
Upper Valley will start its season in Connecticut against the Mystic Schooners June 4 at 6:30 pm. The Nighthawks’ home opener is against North Shore at Maxfield Sports Complex June 9 at 5 pm.
Sanford Mainers
Sanford completed the 2023 season ranked second in the North Division and tied for fourth in the league with a 24-19 record. The Mainers finished the summer with the fourth-lowest ERA in the league at 3.93. Head coach Nic Lops is back at Goodall Park for his fourth season, vying for Sanford’s third NECBL championship.
Of 35 roster spots, the Mainers have five returners: Chris Gallagher, a junior RHP from Wright State University, threw 24 strikeouts in 24 innings this spring; Devin Russell, a sophom*ore catcher from Maryland, finished his season with three doubles, nine home runs, 26 RBI and 12 hit-by-pitches; Devan Bade, a junior infielder from Binghamton, hit .326; Matt Miceli, a junior infielder from Stony Brook, hit .234; and Jack Toomey, a sophom*ore outfielder from Holy Cross, logged 40 hits and 33 RBIs.
The Mainers start their season in Vermont against the Mountaineers June 4 at 6:30 pm. Their home opener is against Mystic at Goodall Park June 6 at 6:30 pm.
You can check out who is coming to play for your favorite team by heading to their team page at www.necbl.com. Make sure to follow these players as they compete for their colleges and tune up for their summer in the NECBL!
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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
