Bryant Bulldogs Baseball
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Bryant Bulldogs baseball team is the NCAA Division I varsity intercollegiate baseball team of
Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...
, located in
Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1731, it includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Spragueville, Stillwater, an ...
. The program participates as a member of the
America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
. The Bulldogs previously participated as members of the
Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
. It plays at
Conaty Park Conaty Park is a baseball venue in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It is home to the Bryant Bulldogs baseball team of the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates Coll ...
on the northern edge of Bryant's campus. Ryan Klosterman has been the program's head coach since the 2020 season. In Division I, Bryant has appeared in two NCAA tournaments; it has won the NEC tournament twice and the NEC regular season title four times. In Division II, it appeared in five NCAA tournaments, including the 2004 College World Series; it won the Northeast-10 Tournament once and the NE-10 regular season title six times. Three former Bulldogs, Keith MacWhorter, James Karinchak, and
Mickey Gasper Michael "Mickey" Gasper (born October 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher and first baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. Amateur career Gasper ...
have gone on to play in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
.


History


Division II

1969 was Bryant's first season of varsity
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
baseball. Under head coach Bill Stein, the team went 5–14. In 1970, it improved to 11–8. For those first two seasons, Bryant competed in the College Division's Southern New England Conference (SNEC). For its first three seasons, Bryant was located in Providence; Stein coached the team in all three seasons before moving to Georgetown to become an assistant men's basketball coach under John Thompson. The school moved to its present-day Smithfield location ahead of the 1971–72 academic year. The school hired Steve Thornton to replace Stein. The school did not sponsor a team in 1974 or 1976, but in the three seasons Thornton did coach (1972, 1973, and 1975), Bryant went 26–28 overall. In the middle of this stretch, in August 1973, the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
reorganized its divisions. Prior to then, the NCAA had competed in two divisions, a large-school University Division and a small-school College Division. Following the reorganization, the University Division became Division I, while the College Division split into Division II and Division III. UC Riverside became a Division II Independent. Bryant, which had been playing in the College Division, joined Division II. In 1976, Keith MacWhorter became the program's first MLB Draft selection when the Dodgers picked him in the 15th round. He later played for the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. Former Providence hockey player Bob Reall coached the team from 1977 to 1978. The team went a combined 11–41. Another Providence alumnus, Michael McGuinn, was the head coach from 1979 to 1983. The program had its worst season in McGuinn's first year, going 1–22. The team suffered two 18-run losses (22–4 to
New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
and 18–0 to Eastern Connecticut) but also lost five one-run games. Its lone win came against Barrington.


Northeast-10 Conference

Bryant was a founding member of the Northeast-7 Conference in the 1980–81 academic year. The conference became the Northeast-8 when
Saint Anselm Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...
joined the following year and the Northeast-10 (NE-10) when Saint Michael's and
Quinnipiac The Quinnipiac were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They lived in present-day New Haven County, Connecticut, along the Quinnipiac River. Their primary village, also called Quinnipiac, was where New Haven, Connect ...
joined for the 1987–88 academic year. Earl Matthewson replaced McGuinn and coached the team from 1984 and 1986. He had an overall record of 58–32–1 won the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year award in all three seasons. The 1985 team went 21–11 and lost to Stonehill in the NE-10 title game. In 1986, Bryant 22–11–1, won the NE-10, and qualified for its first NCAA tournament. It went 0–2 at the Northeast Regional, losing games to New Haven and Adelphi. After Matthewson left, Dale O'Dell coached the team from 1987 to 1990. Two players won major conference awards under him, both in 1987. Tony Garganese was named NE-10 Player of the Year, Bob Heinzemann Freshman of the Year. Heinzemann was the fourth consecutive Bulldog to win the award (Garganese won it in 1985). Garganese was also named a Division II All-American by the ABCA. Bryant alumnus and
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
assistant Jon Sjogren became the program's head coach after O'Dell. He held the position for 15 seasons (1991–2005) and had an overall 360–305–1 record. The Bulldogs went 13–17 in Sjogren's first season. Outfielder Glenn Tatro became Bryant's second draftee when the Orioles picked him in the 25th round. Bryant had its first winning season under Sjogren in 1992, when the team went 21–17 and lost to Springfield in the NE-10 title game. In 1997, facility problems plagued the team, which had to play 42 of its 43 games on the road. It finished the season with a 21–22 record. The Bryant Baseball Complex opened a few years later during the 2000 season. In 1998, Bryant reached its second NCAA tournament after winning the NE-10's regular season title. It went 1–2 at the Northeast Regional, notching its first tournament win with a 10-inning, 7–6 defeat of
UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...
in the opening game. The program's first 30-win season came in 2001, and it reached its third NCAA tournament in 2002, again going 1–2 at the Northeast Regional. For the 2003 season, the Northeast-10 switched from metal to wooden
baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...
s. Sjogren said of the decision, "We did it for the sake of the game, to make it cleaner and return it to the way it was meant to be played. We certainly feel it has done that." Bryant's 2004 team made the program's deepest postseason run, going 40–17 and reaching the College World Series. The team used wooden bats during the regular season in accordance with NE-10 rules, then switched to metal bats for the NCAA postseason. Bryant hosted the Northeast Regional, which it won with a 3–1 record, defeating Dowling in the championship game. At the Division II World Series in Montgomery, Bryant won its opener against Rollins, then lost games to Grand Valley State and Central Missouri and was eliminated. B.J. Gagnon, who had been named the regionals MVP, was named to the All-World Series Team. Sjogren was named the 2004 ABCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. After the 2005 season, Sjogren left to become the head coach at Rollins, where he replaced Bob Rikeman, who had left to become the head coach at
Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (1956–2023), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Ne ...
. Bryant hired Assumption head coach Jamie Pinzino to replace him. In five seasons as head coach, Pinzino had a 162–122 overall record. Bryant went 18–33 in Pinzino's first season but made back-to-back NCAA tournaments in 2007 and 2008. Both times, it lost to
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...
in the Northeast Regional finals. Pitcher Eric Loh of the 2007 team received several major awards: ABCA Division II All-American, ABCA Northeast Region Pitcher of the Year, and NE-10 Pitcher of the Year. Pinzino was named the NE-10's Coach of the Year.


Division I

Bryant joined the NCAA Division I in the 2009 season. Playing as an independent, the Bulldogs went 32–22.
Shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
Pat McKenna was drafted by the
Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...
following the season. The school's programs joined the
Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
(NEC) for the 2009–10 academic year; the baseball program was ineligible for the postseason from 2010 to 2012 while the school completed the transition to Division I. In
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, Bryant won the NEC regular season title with a 25–7 conference record. It won three of the NEC's four major awards: Pinzino was named Coach of the Year, Kevin Brown Rookie of the Year, and Brent Almeida Pitcher of the Year. Brown was also named a
Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
Freshman All-American. Following the season, Pinzino was involved in an incident that led to his resignation. At a postseason athletic department barbecue in May, Pinzino became intoxicated, got in a fight with an assistant baseball coach on Bryant's baseball field, and was confrontational with police when they arrived at the scene. Pinzino was arrested and charged with three misdemeanors (simple assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest). As a result, he resigned his position as Bryant's baseball coach. Bryant hired Steve Owens to replace him. Owens came from Le Moyne, which had left Division I for Division II the same offseason. At Le Moyne, he won four MAAC regular season titles, was named conference Coach of the Year twice, and appeared in three NCAA tournaments. In Owens's second season,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Bryant won another NEC regular season title, going 33-21 (24-8 NEC). The Bulldogs again won three of the conference's four major awards: Owens was Coach of the Year, Kevin McAvoy Rookie of the Year, and Peter Kelich Pitcher of the Year. In
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, Bryant set a program wins record and reached its first Division I NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs had a 40–15–1 regular season that included a 19-game winning streak from March 22 to April 16. For the third time, the team won three NEC major awards, with Owens the Coach of the Year, AJ Zarozny the Rookie of the Year, and Brown the Player of the Year. The team lost its opener in the NEC tournament to
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, then won four games in a row to win the tournament and the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the third seed in the Manhattan Regional, Bryant defeated
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
in the opener before losing consecutive games. They finished the season at 45–18–1. Owens was named the ABCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. Brown was named a Third-Team All-American by the ABCA, and five players were named First-Team All-New England. Brown, Kelich, and Joseph Michaud were drafted after the season. In
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, Bryant reached a second consecutive NCAA tournament. After a 39–14 regular season. Owens won his second conference Coach of the Year award; Craig Schlitter won Pitcher of the Year and Matt Albanese Rookie of the Year. The Bulldogs swept through the NEC tournament, defeating
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
, Central Connecticut, and
Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...
to win the title. As the third seed at the Baton Rouge Regional, Bryant went 0–2, losing two one-run games. Owens was named the ABCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. After the season, a program-record four players were picked in the MLB Draft; McAvoy became Bryant's highest selection when the
Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ch ...
selected him in the fourth round.


Conference affiliations

* Southern New England Conference (College Division): 1969–1970 *Independent ( College Division/Division II): 1971–1973, 1975, 1976–1980 *
Northeast-10 Conference The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states o ...
(Division II): 1981–2008 *
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
(Division I): 2009 *
Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
(Division I): 2010–2022 *
America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
(Division I): 2023–present


Bryant in the NCAA tournament


Venues


Conaty Park

Bryant has played at Conaty Park since it was built for the 2000 season. Prior to being dedicated to alumni donor Bill Conaty on April 28, 2012, it was known as the Bryant Baseball Complex. Its capacity of 500 people consists of 200 chairback seats and berm seating beyond the outfield fence. In 2004, the facility hosted the Division II Northeast Regional, which included Bryant,
Saint Anselm Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...
, Dowling, and Caldwell. Bryant went 3–1 to win the double-elimination regional.


Head coaches

Since its first season in 1969, Bryant has had nine head coaches.
Bill Stein William Allen Stein (born January 21, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. His playing career spanned 17 seasons, 14 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1973 ...
, who held the position from 1969 to 1971, was the program's first head coach. Jon Sjogren, who coached the team from 1991 to 2005, is both the longest-tenured (15 seasons) and winningest (360) coach.


Yearly records

Below is a table of Bryant's yearly records. After playing its first season in 1969, the team was not sponsored in 1974 or 1976. It joined Division I in 2009.Conference standings at D1Baseball.com


Notable alumni

Bulldogs who have gone on to play
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
: *
Mickey Gasper Michael "Mickey" Gasper (born October 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher and first baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. Amateur career Gasper ...
(born 1995), 1B –
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
(2024),
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
(2025–present) * James Karinchak (born 1995), P –
Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...
(2019–2023) * Keith MacWhorter (born 1955), P –
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
(1980)


Major League Baseball Draft


2010

One Bulldog was selected in the
2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...
.
Catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
Jeff Vigurs was taken in the 22nd round by the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. He appeared in 32 games for the short-season
Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in unincorporated Ada County, Idaho, near ...
that year.


2013

Three Bulldogs were selected in the 2013 draft:
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
Kevin Brown (22nd round,
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
),
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
Joseph Michaud (33rd round,
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
), and pitcher Pete Kelich (38th round,
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
). All three signed professional contracts.


2014

In 2014, a record four Bulldogs were selected in the MLB Draft.
Pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
Kevin McAvoy, chosen by
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in the fourth round, became the program's highest draft pick.
Outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
Carl Anderson (
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
) and
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
Tom Gavitt (
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
) were selected with consecutive picks in the 19th round. Pitcher Craig Schlitter was selected in the 27th round by
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
.


See also

*
List of NCAA Division I baseball programs The following is a list of schools that participate in NCAA Division I baseball. In the 2024 season, 300 Division I schools competed. These teams compete to go to the 64-team Division I baseball tournament and then to Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ...


Notes


References

{{America East Conference baseball navbox