CAA Baseball Championship Gets Underway On Wednesday
Rob Washburn
CAA Championship Central CAA Tournament Notes
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (May 20, 2025) – The 2025 CAA Baseball Championship gets underway on Wednesday from the Ballpark at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. It’s the second time in three years and fourth time overall that the facility has hosted the event.
Six teams will battle for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament using a format that rewards the top two seeds with first-round byes. Ten different schools have won the CAA championship since 2009, with UNCW (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024) being the only team to earn more than one title during that 16-year stretch.
The double-elimination tournament opens at Noon on Wednesday as #4 Charleston (34-20, 15-12 CAA) faces #5 William & Mary (21-33, 14-13 CAA). That game will be followed at 4 p.m. by #3 Campbell (24-29, 15-12 CAA) taking on #6 Elon (24-30, 13-14 in CAA).
Thursday’s schedule begins with an 11 a.m. elimination game. Top-seeded Northeastern (45-9, 25-2 CAA) meets the lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner at 3 p.m. and #2 UNCW (32-22, 19-8 CAA) takes on the highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner at 7 p.m. There are three more games on Friday and another on Saturday, setting the stage for the championship contest at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Northeastern put together a historic campaign in capturing the CAA regular-season title for the fourth time since 2017. The Huskies set program records for overall (45) and conference victories (25) and enter the tournament riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 24 games. NU’s pitching staff leads the nation with a 2.94 team ERA behind its weekend rotation of Will Jones (10-0, 1.99 ERA), Aiven Cabral (10-2, 2.45 ERA) and Jordan Gottesman (8-2, 2.40 ERA). Charlie Walker (6 svs., 1.27 ERA) and Brett Dunham (3 svs., 1.78 ERA) have anchored the bullpen. The offense is led by All-CAA outfielders Harrison Feinberg (.372, 14 HR, 57 RBI’s) and Cam Maldonado (.375, 15 HR, 57 RBI’s) and shortstop Jack Goodman (.333, 10 HR, 49 RBI’s). NU won its only CAA title in 2021.
Second-seeded UNCW is the two-time defending champion and has claimed six titles since 2012. The Seahawks are riding a six-game winning streak and went 17-4 in their last seven CAA series. UNCW ranks 10
th nationally with a 3.81 ERA and features an impressive starting staff of Zane Taylor (10-2, 2.16 ERA), Cam Bagwell (9-2, 3.01 ERA) and Connor Marshburn (4-2, 3.26). Trace Baker (4-1, 5 svs.) tops the bullpen. Leading the Seahawks’ offense are first baseman Tanner Thach (.322, 10 HR, 43 RBI’s), shortstop Kevin Jones (.288, 28 RBI’s) and third baseman Trevor Lucas (.279, 9 HR, 48 RBI’s).
Campbell is making its first CAA Tournament appearance in its second year as a league member. The Camels, who have won four of their last five games, feature outfielders Joe Simpson (.343, 9 HR, 28 RBI’s) and Dalen Thompson (.326, 7 HR, 42 RBI’s) as well as first baseman Joey Morton (.292, 11 HR, 39 RBI’s). Campbell’s ace on the mound is Jake Murray, who is 4-2 with a 4.37 ERA and a team-high 81 strikeouts.
Charleston comes into the tournament having won nine of its last 10 games and is seeking its first title since 2014. The Cougars have gotten strong starting pitching from veterans Jake Brink (5-5, 3.68 ERA) and Daniel Brooks (6-3, 4.29 ERA), and feature two of the league’s top relievers in Alex Lyon (9-1, 3.11 ERA) and Davis Aiken (12 svs). Will Baumhofer (.328, 41 RBI’s) and speedster Daryian Pendergrass (.305, 61 R, 39 SB) pace the offense along with freshman Landon Penfield (.289, 7 HR, 52 RBI’s).
William & Mary is in the tournament for the 11
th time in 12 years. The Tribe’s most recent title in 2016 came at Patriots Point. W&M bats a league-best .313 as a team behind the outfield trio of Ben Parker (.413, 11 HR, 50 RBI’s), Lucas Carmichael (.365, 12 HR, 47 RBI’s) and Christian Rush (.298, 14 HR, 47 RBI’s) as well as freshman Jamie Laskofski (.357, 41 RBI’s). Nick Lottchea (3-1) and reliever Carter Lovasz (4-5, 2 svs.) are the top pitching performers.
Elon is making its ninth tournament appearance in the past decade and is looking to capture its first championship. The Phoenix offense is paced by catcher Alex Duffey (.356, 48 RBI’s) and third baseman Ryan Sprock (.332, 14 HR, 50 RBI’s), while Tank Yaghoubi is batting .331. On the mound, Justin Mitrovich (6-4, 4.52 ERA) has been the ace of the starting staff, with Sprock (4 svs., 1.69 ERA) closing from the pen.
All games from the CAA Baseball Championship will be streamed live on FloCollege (flosports.tv/caa). To stay up to date with what is happening be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (@CAASports), Instagram (@caasports) and join the conversation using the hashtag #CAAChamps.
For more information, including how to purchase tickets, go to the CAA Championship Central page at
caasports.com/baseball or
cofcsports.com/tickets.
2025 CAA Baseball Championship
Ballpark at Patriots Point – Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Wednesday, May 21
Game 1 - #4 Charleston vs. #5 William & Mary – 12 p.m.
Game 2 - #3 Campbell vs. #6 Elon – 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 22
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 11 a.m.
Game 4 - #1 Northeastern vs. Lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner – 3 p.m.
Game 5 - #2 UNCW vs. Highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner – 7 p.m.
Friday, May 23
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Lowest-seeded Game 4/5 loser – 11 a.m.
Game 7 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Highest-seeded Game 4/5 loser – 3 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
Game 9 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8 – 1 p.m.
Game 10 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9 – 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 25
Game 11 (if necessary) – Winner of Game 10 vs. Loser of Game 10 – 1 p.m.