Mulligan - Pitcher of the Year - joins four other Seahawks on All-NEWMAC Baseball squad
WESTWOOD, Mass. (Tuesday, May 14, 2024) - The NEWMAC has released its baseball postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Tuesday morning. The awards are determined by the conference's nine coaches following the conclusion of regular season play.
Infielder Nathan Stafford (Jupiter, Fla.) of U.S. Coast Guard Academy was voted NEWMAC Player and Rookie of the Year. This is the first time since 2015 that an athlete was named both Player and Rookie of the Year. Salve Regina University's Sean Mulligan (Verona, N.J.) was named Pitcher of the Year. The Coast Guard coaching staff was voted Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.
Stafford headlines the first team infielder selections and is joined by Babson College's Brant Savage (Charlton, Mass.), Salve Regina's Christian Homa (Fairfield, Conn.) and WPI's Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, N.Y.). Salve Regina placed two in the outfield spot in Matt D'Amato (Midland Park, N.J.) and Evan O'Rourke (Arlington, Mass.). MIT's Teddy Schoenfeld (Boulder, Colo.) fills out the outfield selections. Salve Regina's Hunter Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.) was awarded a spot as a utility player. Clark University's Ryan Bonja (Sturbridge, Mass.) and Coast Guard's Parker Madden (Ruston, La.) were selected as catchers. Mulligan is featured in the first team pitcher slot, while Coast Guard's Vito Giordano (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Wheaton College's Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) wrap up the first team pitcher selections.
Babson's Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.), MIT's Kyle Sonandres (Torrance, Calif.) Coast Guard's Richard Barkley (Bellevue, Wash.) and Wheaton's Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) make up the second team infield selections. Two from WPI garnered the accolade as outfielders, Andrew Cash (Marlboro, Mass.) and Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, N.J.). Carter Doran (Natick, Mass.) of Clark was also selected as an outfielder, along with MIT's Michael Finch (Brentwood, Tenn). Coast Guard's John Tacchini (Klamath Falls, Ore.) was honored as a utility player, while Babson's Ike Kiely (Falmouth, Maine) earned the nod as a catcher. The second team pitcher spots were awarded to Clark's Max Gitlin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Coast Guard's Ryan Karman (Sayville, N.Y.) and WPI's Owen Radcliffe (Holliston, Mass.).
Player and Rookie of the Year- Nathan Stafford (Fr., INF), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Nathan Stafford played in 33 games for the Bears, hitting .431 in 137 at-bats. He had a .672 slugging percentage, and a .494 on-base percentage for a 1.166 OPS. The rookie had 59 hits, including 14 doubles, two triples and five home runs, driving in 44 runs. In conference play, his batting average increased to .460, good for second in the league. His slugging percentage of .698 was tied for third, and his on-base percentage of 0.518 was good for fourth. Stafford's 1.212 OPS is also good for second in the league. His 21 RBI in league play were also good for second in the NEWMAC. In his first season, Stafford helped the Bears to a 13-3 league record, and a share of the regular season title.
Pitcher of the Year – Sean Mulligan (Jr., P), Salve Regina University
Sean Mulligan led the league in nearly every pitching category, including earned run average (1.56), opponents batting average (.165), innings pitched (80.0), batters struck out (91) and wins (9). His overall ERA is good for 10th in Division III. In league play, Mulligan's ERA dropped to 0.69, as he helped the Seahawks to a 13-3 league record, a share of the regular season crown, and the top seed in the NEWMAC tournament.
Coaching Staff of the Year – U.S. Coast Guard Academy
After not making the NEWMAC playoffs in 2023, Coast Guard bounced back in a big way, going 13-3 in league play, and earning a share of the regular season title. The Bears were second in the NEWMAC in batting average in league play, hitting .325 and leading the NEWMAC with 15 home runs and 116 RBI. Coast Guard is under the direction of head coach Brian Casey, and assistants Mike Aldrich, and Eric Degre.
2024 NEWMAC Baseball All-Conference
| First Team All-Conference | Sean Mulligan | P | Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference | Vito Giordano | P | U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| First Team All-Conference | Ryan McCarroll | P | Wheaton College |
| First Team All-Conference | Brant Savage | INF | Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference | Christian Homa | INF | Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference | Nathan Stafford | INF | U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| First Team All-Conference | Jacob Hand | INF | WPI |
| First Team All-Conference | Teddy Schoenfeld | OF | MIT |
| First Team All-Conference | Matt D'Amato | OF | Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference | Evan O'Rourke | OF | Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference | Hunter Yaworski | UTL | Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference | Ryan Bonja | C | Clark University |
| First Team All-Conference | Parker Madden | C | U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| Second Team All-Conference | Max Gitlin | P | Clark University |
| Second Team All-Conference | Ryan Karman | P | U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| Second Team All-Conference | Own Radcliffe | P | WPI |
| Second Team All-Conference | Tanner Santos | INF | Babson College |
| Second Team All-Conference | Kyle Sonandres | INF | MIT |
| Second Team All-Conference | Richard Barkley | INF | U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| Second Team All-Conference | Mike Maher | INF | Wheaton College |
| Second Team All-Conference | Carter Doran | OF | Clark University |
| Second Team All-Conference | Michael Finch | OF | MIT |
| Second Team All-Conference | Tommy Burns | OF | WPI |
| Second Team All-Conference | Andrew Cash | OF | WPI |
| Second Team All-Conference | John Tacchini | UTL | U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| Second Team All-Conference | Ike Kiely | C | Babson College |
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, United States Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and United States Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.