2003 Horizon League baseball tournament

2003 Horizon League
baseball tournament

Teams	7
Format	Double-elimination
Finals site	Nischwitz Stadium Dayton, OH
Champions	UIC  (1st title)
Winning coach	Mike Florak  (1st title)
MVP	Justin Banks (Youngstown State)
← 2002 Horizon League baseball tournament 2004 →

2003 Horizon League baseball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UIC  ‍‍‡‍y	15	–	6		.714			39	–	18		.684
Butler  ‍‍‍	16	–	8		.667			34	–	27		.557
Milwaukee  ‍‍‍	13	–	10		.565			25	–	25		.500
Youngstown State  ‍‍‍	12	–	11		.522			27	–	28		.491
Wright State  ‍‍‍	10	–	13		.435			21	–	34		.382
Detroit  ‍‍‍	8	–	12		.400			15	–	32		.319
Cleveland State  ‍‍‍	4	–	18		.182			13	–	39		.250
‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 2003 [1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 2003 Horizon League baseball tournament took place from May 21 through 25, near the close of the 2003 NCAA Division I baseball season. All seven of the league's teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Nischwitz Stadium on the campus of Wright State in Dayton, Ohio. ^[2] Top seeded UIC won their first Horizon League Championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

Seeding and format

The league's teams are seeded one through seven based on winning percentage, using conference games only. The bottom two seeds played an opening round game, with the winner advancing to the double-elimination format. ^[3]

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Seed
UIC	15	6	.714	—	1
Butler	16	8	.667	1.5	2
Milwaukee	13	10	.565	3	3
Youngstown State	12	11	.522	4	4
Wright State	10	13	.435	6	5
Detroit	8	12	.400	6.5	6
Cleveland State	4	18	.182	11.5	7

Bracket and results

Opening round

May 21, 2003

Team	R
(7) Cleveland State	7
(6) Detroit	6

Double-elimination rounds

	First round					Second round					Third round					Semifinals					Final
	1	UIC	11
	7	Cleveland State	4			1	UIC	6
						3	Milwaukee	4
	3	Milwaukee	6								1	UIC	9
	4	Youngstown State	9								2	Butler	0
						4	Youngstown State	6													1	UIC	2
						2	Butler	9													2	Butler	1
	2	Butler	210													2	Butler	7
	5	Wright State	1								4	Youngstown State	4			7	Cleveland State	6
						7	Cleveland State	5			7	Cleveland State	10
						5	Wright State	4

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team. ^[4]

Name	School
Mike Hughes	UIC
Jordan DeVoir	UIC
Ryan Martin	UIC
Kevin Nelson	UIC
Jared Lowe	Butler
Tim Marks	Butler
Justin McKinley	Butler
Aaron Phillips	Butler
Dominic Erney	Cleveland State
Matt Kaltenbach	Cleveland State
Ben Smith	Cleveland State

Most Valuable Player

Mike Hughes of UIC was named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. ^[4]

References

1. 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Horizon League. p. 145. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
2. "Baseball Enters Horizon League Tournament As No. 1 Seed". UIC Flames. May 19, 2003. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
3. 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Horizon League. p. 6. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
4. 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Horizon League. p. 15. Retrieved February 2, 2026.