North Florida Ospreys baseball

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North Florida Ospreys baseball
Baseball current event.svg 2024 North Florida Ospreys baseball team
UNF Ospreys logo.png
Founded1988;36 years ago (1988)
University University of North Florida
Head coach Joe Mercadante (1st season)
Conference ASUN
Location Jacksonville, Florida
Home stadium Harmon Stadium
(Capacity: 1,000)
Nickname Ospreys
ColorsNavy blue and gray [1]
   
College World Series runner-up
Division II: 2005
College World Series appearances
NAIA: 1989, 1991
Division II: 2000, 2001, 2005
NCAA Tournament appearances
Division II: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Regular season conference champions
Division I: 2015
Division II: 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005
Harmon Stadium Harmon Stadium UNF.JPG
Harmon Stadium

The North Florida Ospreys baseball team represents the University of North Florida in the sport of baseball. The Ospreys compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), in the ASUN Conference (A-Sun). They play their home games in Harmon Stadium on the university's Jacksonville, Florida campus. The Ospreys were founded in 1988 as members of the NAIA. They moved to the NCAA Division II level in 1994, and began their Division I transition in 2006. They became fully eligible at the Division I level in 2010. Most recently, the Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun regular season championship in 2015. [2]

Contents

History

North Florida's baseball program was founded in 1988. The team was established under the leadership of Dusty Rhodes, who served as head coach from 1988 to 2010. Since its inception, the Ospreys baseball team has won 13 conference titles: six in the NAIA, six in NCAA Division II, and one in NCAA Division I and has made a total of 16 playoff appearances: six in the NAIA and ten in NCAA Division II. They went to the NAIA World Series in 1989 and 1991 and the NCAA Division II World Series in 2000, 2001, and 2005, advancing to the final in 2005. [3] [4]

Notably, the team's former logo is similar to the New York Yankees logo. It was designed in 1986 at the urging of Dusty Rhodes and continued, and brought extra attention to the baseball program. [5] It was discontinued after Rhodes' retirement in 2010 and replaced with a new logo for the 2011 season.

[6] [7] The Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun regular season championship in 2015. [2] Star outfielder Donnie Dewees, a redshirt sophomore, was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Year and Laval was the conference's Coach of the Year. Dewees led the nation in runs (81), runs per game (1.51), hits (101) and total bases (178) at the conclusion of the regular season and posted a 31-game hit streak. [8] Dewees was also named one of 21 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. [9] The Chicago Cubs selected Dewees in the second round, with the 47th overall selection, of the draft. [10] He was UNF's highest-drafted player since they transitioned to Division I in 2005. [11]

Facilities

The Ospreys play their home games on campus at Harmon Stadium. It was built in 1988 and has a capacity of 1,000 fans. The playing field and batting facility are named for former Ospreys baseball coach Dusty Rhodes. [12]

Head coaches

Baseball head coachesSeasons
Dusty Rhodes 1988–2010
Smoke Laval 2011–2017
Tim Parenton 2018–2023

Year-by-year results

College World Series appearanceNCAA Tournament appearanceConference regular season championsConference tournament championsConference regular season and tournament champions
The Ospreys at home versus UNC Wilmington in 2016. UNCW-UNF2016.JPG
The Ospreys at home versus UNC Wilmington in 2016.
SeasonHead coachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
District 25 (NAIA)
1988 Dusty Rhodes 47–1718–61stArea V Tournament, 1–2
1989Dusty Rhodes53–1825–31st NAIA World Series, 3rd place
1990Dusty Rhodes43–2019–31stDistrict 25 Tournament, 2–2
1991Dusty Rhodes57–1323–11stNAIA World Series, 3rd place
1992Dusty Rhodes51–1227–31stArea V Tournament, 2–1
District 7 (NAIA)
1993Dusty Rhodes45–1228–41stDistrict 7 Tournament, 1–2
NAIA Total:296–92 (.763)140–20 (.875)
Sunshine State Conference (NCAA Division II)
1994Dusty Rhodes33–1915–62nd NCAA South Regional, 1–2
1995Dusty Rhodes36–1615–61stNCAA South Regional, 0–2
1996Dusty Rhodes26–2910–114th
1997Dusty Rhodes39–1713–83rdNCAA South Regional, 0–2
Sunshine State Total:134–81 (.623)53–31 (.631)
Peach Belt Conference (NCAA Division II)
1998Dusty Rhodes32–2115–112nd
1999Dusty Rhodes43–1722–81stNCAA South Atlantic Regional, 3–2
2000Dusty Rhodes49–1426–41st D-II World Series, 3rd place
2001Dusty Rhodes47–1725–51stD-II World Series, 3rd place
2002Dusty Rhodes40–1623–72ndNCAA South Atlantic Regional, 0–2
2003Dusty Rhodes39–1818–9T-1stNCAA South Atlantic Regional, 2–2
2004Dusty Rhodes41–1823–71stNCAA South Atlantic Regional, 2–2
2005Dusty Rhodes48–1623–71stD-II World Series, runner-up
Peach Belt Total:339–137 (.712)175–58 (.751)
ASUN Conference (NCAA Division I)
2006Dusty Rhodes34–2120–102nd
2007Dusty Rhodes24–3213–146th
2008Dusty Rhodes29–2618–154th
2009Dusty Rhodes23–3115–15T-6th
2010Dusty Rhodes30–2814–124th A-Sun Tournament, 1–2
2011 Smoke Laval 27–2713–178th
2012Smoke Laval31–2412–158th
2013Smoke Laval40–1918–93rd A-Sun Tournament, 2–2
2014Smoke Laval22–3111–168th A-Sun Tournament, 0–2
2015Smoke Laval45–1616–51st A-Sun Tournament, 3–2 (Runner-up)
2016Smoke Laval39–1915–62nd A-Sun Tournament, 2–2
Atlantic Sun Total:344–274 (.557)166–136 (.550)
Total:1,113–584 (.656)


Conference championships

SeasonCoachOverall recordConf. record
2015Smoke Laval45–1616–5

Awards

Conference awards

Smoke Laval (2015)
Donnie Dewees (2015)

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Raymond Peter "Smoke" Laval is an American college baseball coach who was the head coach of the University of North Florida Ospreys. He is a former head coach of the Louisiana State University Tigers and the University of Louisiana at Monroe Indians baseball teams. He has led his teams to two College World Series, five conference championships, and seven NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances, and has received a number of coaching awards.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusty Rhodes (baseball coach)</span> American baseball coach

Jack Dusty Rhodes is a retired American baseball coach and the former head coach of the University of North Florida Ospreys college baseball team. He was the first coach in UNF baseball history, having founded the program in the 1980s and serving as head coach from 1988–2010. UNF's baseball field, officially Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium, is named in his honor.

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The 2015–16 North Florida Ospreys men's basketball team represented the University of North Florida during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ospreys were led by seventh-year head coach Matthew Driscoll and played their home games at UNF Arena on the university's campus in Jacksonville, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun).

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The 2023–24 North Florida Ospreys men's basketball team represented the University of North Florida during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ospreys, led by 15th-year head coach Matthew Driscoll, played their home games at the UNF Arena in Jacksonville, Florida as members of the ASUN Conference.

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The 2023–24 North Florida Ospreys women's basketball team represents the University of North Florida during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ospreys, led by first-year head coach Erika Lambert, play their home games at the UNF Arena in Jacksonville, Florida as members of the ASUN Conference.

References

  1. "UNF - Marketing and Publications - Official Athletic Logos and Identifying Marks". 24 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "@OspreyBSB Sweeps Upstate, Win 2015 A-Sun Regular Season Championship". UNFOspreys.com. University of North Florida. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  3. "2011 North Florida Baseball" (PDF). unfospreys.com. University of North Florida. 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  4. "University of North Florida Athletics – 2008 Baseball Coaching Staff". Unfospreys.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. "Baseball logo brings fans together". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  6. "Coach Dusty Rhodes optimistic entering final season at North Florida". jacksonville.com. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. "University of North Florida Athletics – Ospreys hush red-hot No. 11 Hurricanes". Unfospreys.com. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  8. "@ASunBSB All-Conference Awards: Laval, Dewees Earn Top Honors". UNFOspreys.com. University of North Florida. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  9. "Dewees Named a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist". UNFOspreys.com. University of North Florida. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  10. "Cubs select CF Donnie Dewees in the 2nd round". chicagonow.com. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  11. Timothy Bee (9 June 2015). "UNF's Donnie Dewees goes 47th overall to Chicago Cubs". FCN First For You. Retrieved 9 June 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. "Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium". UNFOspreys.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.