Baseball Debuts at 6th in Official South Region Rankings

The Nova Southeastern Sharks baseball team is listed at sixth in the first official South Region rankings, released this week by the NCAA. Entering the final regular season weekend at 29-15, 16-11 in SSC games, the Sharks are looking to extend their postseason streak to a fifth consecutive South Regional appearance, May 16-18.

NSU is 24-15 on in-region contests this season. At present the Sharks have earned six Regional appearances in the previous season under head coach Greg Brown.

Tampa leads the initial South Region standings at 30-11, and six total Sunshine State Conference schools are represented in the poll. All four of the other slots are occupied by Gulf South Conference schools.

The Sharks close off their home slate and the regular season in one three-day Senior Weekend at the NSU Baseball Complex, hosting the Florida Southern Mocs, Friday-Sunday, April 26-28. Senior Day is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. for 13 Sharks competing in their final regular season series at the ‘Shark Tank’.

Complete South Region Poll (April 24)

1 Tampa 30-11 24-11
2 West Florida 27-14 27-14
3 Delta St. 30-10 27-10
4 Mississippi Col. 27-12 23-9
5 Eckerd 25-14 24-14
6 Nova Southeastern 26-15 24-15
7 Embry-Riddle (FL) 25-15 21-14
8 Barry 26-14 16-14
9 Alabama Huntsville 25-17 22-17
10 Rollins 23-16 17-15

 

Crutchfield Honored as 2019 Jack Bennett Award Recipient

In a season filled with so many firsts, it was only fitting for Jim Crutchfield to add one more to his resume, as the Nova Southeastern head coach was announced as the recipient of the 2019 Jack Bennett award, which represents winning with integrity.

In just his second year in charge, Crutchfield guided the Sharks to uncharted territory, finishing 2018-19 with a record-setting 29-4 campaign that included a trip to the Elite Eight. The 29 victories not only set a new program best, but blew the previous single-season mark of 22 out of the water, Nova Southeastern climbed as high as No. 3 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) rankings before locking up both the Sunshine State Conference regular season title and NCAA South Region Championship, also program firsts.

“With what this award exemplifies, both winning and integrity, it’s of no surprise that Coach Crutch was chosen,” said Nova Southeastern assistant coach Jordan Fee. “He’s a winner and does it the right way, and always has. I’ve been so fortunate to be able to play for him and now coach alongside him. He’s a man of character and holds our program accountable to that same standard. In my opinion, he is truly one of the best college coaches in the history of the game.”

Crutchfield earned his 400th career win in a 98-76 rout of Palm Beach Atlantic on Senior Night in late February, and has since run his career overall record to a remarkable 405-75 (.844).

The Jack Bennett award is named in honor of the former head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Bennett won five Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, made five NCAA tournament appearances and won two national championships. He’s the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 200-56 record. In 34 seasons as head coach he compiled a record of 480-175.

NSU Opens at No. 2 in First Release of NCAA South Region Rankings

Just days removed from its dominant win at the Argonaut Invitational, the Nova Southeastern women’s golf team made a statement Friday, coming in at No. 2 in the first official release of the NCAA Division II South Region rankings.

The Sharks are once again in the driver’s seat to reach their third regional in as many seasons under head coach Heather Wall, trailing only Barry in the poll. The top 12 teams will be selected to compete at the NCAA South Super Regional, set to be held in Cleveland, Tenn. from May 6-8.

Nova Southeastern currently boasts two players among the Top-10 of Golfstat’s latest individual rankings in No. 7 Sophie Madden and No. 8 Sofia Garcia Austt, with five others listed throughout the Top-80 overall.

NSU will take a shot at its third consecutive Sunshine State Conference Tournament title when the first round gets underway at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club on Sunday, Apr. 14. To stay up-to-date with the Sharks, follow them on Twitter @NSU_WGolf.

A complete list of the regional rankings can be found at NCAA.com.

Matthews Recognized as D2CAA All-American

Following an exemplary 2018-19 season in which he helped lead Nova Southeastern to its first-ever Elite Eight appearance, redshirt junior Mark Matthews has been named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Men’s Basketball All-America Honorable Mention Team. The All-America honor is the second-ever by a Sharks player, and first since the program joined the NCAA back in 2002.

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