MELBOURNE, Fla.- The Sunshine State Conference presents the league's first record book, "SSC Individual Baseball Records: 1978 - 2020." The sport's rich legacy in the conference includes World Series champions and All-Stars from Major League Baseball as well as NCAA Division II record-holders and national champions.
SSC Individual Baseball Records: 1978 - 2020
“The Sunshine State Conference, the conference of national champions, has long been the premier baseball league in NCAA Division II,” Barry University Director of Athletic Communications Dennis Jezek, Jr., said. “Over a third of the 52 national championships for the division since 1968 have been won by the SSC and league alumni have accrued over 350 years of service in Major League Baseball. This record volume, which showcases the work of so many people, celebrates the league’s pride in the sport.”
Statistics for the SSC baseball record book were submitted by Athletic Communications Directors of current and former member institutions and compiled by the conference office. Only records of full conference members from 1978 to 2020 were used in compiling this record book.
Baseball was adopted as a league sport on April 8, 1976, and teams played their first SSC games in the Spring of 1978. Since those early games, the SSC has produced 209 ABCA All-Americans and 36 Major League Baseball players.
NCAA Division II Records...
The SSC's record book includes three single-season and three career NCAA Division II records: Cisco Johnson's blazing display of speed in 1987 in which he stole 96 bases in 49 games. Sam Militello's 182 strikeouts as Tampa won the 1990 regional championship. James Vida's 120 hits during Florida Southern's national runner-up finish in 1994. Rodd Kelley's 983 At-Bats for Tampa from 1991-94, Gregg Smyth's 509 innings pitched for Rollins from 1992-95. Nick Shaw's 215 walks for Barry from 2007-10.
National Championship History...
Tampa won the Division II national championship in 2019, the program's third this decade. Following UT's recent title, an SSC team has now reached the NCAA Division II finals site 43 times and won it all 19 times. While seven league teams have captured the regional championship, only four programs have won a national championship. Florida Southern leads the SSC and NCAA Division II with nine national baseball titles, the last coming in 2005. Tampa follows closely with its eight championships. Lynn joined the SSC baseball national championship ranks after winning it all in 2009, and Nova Southeastern went all the way in 2016.
MLB Success…
Since 2008, 150 SSC athletes have been drafted by MLB teams. Thirty-six found their way on to MLB rosters. Six alums have gone on to win the World Series a combined 10 times:
- Tino Martinez, Tampa (Yankees: 1996, 1998-00)
- Tim Wakefield, Florida Tech (Red Sox: 2004 & 2007)
- Jim Mecir, Eckerd (Yankees: 1996)
- Brett Tomko, Florida Southern (Yankees: 2009)
- J.D. Martinez, Nova Southeastern (Red Sox: 2018)
- Yan Gomes, Barry (Nationals: 2019)
Currently, there are 10 former SSC athletes on MLB 60-man rosters for the 2020 season.
What's next....
The baseball publication is the first record book in a multi-year project to develop similar documents across the league's 18 sports. SSC Athletic Communications Directors have identified lacrosse and soccer as the next record books for the conference office to compile. If you are aware of areas in need of correction or have any information that may be of use, please contact: SSC Associate Commissioner Robert Brennecke at rbrennecke@sunshinestateconference.com
See More: SSC Awards Database | 40 Great SSC Moments | SSC Hall of Fame