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Cameron Gordon of Piqua throws a final pitch prior to the announcement
that Edison’s baseball team
will join the NJCAA as a Division II member.
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Edison Baseball
Steps Up to Plate, Joins NJCAA
The Edison Community College Athletics Department has announced that
the baseball team will be joining the National Junior College Athletic
Association (NJCAA) in the fall of 2015. This announcement was made
following the final game of the Charger baseball season earlier this
month.
Head coach Dr. Tom Martinez was instrumental in revitalizing the
college’s baseball program four years ago and is ecstatic to see it
progress to the next level. “Without the outstanding support from the
college community, many of these players would have ended their
baseball careers at the high school level. This move will change the
landscape of collegiate level baseball in our area and I am proud to
have been able to help get it there.”
With this announcement, Martinez hopes to add to his team of
high-caliber athletes. “We have been competitive from the start,
recruiting quality student-athletes. By joining the NJCAA, we hope to
raise the legitimacy of our program in the eyes of high school athletes
and coaches. I want as many as forty players on the roster so we can
break it down to the best twenty-four man roster possible.”
“We will also be returning as many as 6 players who will be expected to
not only be leaders, but trailblazers,” added Martinez. “All of these
players were recruited with the intent of playing on the NJCAA level.
They will fight for a starting spot and it would surprise me if all of
them were not significant league leaders in their respective positions.”
Transitioning from the National Club Baseball Association to a Division
II NJCAA team will take some work but Martinez is up for the challenge.
“The same goes with any team I have coached—patience, experience, and
work will be the basis for which I develop these players.”
In addition to building the team, planning is underway to renovate the
college’s baseball field. To help with this revitalization, a
partnership has been formed with Premier Health who will be recognized
with naming rights to the field.
“We are making a substantial investment in our current baseball field
which will include new fencing, dugouts, and a scoreboard. Construction
will begin as early as this summer and the end product will be a
top-of-the-line baseball facility,” said Nate Cole, Edison’s Director
of Athletics and Student Life.
“We are very excited about this new chapter for our baseball program
and we’re looking forward to bringing more local student-athletes to
our campus and promoting positive growth for both the athletic
department and the college,” added Cole.
All Edison Community College athletic teams now compete in the Ohio
Community College Athletic Conference and are Division II members of
the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Since 1938, the NJCAA has been the governing body of two-year college
athletics, offering athletic and academic opportunities to college
students. The NJCAA is the second largest national intercollegiate
athletic organization in the United States with over 500 member schools
in 43 states.
To play baseball for the Chargers, contact Tom Martinez by emailing
tmartinez@edisonohio.edu<mailto:tmartinez@edisonohio.edu> or
calling 937.778.7935. For more information about Edison’s athletic
programs, visit www.edisonohio.edu/athletics
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