The Seawolves are the first team from the Northeast to reach the College World Series since 1986.
Last night Stony Brook became the second No. 4 regional seed to reach the College World Series since the tournament expanded to 64 in 1999, beating traditional powerhouse LSU 7-2 in game three of their best-of-three series in Baton Rouge, La.
The Seawolves are the first team from the northeast region to reach the CWS since the University of Maine in 1986.
To put this is perspective, Greg Vaughan played for Miami (Florida), and Albert Belle played for LSU in that year’s tournament.
So what does any of this have to do with UMass?
In a sport that’s dominated by schools from the West Coast and South, seeing a fellow northeastern team reach Omaha is a positive sign for Minutemen coach Mike Stone.
Stony Brook celebrates after defeating LSU in game three of their NCAA Super Regional series in Baton Rouge, La. Stone also said this was no fluke.
“They look they belong,” Stone said. “I talked to an umpire who did over 100 games this year and he said they were one of the best teams he saw all year.”
Perhaps even more impressive, the Seawolves aren’t just at a regional disadvantage, either. We know money can’t buy happiness (actually, I don’t, I’ve never had any), but can it buy College World Series appearances?
The evidence suggests it doesn’t hurt.
Take a look at the baseball spending of the schools in last three College World Series fields. We’ll also throw Stony Brook, UMass and the A-10 average up there for comparison’s sake. The number in parentheses is the school’s national rank for expenses that season.
2011
South Carolina: $4,233,588 (1)
Texas: $3,895,016 (3)
Vanderbilt: $3,820,467 (4)
Florida: $2,863,976 (7)
Texas A&M: $2,617,475 (10)
Virginia: $2,080,057 (23)
North Carolina: $1,464,546.00 (45)
California: $1,401,025.00 (52)
Stony Brook: $597,543 (200)
UMass: $409,325 (259)
Atlantic 10 Average: $694,614
2010
South Carolina: $3,415,298 (3)
Arizona State: $3,085,920 (5)
TCU: $2,677,501 (8)
Florida: $2,353,753 (10)
Oklahoma: $2,100,141 (17)
Florida State: $1,947,559 (20)
UCLA: $1,895,840 (21)
Clemson: $1,715,562 (27)
Stony Brook: $573,155 (198)
UMass: $441,238 (244)
Atlantic 10 Average: $657,076
2009
LSU: $5,773,460 (2)
Texas: $3,881,047 (3)
Arkansas: $2,394,469 (8)
Arizona State: $1,963,112 (16)
Virginia: $1,716,975 (23)
North Carolina: $1,410,966 (40)
Cal State-Fullerton: $1,044,402 (72)
Southern Mississippi: $863,037 (100)
Stony Brook: $579,455 (189)
UMass: $474,869 (224)
Atlantic 10 Average: $627,902
SOURCE: Office of Postsecondary Education Equity in Athletics Data Cutting Tool
A gap between rich teams and poor teams in baseball is nothing new. They even made a movie out of it. Perhaps if the Seawolves’ magical run continues, they’ll make a movie out of that too.