MAAC Championships Wed. May 20-Sat. May 23, 2026
No. 1 Rider Broncs (30-17, 22-8 MAAC)
Location: Wappingers Falls, NY / Heritage Financial Field
First Pitch: 11:00 AM Thursday
Live Stats: HERE
Live Stream: ESPN+ - Thursday
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
Tournament Homepage – MAACSports.com
Tickets – MAACSports.com

What You Need to Know
- The Rider baseball team begins its quest for its fifth MAAC Championship in program history on Thursday afternoon. 
- The Broncs last won the MAAC Tournament Championship in the 2023, defeating Fairfield in a winner-take-all Championship game, 18-4, to capture the title. The Broncs also won the Tournament Championship in 2021, 2010, and 2008.
- Rider won the regular season title for the second-straight season, and fourth time in program history, going 22-8 in league play to finish two games above the remaining teams in the league.
- Niagara stands as the only team to win a conference series against Rider, taking two out of three games back in the first weekend of May.
- Rider has scored 10 or more runs in 17 games this season and owns a 15-2 record in those contests.
- The Broncs are also 25-6 this season when recording 10 or more hits.
- Charley Magoulick enters the tournament riding a 16-game hitting streak.

About the Broncs
- Rider's offense has continued to produce at one of the top levels in the MAAC, leading the conference with a .299 team batting average. The Broncs also rank second in the league with 510 hits.
- Four Broncs earned First-Team All-MAAC honors with Kyle Neri and PJ Craig both being named to the All-MAAC First Team for the second time in their respective careers. Nick Shuhet and Charley Magoulick both earned All-MAAC honors for the first time in their careers, joining them on the First Team.
- Erich Hartmann and Christian Aiello were selected as Second Team All-MAAC honorees.
- Nationally, Neri ranks 58^th in the country in hits per game (1.47), while Magoulick sits 61^st at 1.47 and Hartmann 67^th at 1.46 hits per game.
- Eliot Medlock is tied with Shuhet for the team with 15 doubles this season, while Will Gallagher has shown patience at the plate with a team-high 39 walks. 
- Shuhet also leads both Rider and the MAAC with five triples, ranking 19^th in the country.
- Anthony Paskell leads the team and is third in the MAAC with 54 runs scored on the year.
- On the mound, PJ Craig has anchored the pitching staff with a 3.84 ERA across 79.2 innings, striking out a team-high 76 batters (the third-most in the MAAC) while posting a 7-3 record.
- Out of the bullpen, Aiello has been one of Rider's most reliable arms, recording a 3.38 ERA over 48.0 innings with 63 strikeouts, leading the conference and ranking 47^th nationally at 11.81 strikeouts per nine innings. His seven wins are second-most in the MAAC as part of a 7-2 record.
- Defensively, Rider has been among the nation's best, leading the MAAC with a .978 fielding percentage and just 37 errors, ranking 31^st nationally. The Broncs also rank 30^th in the country in double plays per game (0.87).
- Rider enters the tournament ranked 47^th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 7.8 runs per game with 367 total runs scored this season.

Last Time Out
- The Broncs are coming off a series sweep of Saint Peter's that clinched the Bronc's second-straight MAAC Regular Season championship.
- Rider got the MAAC Championship clinching victory in game two of the series when Jake Dorety entered with two on and one out in a 2-2 game in the top of the sixth. Dorety got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts, then Magoulick and Matt Leahy got RBIs in the bottom half of the inning, before the Broncs held on for the 4-3 win.
 
Scouting the Tournament Field

No. 2 Niagara
- Niagara enters the MAAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed after a strong regular season, finishing the season 26-19-1 overall and 20-10 in league play.
- Andrew Damiani has been key out of the pen for the Purple Eagles, producing a 2.60 ERA and a program-record 11 saves to be named MAAC Reliever of the Year.
- Jacob Brooks and Rees Kozar both earned All-MAAC honors for Niagara in the field.
- The Purple Eagles were the lone MAAC team to beat the Broncs in a series this year in one of the wildest series of season. After Niagara won game one, 12-3, Rider came back to win game two, 26-2, before game three went scoreless into extra innings where Niagara earned the walk-off win, 1-0.

No. 3 Fairfield
- The defending MAAC Tournament Champions, Fairfield, enter tournament play as the three-seed, finishing the regular season 27-21 overall, and 20-10 in MAAC play.
- Offensively, Fairfield is led by Matthew Bucciero, who led the MAAC in homers (20), RBI (54), and slugging percentage (.735) on his way to being named MAAC Player of the Year.
- On the mound, Ben Alekson was named MAAC Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference with a 2.53 ERA.
- Rider topped Fairfield in the season series, taking two of three. Fairfield topped Rider in game one 10-3, before the Broncs came back to win game two 6-3, and then captured the rubber game 9-8 in a 13-inning marathon when Conner Flynn tossed 4.2 innings of relief, allowing just a single run to pick up the victory. 

No. 4 Merrimack
- After being picked to finish 12^th in the preseason poll, the Warriors tied for second in the regular season, going 26-27 overall, and 20-10 in conference play.
- Merrimack head coach Brian Murphy was named MAAC Coach of the Year.
- The Warrior's offense is led by First Team All-MAAC selections Matt DeShiro and Joey Frammartino. DeShiro concluded the regular season batting .322 (74-for-230) with 48 RBIs and a team-high 60 runs scored. Frammartino tallied a team-high .975 OPS with a .320 average (57-for-178). He ranked second on the team in both RBI (52) and runs scored (46).
- Colby Barker leads the Warrior's pitching staff with a 4.18 ERA and a MAAC-best eight wins.
- The Broncs and Warriors did not meet in the regular season this year.

No. 5 Canisius
- Canisius enters the Championship 21-25 overall, and 17-13 in conference games.
- Thomas Zwirecki leads the Canisius offense, ranking second in the MAAC in batting average (.371) and first in on-base percentage (0.487).
- On the mound, Felix Morin posted a strong senior season. The left-hander tossed a career-high 81.1 innings, striking out 67 batters and picking up five wins. His 2.77 ERA ranks second in the MAAC.
- The Broncs took two of three from the Golden Griffins this season, winning game one 15-3, falling in game two, 8-2, then winning the rubber game 15-7.

No. 6 Marist
- Marist finished the regular season at 23-28 overall and 17-13 in MAAC play.
- Nathan Lincoln paces the Red Foxes offense, hitting .342 on the season with a team-high 50 RBIs, despite not hitting a single home run. Chris Diaz has hit a team-best seven home runs on the year.
- On the mound, Tyler Hartley is 5-4 with a 7.71 ERA and is the only pitcher on the Marist staff to throw over 50 innings this season.
- Rider took two of three from the Red Foxes in the regular season, winning game one, 9-2, falling in game two, 8-3, then winning the rubber game, 9-3.