NCAA Gainesville Regional – Friday, May 29-Monday, June 1, 2026
No. 4 Rider Broncs (33-18, 22-8 MAAC)
Location: Gainesville, FL / Condron Family Field
First Pitch: 1:00 PM Friday
Live Stats: HERE
Live Stream: ESPN+ - Friday
Twitter: @RiderUBaseball
Tournament Homepage – FloridaGators.com
Tickets – FloridaGators.com

What You Need to Know
- The Rider baseball team claimed its fifth MAAC Championship Saturday, defeating Fairfield, 6-1, in the winner-take-all championship game. The Broncs had previously won the Tournament Championship in 2023, 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.
- Rider bucked a MAAC Tournament trend, becoming the first one-seed to win the MAAC Tournament since 2016 behind dominant pitching performances, allowing a total of four runs in its three victories.
- There was no doubt who the MVP of the MAAC Tournament was going to be after the heroics of PJ Craig. In Rider's first game of the MAAC Tournament against Merrimack, Craig allowed two home runs in just three pitches during the second inning, but the senior allowed just one hit in the remainder of the contest, tossing a 104-pitch complete game, as Rider used a seven-run seventh inning to come from behind and earn an 8-2 win. Then after Fairfield forced the winner-take-all Championship Game, Craig started for Rider on just one day's rest and shut down the Stag's offense, firing seven scoreless innings, and facing just one batter over the minimum, using 83 pitches to earn his second victory on the mound in the three-day span.
- 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 27-6 this season when recording 10 or more hits.
- Rider is no stranger to the big inning, scoring five or more runs in an inning 20 times this season, and going 15-1 in the 16 games with an inning scoring five or more in a frame. Rider scored seven or more in a frame 4 times, led by the Broncs biggest inning of the season against Canisius with a 13-run fifth in the series opener.
- Charley Magoulick enters the regional riding a 20-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, and ranking 47^th nationally with a .298 team batting average. The Broncs also rank second in the league with 548 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 60^th at 1.47 and Hartmann 120^th at 1.40 hits per game.
- Shuhet is just ahead of Eliot Medlock for the team with 17 and 16 doubles this season, respectively, while Will Gallagher has shown patience at the plate with a team-high 42 walks. 
- Shuhet also leads both Rider and the MAAC with five triples, ranking 19^th in the country. His five triples are the most by any catcher in the nation.
- Anthony Paskell leads the team and is third in the MAAC with 58 runs scored on the year.
- On the mound, Craig has anchored the pitching staff with a 3.39 ERA across 95.2 innings, striking out a team-high 88 batters (the second-most in the MAAC) while posting a 9-3 record.
- Out of the bullpen, Aiello has been one of Rider's most reliable arms, recording a 3.04 ERA over 53.1 innings with 70 strikeouts, leading the conference and ranking 51^st nationally at 11.81 strikeouts per nine innings. His eight wins are third-most in the MAAC as part of an 8-2 record.
- Defensively, Rider has been among the nation's best, leading the MAAC with a .979 fielding percentage and just 38 errors, ranking 23^rd nationally. The Broncs also rank 11^th in the country in double plays per game (0.94).
- Rider enters the tournament ranked 49^th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 7.7 runs per game with 393 total runs scored this season.
 
Scouting the Regional Field

No. 1 #8 Florida
- Florida earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling in the semifinals of the SEC Championships to Georgia. The host Gators enter the tournament with a 39-19 record.
- The gators are led by sophomore pitcher Aidan King, who was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year. King finished the season 8-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, striking out 89 batters in 84.0 innings.
- The Gators last faced a MAAC opponent in the 2025 Conway Regional, when the Gators defeated Fairfield. Rider and Florida have met just once previously, in 1992.
- Rider's last win over an SEC opponent came in 2017, when the Broncs took two of three in a series from Georgia.

No. 2 Miami
- Miami earned an at-large bid out of the ACC, after falling in the ACC Semifinals to Georgia Tech.
- The Hurricanes and Broncs met for the only other time in program history in the 1994 Coral Gables Regional. 
- The Hurricanes are led offensively by Derek Williams and Alex Sosa. Williams has a team-high .376 average with 15 home runs and Sosa is hitting .332 with a team-best 17 home runs.
- Rider's last win over an ACC opponent came when the Broncs defeated Duke in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.

No. 3 Troy
- Troy received an at-large berth into the tournament after falling in the Sun Belt Championship game to Southern Miss.
- Troy and the Broncs met during the regular season in 1992 with the Trojans claiming the victory in both games that season.
- The Trojans are led by Jimmy Janicki who led Troy with a .350 average, 17 home runs, and 73 RBIs
- Rider's last win against a Sun Belt opponent came in the 2023 Conway regional, when the Broncs defeated top seeded and 10^th-ranked Coastal Carolina.