Broncs make their presence known in the NCAA Tournament, a loud 0-2 in regional play

By Joshua Yuhas

Hailing as the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, the Rider Broncs returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their 2023 appearance, when they upset the then 10th-ranked Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers.

In this installment, the Broncs traveled south to Florida for the Gainesville Regional, fighting until the end with the 8th-seeded University of Florida Gators on May 29, and later dueling the Troy University Trojans on May 30.

Almost deja vu

The MAAC Championship MVP in senior pitcher PJ Craig took the mound for the Broncs’ opening game against Florida on May 29.

Following a leadoff home run from the Gators, he found his groove, mixing his slider with his fastball to keep the Gators at bay and retiring the next seven batters he faced.

With a fastball sitting around 92 to 93 mph facing an SEC opponent that typically sees pitches averaging in the mid to high 90s, Craig was forced to be more in tune with the pitch selection throughout the game.

“Mixing looks. That was the gameplan all day, trying to set up the fastball to maybe sneak one by and mix in the cutter and slider a lot,” Craig said.

However, a sacrifice fly in the third inning, a one-run single in the fourth and a solo home run in the fifth extended the Gators lead to 4-0 entering the eighth inning.

Craig’s day ended after seven innings of work, leaving the Broncs within range to fight back after mustering just three hits off the Gators.

Following some rearranging on the basepaths, the Broncs held the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth inning, with senior outfielder Anthony Paskell coming to the plate.

Paskell faced a full count, but when presented with a high fastball, he sent the ball flying over the left field wall to tie the game at 4-4.

A double from sophomore first baseman Charley Magoulick extended the inning and junior catcher Nick Shuhet launched a home run over the right-center wall to give the Broncs a two-run lead.

“Seeing the guys come through like that to take the lead was really special. We really thought we were going to pull the upset,” Craig said.

Florida would lift two long balls of their own to take the lead in the bottom half, leaving just three outs if Rider wanted to pull out the win.

Senior shortstop Matt Leahy stood up to the challenge, when he sent his first home run of the season, tying the game back at 7-7.

The Gators walked the game off with a solo home run to defeat the Broncs 8-7, but not without the Rider Broncs bringing the fight to the nationally ranked No. 8 Florida Gators.

“We certainly proved that we should be there, or at least they knew we were there,” Acting Head Coach Barry Davis said.

‘Playing with the big boys’

Following the loss against the Gators, the Broncs moved down to take on the Trojans, with sophomore pitcher Kyle Batt leading the way on the mound.

The Trojans got on the board first with an RBI fielder’s choice in the bottom half of the second inning, but the Broncs responded right back.

A Leahy single and a walk from senior infielder Will Gallagher set up for a one-run single from senior outfielder Erich Hartmann, scoring Leahy. Then, senior outfielder Kyle Neri lifted a sacrifice fly to score Gallagher for a 2-1 lead after three innings.

Rider added on one more in the fourth with three consecutive singles by Magoulick, Shuhet and finally the RBI knock by sophomore infielder Eliot Medlock.

The Trojans took another run back in the fifth, where Batt’s outing would close with 4.2 innings pitched and just two runs allowed.

Medlock brought the lead back to two in the top half of the sixth inning, but the Trojans rattled off a nine-run bottom half.

Troy added four additional runs in the eighth with Rider bringing three of those back in the final frame, but ultimately fell 15-7.

With an 0-2 record, the Broncs were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, despite their unrelenting fight and the overall positive atmosphere from the Broncs’ view.

“The experience is something they will treasure for the rest of their lives. … You’re playing with the big boys,” Davis said.

A historic year

Back in the winter, the Rider Broncs were positioned as the second-ranked team in the MAAC preseason poll and were expected to be a top competitor in the conference.

Milestones were reached at each step of the road, with Neri and Hartmann reaching 100 career RBIs and Shuhet and Magoulick each surpassing the 100-hit threshold.

First team All-MAAC Honors were given to Craig, Shuhet, Magoulick and Neri, alongside second team honors for senior pitcher Chirstian Aiello and Hartmann.

The fight for the regular-season championship came with a close battle, and on May 15, a 4-3 victory against the St. Peter’s University Peacocks sealed the Broncs’ second straight regular-season championship.

The road to the MAAC Championship began with the Broncs holding the top seed, taking down the Merrimack University Warriors 8-2 off a 104-pitch complete game by Craig and a seven-run seventh inning.

Homers from Neri and sophomore infielder Peter Crespo paired with a stellar outing from Batt on the start and Aiello in relief, stranding the bases loaded and closing the following four innings, led to a 5-1 win over Fairfield University and an advancement to the finals.

With the Fairfield University Stags emerging back from the loser’s bracket, the Broncs fell 12-7 after a nine-run eighth inning by the Stags in the opening game of the final.

In the final game of the Championship, Craig, on one day’s rest, paired with Batt and Aiello on no day’s rest, shut down the Stags for a 6-1 win.

The 2026 Rider baseball team etched their mark as the first team in program history to win the regular season and MAAC Championship in the same season.

“They accomplished one thing that no team I’ve coached has done. I’ve been there for 21 years, and we had never done that,” Davis said.

In a season with tough battles and heroic efforts, the Broncs showed their talent and chemistry as a team, providing a valuable experience for the group of guys.

“We’re such a close group and getting experiences together was something special, especially to wrap up the year,” Craig said.