2016 NSU Baseball Team
Head Coach Greg Brown guided the Sharks to the program's first NCAA National Championship, going a remarkable 10-1 during the postseason and went undefeated during the College World Series. The Sharks set a program record with 44 wins and Brown was named the ABCA Division II National Coach of the
Year.
After starting the season with an 11-10 record, Nova Southeastern rallied to go 33-6 including a 15-1 stretch in which the Sharks' only loss was to the University of Miami, the top-ranked team in NCAA Division I.
As a team, the Sharks offense combined to hit 0.304, outscored opponents 435-247, while hitting 85 home runs. Brandon Gomez carried the offense, leading the team in hits (79), home runs (21) and runs batted in (75), while carrying a 0.333 batting average and an incredible 1.071 on-base + slugging percentage. Alex Mateo anchored a pitching staff that finished the season with a 3.39 earned run average, while Devin Raftery set the single season program record for saves with
(17).
The Sharks featured four first-team Sunshine State Conference honorees – Brandon Gomez, Devin Raftery, Alex Mateo, and Julian Loret de Mola – and two second-team All-SSC honorees – Jancarlos Cintron and Kevin Suarez. Mateo earned Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Year honors, finishing the season with a win/loss record of 9-4 in 18 appearances, totaling 107 innings pitched with a 3.11 earned run average and 92 strikeouts.
Mateo, Devin Raftery and Brandon Gomez were recognized with first-team NCBWA and D2 CCA All-South Region honors, while Gomez and Mateo were also honored with first-team ABCA All-Region recognition. Gomez also was named a first-team NCBWA All-American and a third-team D2 CCA All-American. Raftery was recognized as a third-team NCBWA All-American and a D2 CCA All-American Honorable mention.
The Sharks had four Major League Baseball draftees as Daniel Zardon (17
th round/Philadelphia Philles), Alex Mateo (22
nd round/Miami Marlins), Alex Kline (29
th round/Philadelphia Phillies), and Jake Anchia (7
th Round (2018)/Seattle Mariners) were all chosen during the first-year player draft. Additionally, Devin Raftery signed a professional contract with the Houston Astros and JanCarlos Cintron signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Greg Brown, Eric Cruz and Justin Ramsey, two assistant coaches on the national championship staff, moved into professional baseball and have impacted their respective organizations. Brown was hired by the Tampa Bay Rays as their minor league hitting coordinator and later was hired as the major league hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs. Brown currently is an assistant to the general manager and the minor league hitting coordinator for the Cubs. Cruz, the recruiting coordinator for NSU, has been a South Florida area scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2016. Ramsey, NSU's pitching coach, has been a part of the Baltimore Orioles organization since 2019, working as the pitching coordinator and AAA pitching coach since 2019.
