WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – University of Saint Joseph (USJ) President Dr. Rhona Free and Director of Athletics Amanda Devitt are excited to announce that the University has made the decision to add baseball as its latest varsity sport offering. With the addition of baseball, USJ Athletics will now house 16 varsity programs starting in 2023-24. A search has begun to hire a head coach and a club team is anticipated to be created to compete during the 2022-23 academic year.
"We know that there are a lot of high school students who want the type of education they will get at USJ—rigorous training to prepare for professions; internships and clinical experiences with nearby major employers; the personal attention of a small college environment—and who also want to keep playing the sport that they love," stated USJ President Dr. Rhona Free. "There are more than 500,000 high school students who play baseball in this country each year, many of whom aspire to play in college. USJ can offer some of them the perfect opportunity for success."
"As the University of Saint Joseph continues to grow, we are excited to add another athletics program," stated Director of Athletics Amanda Devitt. "Baseball is a natural fit and will continue our tradition of Blue Jay Athletics. We look forward to welcoming more quality student-athletes to our campus."
The addition of baseball to USJ, which became a fully coeducational institution in the fall of 2018, will be the seventh men's program added, joining cross country, soccer, basketball, swimming & diving, lacrosse, and tennis. Men's tennis was most recently added at the club level for the 2021-22 academic year and is set to kick off its inaugural varsity season in the spring of 2023.
For women's programs, the Blue Jays will continue to sponsor eight long-standing varsity teams: basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, and volleyball. USJ also recently added field hockey, which just completed a successful inaugural season this past fall.
The USJ baseball program is initially anticipated to compete as a club team for the 2022-23 academic year with the plan to transition to a NCAA Division III varsity sport and compete in the spring of 2024. The Blue Jays will join the Great Northeast Athletic Conference which features 11 other baseball programs in the league: Albertus Magnus, Anna Maria, Colby-Sawyer, Dean, Elms, Johnson & Wales, Lasell, Norwich, Rivier, and Saint Joseph's (Me.). The conference champion earns an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Tournament each year.