Penn State Behrend Baseball Recognized in Winningest NCAA Division III Programs of Decade
The NCAA has included the baseball program at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, among its most successful Division III baseball programs of the last decade, based on winning percentage and total wins.
In the NCAA’s most recent posting, the Behrend Lions baseball team ranked 33rd for winning percentage, having won 65.7 percent of its games, and racked up 275 wins, placing it at number 30 on the charts. Currently, there are more than 320 baseball programs at the NCAA Division III level.
“We are fortunate to have had several top-notch players and assistant coaches involved in our baseball program over the years, and we have managed to mesh together to achieve a great deal of success,” said Paul Benim, head coach.
The Penn State Behrend team earned back-to-back championship seasons recently. The 2009 team posted a 16-2 regular-season record in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), a fourth-place regional ranking in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic region polls, and national rankings in other polls. The team then earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament and finished the season with an overall record of 31-13, placing them fourth in the college’s history books for most wins. In addition, three players earned ABCA-Rawlings All-Region honors and three made the ECAC South All-Star squad. The program also had its fifth AMCC Player of the Year.
“Penn State Behrend is a great place for positive academic and athletic experiences alike. The future of Behrend Lions baseball looks very exciting,” added Benim, who will enter his 18th season as a head coach this fall. Benim is the college’s all-time leader in baseball coaching victories with a 353-212-2 record during 14 seasons and posts a career head coach mark of 435-249-2.
For more information about Penn State Behrend athletics, visit behrend.psu.edu/athletics.