New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team, wooden-bat summer league for college players. It was founded in 1993 and is sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Teams play an eight-week, 44-game schedule in June and July, followed by playoffs in early August. The NECBL is a showcase for top college players and is considered one of the nation’s best summer leagues, along with the Cape Cod Baseball League, Northwoods League, and Coastal Plain League.
The league began under George Foster and Joseph Consentino, with play starting in 1994. It now operates in six New England states and recruits players from colleges across the United States and from other countries, provided they meet academic and eligibility rules. The commissioner is Sean McGrath, who took over after the 2012 season.
Over the years the league has grown and changed. It reached 13 teams in 2013 with Ocean State Waves (RI), Plymouth Pilgrims (MA), and Saratoga Brigade (NY), but the Brigade folded and the league dropped back to 12. The Upper Valley Nighthawks joined in 2016 to restore 13 teams. Plymouth folded in 2018 and was replaced by Martha’s Vineyard Sharks; New Bedford BaySox folded in 2019 and were replaced by Bristol Blues. North Shore Navigators returned in 2021 after time in another league, and Winnipesaukee Muskrats folded after the 2022 season.
In 2021 the league used two seven-team divisions and played 44 division-only games with seven-inning doubleheaders due to COVID. The top four teams in each division made an eight-team playoff, with best-of-three series to crown the champion. In 2022 the NECBL moved to three divisions with limited out-of-division play, and the three-division format continued through 2024. In 2025 the league returned to two divisions, with six teams in the North and seven in the South.
The Newport Gulls are the most successful club, with eight championships and 13 finals appearances. The Keene Swamp Bats have six titles, and the North Shore Navigators have four. The All-Star Game is usually held in July, with a Home Run Derby and a Special Skill Competition since 2007.
Many former NECBL players have reached Major League Baseball. All NECBL games are streamed online through the NECBL Broadcast Network, with live statistics from Pointstreak. In 2010 the league signed a Pointstreak deal for real-time scoring and stats, including Game Live play-by-play. In 2020 Blueframe became the league’s official streaming service.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:05 (CET).