Latest news with #NAIA
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fort Collins native plays key role for record-setting 59-0 college baseball champions
Former Fort Collins baseball player Diego Aragon poses with the NAIA national championship trophy with father Kieth on May 30, 2025 after helping LSU Shreveport finish 59-0 in a record-setting season. Perfection on the diamond includes a familiar name in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado baseball. The LSU Shreveport baseball team finished off a perfect 59-0 season and national championship May 30 with a 13-7 win over Southeastern University in the NAIA World Series championship game in Lewiston, Idaho. Advertisement It's believed to be the first perfect season and longest winning streak at any level of collegiate baseball. And former Fort Collins High School player Diego Aragon was right in the center of the dogpile. The fifth-year senior was an everyday player for the Pilots, hitting .346 with a .476 on-base percentage in 54 games. Even better? Aragon was named to the All-Tournament team at catcher after going 4-for-11 with seven RBIs, four walks plus a double and a triple in the Pilots' four World Series games. He was a key part of an absolutely dominant season rarely seen at any level of baseball. LSU Shreveport outscored World Series opponents 49-17, won 27 total games by double digits and eight more by at least 15 runs. It was also the school's first national championship in any sport. Advertisement Aragon was the Pilots' primary catcher, committing just two errors all season for a .995 fielding percentage. The super senior got his start in Fort Collins, playing for the Lambkins from 2017-19 before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled his senior season. Aragon began his college career at Indian Hills Community College before transferring to LSU Shreveport before the 2023 season. He gradually earned a bigger role the last two seasons before a sensational senior campaign, when he hit 7 homers with 14 doubles and 46 RBIs. Aragon is the son of Keith, a former Colorado State player and longtime softball head coach and baseball assistant at Fort Collins High School. Younger sisters Tyla and Tatum have been softball standouts for the Lambkins, while younger brother Niko is a rising baseball junior at FCHS. Advertisement Diego celebrated on the field with Keith after the game, posing together for a photo with the championship trophy. The Pilots broke the NAIA-record winning percentage of .935, set when Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) went 43-3 in 1996. The NCAA Division I record is the .914 mark compiled by Arizona State (64-6) in 1972. Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins native plays key role in LSU Shreveport baseball's 59-0 run
2 days ago
- Sport
59-0! NAIA champ the first college baseball team on record to go unbeaten
LSU Shreveport became the first college baseball team on record to go unbeaten, finishing 59-0 when it won the NAIA championship in Lewiston, Idaho. The Pilots' perfect season ended with a 13-7 victory over Southeastern (Florida) on Friday night and gave the 10,000-student school in northwest Louisiana its first national title in any sport. For 25 years LSU Shreveport has been one of the top programs in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which governs sports at 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The Pilots have appeared in the NAIA national tournament every year since 2005 and the NAIA World Series in 2021, 2022 and 2025. They're 270-49 in six seasons under coach Brad Neffendorf, including 142-13 in Red River Athletic Conference play. LSU Shreveport played only four games decided by one run this season, ranked second in the NAIA with 11.3 runs per game and third with a .361 batting average. The Pilots' 2.38 ERA was more than a run better than the next-closest team, and they led the nation with a .982 fielding percentage. Josh Gibson, at .436, was one of three players on the team to bat better than .400, and Isaac Rohde struck out an NAIA-leading 146 and had a 2.09 ERA while going 16-0. The Pilots broke the NAIA-record winning percentage of .935, set when Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) went 43-3 in 1996. The NCAA top single-season winning percentages are .914 by Arizona State (64-6 in 1972) in Division I, .939 by Savannah State of Georgia (46-3 in 2000) in Division II and .978 by Trinity of Connecticut (45-1 in 2008) in Division III.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
LSU Shreveport does impossible in mind-boggling historic season
No baseball team is ever going to go 162-0, but 59-0 is now proven possible. LSU Shreveport became the first college baseball team ever to go undefeated when it finished off a perfect season Friday by beating Southeastern, 13-7, to capture the NAIA championship. The NAIA is different from the NCAA and governs more than 250 mostly small schools across the country. Athletes compete in 16 sports for 29 championships while earning $1.3 billion in scholarships. LSU Shreveport's dream was in danger — 58-1 without a championship would have been the ultimate heartbreaker — when it fell behind 4-0 in the second inning of the championship game. The Pilots didn't take the lead for good until a five-run outburst in the sixth. LSU Shreveport has appeared in the national tournament every year since 2005 and was making its third NAIA World Series trip since 2021. But this season was another level of dominance en route to the program's first national championship under sixth-year head coach Brad Neffendorf. LSU Shreveport finished their season at 59-0. Instagram/@lsusathletics 'It's hard to still comprehend,' Neffendorf told the school's Facebook page. 'It's hard to know that it's over because it's been such an unbelievable group, but it's 35 years in the making.' The Pilots only played four one-run games, averaged 11.3 runs per game, hit .361 as a team and launched 76 home runs. LSU Shreveport made history in their perfect season. Instagram/@lsusathletics All 11 players who had at least 100 at-bats over the season hit better .300, including three .400 hitters. They were just as good, if not better, on the mound (2.38 ERA) and in the field (.982 fielding percentage) — both of which led the nation. LSU Shreveport's winning streak is the longest ever at any level of college baseball. Fittingly, the Pilots ranked No. 1 in every NAIA poll from the preseason through the final pitch. By comparison, the NCAA's best single-season records belong to Arizona State (64-6 in 1972) in Division I, Savannah State (46-3 in 2000) in Division II and Trinity (45-1 in 2008) in Division III, according to The Associated Press.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
59 for 59: LSU Shreveport become first college baseball team to go unbeaten
LSU Shreveport became the first college baseball team on record to go unbeaten, finishing 59-0 when they won the NAIA championship in Lewiston, Idaho. The Pilots' perfect season ended with a 13-7 victory over Southeastern (Florida) on Friday night and gave the 10,000-student school in northwest Louisiana its first national title in any sport. For 25 years LSU Shreveport have been one of the top programs in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which governs sports at 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The Pilots have appeared in the NAIA national tournament every year since 2005 and the NAIA World Series in 2021, 2022 and 2025. They're 270-49 in six seasons under coach Brad Neffendorf, including 142-13 in Red River Athletic Conference play. LSU Shreveport played only four games decided by one run this season, ranked second in the NAIA with 11.3 runs per game and third with a .361 batting average. The Pilots' 2.38 ERA was more than a run better than the next-closest team, and they led the nation with a .982 fielding percentage. Josh Gibson, at .436, was one of three players on the team to bat better than .400, and Isaac Rohde struck out an NAIA-leading 146 and had a 2.09 ERA while going 16-0. The Pilots broke the NAIA-record winning percentage of .935, set when Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) went 43-3 in 1996. The NCAA top single-season winning percentages are .914 by Arizona State (64-6 in 1972) in Division I, .939 by Savannah State of Georgia (46-3 in 2000) in Division II and .978 by Trinity of Connecticut (45-1 in 2008) in Division III.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NCAA vs. NAIA: Explaining the key differences
NCAA vs. NAIA: Explaining the key differences LSU Shreveport won the NAIA National Championship Friday, 13-7 over Southeastern, the first national title for any sport in school history. The Pilots need their season at 59-0, the first undefeated season in collegiate baseball history. The NAIA and NCAA are often confused, but they're separate organizations. The main differences between the two governing bodies are their size, structure and goals. The NCAA, which is significantly larger, has over 1,100 member schools and around 500,000 student-athletes across three divisions — I, II and III. The NAIA is made up of 250 members with around 77,000 student-athletes with one division. The NCAA, especially at the Division I level, emphasizes high-level competition with large budgets and world-class facilities. The NAIA schools don't have the same spending power. However, NAIA schools can offer scholarships, much like a D-II college can. The NAIA also grants more flexibility when it comes to admission standards. The NCAA typically maintains stricter academic guidelines that aren't found at the NAIA level. While both entities encourage fair and healthy competition among its student-athletes, the financial implications and talent levels are what separate the play of NCAA and NAIA institutions.
