A total of 29 home games at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium, including the 22nd annual Keith LeClair Classic, as well as 25 contests against teams slotted in the top 100 of the final 2023 RPI rankings help comprise the East Carolina baseball program’s 2025 competition schedule released by 11th-year head coach Cliff Godwin.
CLICK HERE to see the 2025 schedule
The five-time defending American Athletic Conference regular season champion Pirates are slated to play 17 games (nine at home) against teams that qualified for an NCAA Regional a season ago as well as 13 against squads ranked or receiving votes in the final 2024 Top 25 polls.
Renewal applications for baseball are in the process of being mailed to 2024 season ticket holders, but fans can utilize ECU’s Online Ticket Center, reserve by phone (252-737-4500) or visit the ticket box office in the meantime. Season ticket prices remain the same in 2025, continuing to be lower than peers in state and conference opponents. Chairback tickets are less than $8 a ticket and Economy Plan tickets are fewer than $5 a game for the season.
“We are extremely excited about the schedule we have put together this season,” Godwin said. “As a program, we always look to test ourselves against the best in preparation for a deep postseason run. This schedule is chock full of nationally recognized opponents who will push us to play at an elite level each time out. Pirate Nation, make sure to get your season tickets today and help us continue making Clark-LeClair Stadium one of the top venues in all of college baseball. GO PIRATES!”
The 91st season of collegiate baseball at ECU begins with a three-game home set against George Mason (Feb. 14-16) followed by the traditional first midweek trip to in-state rival Campbell (Feb. 18). The Pirates then take on 2024 College World Series participant North Carolina Feb. 21-23 in what has become an annual traveling series – this season comprised of one game in Greenville (Friday), a neutral site bout at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Saturday) and a single contest in Chapel Hill (Sunday).
After hosting Old Dominion Feb. 25, East Carolina heads right back to the friendly confines for the 22nd iteration of the Keith LeClair Classic (Feb. 28-March 2) which currently features games against mid-major powerhouse Indiana State and Virginia Tech.
In addition to the George Mason series and LeClair Classic, ECU hosts Coastal Carolina (March 7-9), William & Mary (March 14-16), Elon (April 2), NC State (April 9), UNCW (April 15) and Campbell (May 13) in non-conference play.
The remainder of the non-league road schedule includes additional tilts with VCU (March 11-12), Duke (March 25), UNCW (April 1), NC State (April 22) and Elon (April 29) as well as a pair of neutral site encounters with Gardner-Webb (March 4 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park) and UNCW (March 18 at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville).
East Carolina begins its quest for an unprecedented sixth-straight AAC regular season title with a home series versus Memphis (March 21-24). The Pirates will also entertain Florida Atlantic (April 4-6), Tulane (April 25-27) and UTSA (May 9-11) while paying visits to Rice (March 28-30), Charlotte (April 11-13), UAB (April 17-19), Wichita State (May 2-4) and South Florida (May 15-17).
The American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship (May 20-25) will once again be held at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., – the home of the Clearwater Threshers (Single A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies). East Carolina will attempt to reach the title game of the tournament for the third time in the last four seasons as well as the sixth time since joining the league in 2015.
NCAA Regional (May 30-June 2) and Super Regional (June 6-9) campus sites will be determined in May, while the College World Series will be contested at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., from June 13-23. ECU looks to host a regional for the sixth time in the last seven years after doing so in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Godwin has guided East Carolina to eight NCAA Regional berths (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024 regional host), four Super Regional appearances (2022 host), a pair of AAC Tournament crowns and a 397-187-1 (.679) overall record. Under his direction, 14 players have earned All-America status while 25 have been named to NCAA All-Regional Teams. Additionally, 46 student-athletes have garnered all-conference honors (27 first-team selections) and 28 players have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The 2024-25 recruiting class consists of six infielders (Alex Bouche, Braden Burress, Neil Griffin, Austin Irby, Braxton Tramel and Roger Vergara), four outfielders (Drew Downs, Jack Herring, David Lillis and Alex Peltier), two catchers (John Collins and Michael Kalinich), 11 right-handed pitchers (Brett Antolick, Tyler Brashear, Talor Grubbs, Trevor Jackson, Sean Jenkins, Dawson Kehr, Brad Pruett, Ian White Jr., Lance Williams, Ethan Young and Bradley Zayac) and four left-handed pitchers (Gabe Beschloss, Nick Moran, Dawson Neal and Ryan Towers).
ECU returns 16 players, including 2024 AAC Defensive Player of the Year and first team all-conference selection Ryley Johnson as well as Freshman All-America honoree and AAC All-Freshman Team pick Ethan Norby. As it stands, the roster consists of 21 freshmen, nine sophomores, 10 juniors, three seniors and one graduate student.