East Carolina’s baseball team is set to play Florida in the NCAA Tournament.
The two teams play at noon in the Conway Regional. Below is more information from ECU Sports Information. Videos and other elements are from Pirate Radio.
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Photo credit: ECU celebrating after winning the AAC Tournament title (ECU Sports Information photo)
The American Athletic Conference champion East Carolina baseball team will make its 35th NCAA Regional appearance Friday afternoon, opening up the Conway Regional versus No. 17 Florida inside Spring Brooks Stadium on the campus of Coastal Carolina University.
The Pirates are slated to square off with the Gators at 12 p.m. before the regional top seed and No. 13 national seed Chanticleers face regional No. 4 seed Fairfield at 6 p.m. ECU’s game against the Gators will air live on ESPN2 with Richard Cross and Todd Walker on the call. Pirate Radio will also provide coverage on our Facebook, X and Instagram pages.
East Carolina, winner of its fourth AAC Tournament title with an 8-2 victory over Tulane last Sunday at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., holds a 33-25 overall record entering regional action. Freshman outfielder Braden Burgess, who played second base during the league tourney, was named the event’s Most Outstanding Player while Walker Barron, Jack Herring, Austin Irby, Sean Jenkins, Ryley Johnson, Colby Wallace and Dixon Williams were also tabbed to the All-Tournament Team.
Burress tops the Pirates, the American Conference and all freshmen nationally with a .392 batting average while Williams checks in with a .296 average and team-high marks in doubles (12), home runs (13), walks drawn (47) and stolen bases (12). ECU is hitting a collective .275 with 84 doubles, five triples and 69 home runs as well as 244 walks drawn and 67 stolen bases. The Pirate pitching staff sports a 5.04 earned run average with 524 strikeouts and 240 walks in exactly 500.0 innings of work.
East Carolina has qualified for regional competition in 21 of the last 26 seasons (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic) and nine times (seven consecutive) during head coach Cliff Godwin‘s 11-year tenure after traveling to the Coral Gables (Fla.) Regional in 2015, Charlottesville (Va.) Regional in 2016 and 2023, Conway (S.C.) Regional in 2025 and hosting in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
The Conway Regional is paired with the Auburn Regional hosted by No. 4 overall seed Auburn. That field also includes No. 2 seed NC State, No. 3 seed Stetson and No. 4 seed Central Connecticut State.
Of the 64 teams announced Monday, the Pirates own a 2-9 overall record in 2025 against five institutions: Coastal Carolina (1-2), Duke (0-1), North Carolina (0-3), NC State (0-1) and UTSA (1-2).
Each of the 16 regionals features four teams in a double-elimination format. The regionals will be played from Friday, May 30 to Monday, June 2 (if necessary). Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.NCAA.com/mcws, Tuesday, June 3 by 10 a.m. (ET). The Men’s College World Series begins play Friday, June 13, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
Projected Pitching Matchup
LHP Ethan Norby (7-5, 3.81 ERA, 82.2 IP) vs. RHP Liam Peterson (8-3, 4.10 ERA, 68.0 IP)
About Florida
The Gators (38-20) started out 1-11 in Southeastern Conference play but have been on a tear – winning six consecutive league series (Missouri, Mississippi State, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas and Alabama) to end the regular season before falling to Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Colby Shelton is the top statistical hitter on the club at .377 and a team-best 19 doubles while Bobby Boser paces the squad in home runs (16). Florida’s pitching unit owns a 4.84 ERA with 621 strikeouts and 236 walks in 482.0 innings. Kevin O’Sullivan is in his 18th season as head coach at the institution, leading the Gators to the 2017 national title as well as nine College World Series appearances.
The Florida Series
Florida leads the all-time series with East Carolina by a 4-0 margin, but the teams have not met since 1994 when the Gators swept a non-conference set in Gainesville to begin the 1994 campaign.
Individual Notables
Head Coach Cliff Godwin: Became the winningest head coach in program history May 22 … Owns 430 career victories … Has been part of 16 NCAA Regional and two College World Series teams at the Division I level as an assistant coach and head coach … Guided ECU to nine NCAA Regional berths (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024 Greenville Regional hosts), four Super Regional appearances, five American Athletic Conference regular season titles and four AAC Tournament crowns while posting a 430-212-1 (.670) overall record … Under Godwin’s direction, 14 players have earned All-America status while 25 have been named to NCAA All-Regional Teams. Additionally, 50 student-athletes have garnered all-conference status (28 first-team selections) and 28 players have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams. … A five-time AAC Coach-of-the-Year selection (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024), Godwin was inducted into the George Whitfield Hall of Fame in January of 2016 … In 2018, he completed a summer stint on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team staff that posted a 12-3 record that included series wins over Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba … As a player, he helped former ECU skipper Keith LeClair’s teams post a 169-76 four-year ledger, including 46-plus wins in each of his final three seasons (46-16 in ’99, 46-18 in ’00 and 47-13 in ’01) … ECU won a pair of CAA Tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Regionals every season from 1999 to 2001 … The Pirates were the top seed in their regional all three years, including a No. 7 national seed in 2001 where they advanced to the Super Regional round versus Tennessee.
Walker Barron: Has started 56 games at catcher … Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Registered a hit in every game of the North Carolina series … Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a home run versus Gardner-Webb … Logged three hits in the Coastal Carolina series finale … Drove in three runs in the 19-6 run rule win over William & Mary … Recorded two hits and scored two runs in the Rice series finale … Posted a career five RBI and three hits in the Charlotte series finale … Notched two RBI versus Charlotte in a winner’s bracket game at the AAC Tournament.
Alex Bouche: Has started 53 games at shortstop … Clubbed a walk off home run in the George Mason series rubber game … Went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a double and a home run in Chapel Hill … Logged two hits and a pair of RBI in the win over Virginia Tech … Scored two runs in the win over Gardner-Webb … Collected three hits and two RBI in the series opener at VCU … Notched three hits in the William & Mary series finale … Hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to lift the Pirates to a 10-6 win at UNCW … Went 7-for-13 in the Wichita State series.
Braden Burress: Selected the AAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player … Named to the AAC Weekly Honorable Mention List (April 21) … Leads the team and conference while slotting 27th nationally in batting average (.392) … Also paces all NCAA Division I freshmen in batting average … Tops the club with 24 multiple-hit efforts … Has reached base safely in 16-straight games … Owns 29 starts in left field, nine in right field, five in center field and four at second base … Went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in the season opener … Was 5-for-7 with three runs scored in the Coastal Carolina series … Went 2-for-5 with three runs scored in the 11-1 victory at VCU … Logged three hits and four RBI in the 19-6 run rule victory over William & Mary, clubbing a grand slam that marked his first collegiate home run … Recorded four hits, two runs scored and two RBI at Duke … Was 2-for-4 with two doubles in the series opener at Rice … Notched his second four-hit effort of the season in the win over UNCW in Greenville before doing it again in the middle game of the UAB series … Registered six hits in the Wichita State series … Posted three hits in the UTSA series finale … Collected his fourth four-hit game of the campaign in the AAC Tournament-opening victory over South Florida.
John Collins: Named to the AAC Weekly Honorable Mention List March 17 … Has started 31 games at designated hitter … Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and five RBI in the VCU series opener … Drove in four runs in the 12-0 run rule victory over William & Mary … Hit his fifth home run of the season in the Charlotte series finale … Went 3-for-5 with a run scored and RBI in the win over Charlotte at the AAC Tournament.
Jack Herring: Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Has started 30 games – 22 in right field and eight at designated hitter … Recorded a hit in both games he played during the George Mason series … Collected a hit and RBI in the Coastal Carolina series finale … Clubbed his first home run in a Pirate uniform in the 19-6 run rule victory over William & Mary … Came through with a clutch RBI single late in the middle game of the Rice series to send the contest to extra innings … Logged two RBI in the middle game of the Charlotte series … Went 3-for-5 with a run scored and RBI in the UAB series finale … Hit his second home run of the season in the Tulane series finale … Clubbed his third homer of the year as a part of a three-hit effort in the middle game of the UTSA series … Went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI versus Tulane in the AAC Tournament Championship Game.
Jake Hunter: Made his first appearance on the mound Opening Weekend after recovery from UCL internal brace surgery stemming from an injury he suffered at Memphis last season … Earned his first win of the campaign with five strong innings in the win over Gardner-Webb, striking out seven batters and allowing just two earned runs … Collected his first save of the season by covering the final two innings of the Pirates’ 3-1 win over Memphis … Picked up the win on the mound as well as registering his first career at bat, hit and run scored in the middle game of the Rice series … Locked down his second save of the season in the middle game of the UAB series by holding the Blazers scoreless over the final 2.2 innings … Matched his season-long outing in the middle game of the UTSA series, striking out two batters in five frames … Notched his third save of the season in the win over Charlotte at the AAC Tournament.
Austin Irby: Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Has started 57 games – three at designated hitter and 54 at first base … Leads the club with 12 multiple-RBI efforts … Registered his first collegiate RBI in the season opener before logging a hit in both subsequent games … Clubbed his first career home run versus Old Dominion … Provided the game ending three-run home run in the run rule victory over Indiana State … Hit home runs in consecutive at bats to account for four RBI in the win over Gardner-Webb … Drove in three runs in the Memphis series finale … Recorded two hits and two RBI in the Rice series finale … Drilled home runs in consecutive at bats in the UAB series finale … Went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the AAC Tournament-opening win over South Florida … Recorded three RBI in the AAC Tournament semifinal victory over the Bulls.
Sean Jenkins: Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Made his collegiate start on the mound in the George Mason series finale, allowing just one earned run with two strikeouts over 5.2 strong innings of work … Was excellent in the win over Indiana State, tossing six innings while giving up just one earned run with six strikeouts and no walks … Threw six innings in relief with four strikeouts to pick up the win in the Memphis series finale … Nabbed his third win with a 4.1-inning effort and five strikeouts against Elon … Produced his first collegiate save with a six inning, career-high eight strikeout relief effort in the Charlotte series finale … Allowed just one earned run in a career-long 6.2 innings of relief in the UTSA series finale … Saved perhaps his best outing of the year for a massive spot, allowing just one run over 5.1 innings to lift ECU past Tulane in the AAC Tournament championship game.
Ryley Johnson: Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the run-rule victory over Tulane in Greenville … Registered three hit and two runs scored in the first game of a doubleheader versus UTSA … Clubbed a grand slam in the UTSA series finale … Drove in three runs against Tulane in the AAC Tournament championship game.
Ethan Norby: Named the AAC Co-Pitcher of the Week and National Pitcher of the Week March 10 after striking out 19 in the Pirates’ 7-0 win over No. 24 Coastal Carolina … Tabbed to the AAC Weekly Honorable Mention List (April 28th and May 5th) … Threw 4.2 innings in the series opener against North Carolina, scattering four hits while striking out six and walking just one … Struck out nine over 6.2 innings against Kent State … Fanned the first nine Coastal Carolina batters in the series opener and did not allow a base runner until the seventh inning … Notched his third consecutive quality start by throwing a seven-inning shutout against William & Mary … Turned in his fourth-straight quality start by allowing just two earned runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts at Rice … Tossed 6.0 scoreless relief innings with nine strikeouts and no walks to earn the win over Tulane … Went a career-long 7.2 innings to earn the win in the Saturday game at Wichita State, registering seven strikeouts against one walk while allowing just one run … Picked up the win in the AAC Tournament semifinals, striking out three over 1.2 innings.
Brad Pruett: Named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honorable Mention list three times (Feb. 17, March 31 and April 21) … Made his Pirate debut in game two of the Friday doubleheader versus George Mason, striking out nine over 3.1 innings while allowing just two hits … Logged five strikeouts in two innings at Campbell … Picked up his first save in the win over Virginia Tech, notching six strikeouts in 3.1 frames … Tossed 2.2 scoreless frames with three strikeouts in the 19-6 run rule victory over William & Mary … Threw 2.0 scoreless innings with a strikeout against UNCW … Notched his first career win in the Pirates’ 3-1 win over Memphis with a career long 4.2-inning effort, allowing no runs and striking out three … Collected a win and a save in the series at Rice … Made his first start of the year against Florida Atlantic and struck out eight over 5.0 innings pitched … Went a season-long 6.1 innings and allowed just two runs while striking out three to earn the victory in the middle game of the UAB series … Picked up his third save of the season with two perfect innings at Elon … Tossed six scoreless innings over three appearances at the AAC Tournament, including five against Charlotte in a winner’s bracket contest.
Colby Wallace: Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Has started all 58 games – four at first base and the other 54 at third base … Has reached base safely in 19-straight games and has registered a hit in the last six … Drilled his first collegiate home run in the third inning of game two of the George Mason doubleheader … Registered two hits and a pair of RBI versus Kent State … Went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and six RBI in the Pirates’ 7-0 win over No. 24 Coastal Carolina and clubbed East Carolina’s first grand slam since the 2023 season … Was 4-for-8 with four runs scored and nine RBI in the William & Mary doubleheader sweep, including a grand slam in the nightcap … Collected his first career save in the series finale with the Tribe, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout … Scored three runs and drove in two in the Memphis series finale … Closed out the Rice series by picking up his second save of the campaign, leaving the bases loaded in the 8-5 victory … Logged three hits and three RBI in the Florida Atlantic series opener … Hammered his eighth home run of the season in the Charlotte series finale … Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and hit his team-best ninth home run of the year in the UAB series opener … Pinned down his second save of the season in the middle game of the Wichita State series by covering the final 1.1 innings … Notched two hits, a run scored and an RBI in the AAC Tournament semifinal win over South Florida.
Dixon Williams: Tabbed to the AAC All-Tournament Team … Has started all 58 contests – 51 at second base, two at third base and five at shortstop … Logged two home runs and five RBI during Opening Weekend … Hit his third home run of the year against Old Dominion – a monster 420-foot tank in the eighth inning … Went 7-for-10 with six runs scored and two RBI during the LeClair Classic … Clubbed his fourth home run of the campaign in the 11-1 win at VCU … Was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI in the William & Mary series opener … Scored four runs in the 19-6 run rule victory over the Tribe … Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the win over Elon … Logged a pair of hits in each of the first two games of the UAB series … Went 3-for-5 with two three-run home runs and a career-high six RBI in the run rule victory over Tulane … Scored two runs and drove in three in the AAC Tournament semifinal win over South Florida.
Lance Williams: Made his collegiate pitching debut in the season opener … Surrendered just one hit and earned run while striking out four over 3.0 innings of work … Tallied two more strikeouts in one inning pitched at Campbell … Turned in his first career start against Virginia Tech, tossing 2.1 scoreless frames … Put together a solid start in the Coastal Carolina series finale, pitching 4.0 scoreless innings with five strikeouts against one walk … Notched four strikeouts in 2.1 scoreless innings in the 3-1 win over Memphis … Collected his first collegiate win with two strikeouts in an inning of work in the Charlotte series finale … Pitched in all three games of the UTSA series and did not allow a run over 1.2 frames while striking out two against no walks … Struck out three over four scoreless innings in the series opener at South Florida.
Ethan Young: Named to the AAC Weekly Honorable Mention List on March 3rd … Made his Pirate pitching debut in the season opener, tossing 0.2 innings while allowing three runs on two hits … Turned in a strong effort at Campbell, allowing just one hit while striking out four and walking none in three innings … Was excellent in the North Carolina series opener, limiting the Tar Heels to just one hit while striking out five in 3.1 frames … Logged his first save in a Pirate uniform in the win over Old Dominion, striking out three and allowing just one hit over 3.1 innings … Credited with the win in ECU’s victory over Virginia Tech, allowing just one run with six strikeouts in 3.1 frames … Closed out the Pirates’ 7-0 win over No. 24 Coastal Carolina with three strikeouts in 1.2 scoreless innings … Picked up the win in the William & Mary series finale, surrendering just one run over 4.1 innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts … Nabbed his second save of the year with 3.2 scoreless frames and five strikeouts against no walks in the Memphis series opener … Covered the final four innings and struck out four in the win at UNCW … Threw a season-long 5.2 innings with six strikeouts to earn the win in the UAB series opener … Logged seven strikeouts over 5.1 scoreless frames in the Wichita State series opener … Limited South Florida to just one earned run in 3.1 innings and struck out four to help ECU open the AAC Tournament with a 9-4 victory.
Looking Ahead: Should East Carolina emerge victorious over Florida, it will take on the winner of the Coastal Carolina-Fairfield contest at 6 p.m. Saturday for the right to advance to the regional final. A loss to the Gators would put the Pirates in a 12 p.m. affair against the loser of Friday’s second game.