Unfortunately the impacts of the Coronavirus and the most up-to-date measures to prevent spread have now terminally impacted the NCBA’s chances of hosting any NCBA Division I post season activities.
As of our most recent assessment, only nine of NCBA DI’s 133 member teams have not yet been permanently shut down for the remainder of the season. Only three regions have two teams that may be allowed to compete in May if their local shelter in place mandate is lifted. There are three regions with only one team that may become able to compete, and two regions have zero teams with potential to compete again this season. Thus, it will impossible to host DI Regional Playoffs this year even if states reopen as the effects of Coronavirus dissipate.
With only 7% of the NCBA DI membership possibly being able to compete in the 2020 NCBA DI World Series, the NCBA believes that this is not enough of a representation of our entire league to crown a National Champion. And thus the NCBA is saddened to announce that the 2020 DI World Series will also be cancelled.
The NCBA has explored the possibility of instead; hosting an end of year “Back 2 Baseball” invitational tournament in place of the World Series should the impact of Coronavirus subside in time to safely do so. However after surveying the opinions of the nine remaining teams there was insufficient interest in such an idea to effectively do so. Additionally, with North Carolina being under a “Stay at Home” order through at least May 8th and a ten person maximum gathering limit to follow through at least May 23rd, hosting such an event may have been impossible regardless.
It is with a heavy heart that I officially announce that the 2020 NCBA season has now come to an end. Having spent 20 years of my life focused on giving young men the opportunity to play competitive college baseball, it is gut wrenching for me to think about those seniors who have played their last game without realizing there wouldn’t be a next. While we can all agree, this is certainly not how we envisioned or wanted this season to come to an end, it is the reality given the impact of COVID-19. We thank you all for your continued support of the NCBA and the love for the game.
We do wish we were in a much different state of the world and had much better news to provide. However, we have been optimistic throughout this process and will continue to do so. We hope that you can share in our optimism and know that we as a league will be better than ever in 2020-2021.
We will be in touch in the coming days and weeks with updates on this past season as well as the upcoming one. Also, please be sure to check your email regularly, as we will be in touch soon regarding plans moving forward to prepare for next season. If you have any questions in the meantime, please let us know. Stay safe!
Sincerely,
Sandy Sanderson
President
National Club Baseball Association