CCRI Athletics News

The three-time defending Region XXI champion Knights play No. 8 seed Prince George’s Community College in the opening round of the tournament on Wednesday, March 13 at 1 pm ET.

CCRI is heading back to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Women’s Basketball National Championships for the third year in a row thanks to a spirited comeback in Sunday’s Region XXI championship game.

After earning the No. 6 seed in this year's Region XXI Tournament, the Knights head to Worcester tonight at 6 for a rematch with Quinsigamond, whom they split the regular-season series with and beat February 20 at home on a buzzer-beater. 

After sweeping rival Quinsigamond Community College on Tuesday, CCRI's men's and women's basketball teams are geared up for a successful run in the Region XXI Tournament as the regular season draws to a close.

Playoff fever is intensifying at the Community College of Rhode Island as both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are making a run for the 2023–24 postseason with the regular season winding to a close.

With the calendar flipping to February, the Community College of Rhode Island’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are trending in the right direction. Coming off a doubleheader sweep Tuesday at home, the No. 10 nationally-ranked women’s team has now won 31 consecutive games against its NJCAA Division III Region XXI rivals over the last three years while the men have won three in a row to climb to seventh in the regional standings.

As the annual winter chill takes over New England, basketball in the northeast is beginning to heat up as teams vying for postseason spots begin the all-important stretch of conference games that will ultimately make or break their playoff hopes.

With the holiday break underway, the Community College of Rhode Island is halfway to another successful season on and off the playing field.

The Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team continued its regional dominance this week and the men's team got back on track with a much-needed win as winter sports prepares for a brief hiatus during the holiday season.

Aiming for a historic regional three-peat, the Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team is off to another strong start against its NJCAA Division III Region XXI rivals.

The Community College of Rhode Island dominated the leaderboard on this year’s NJCAA All-Region XXI Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams with a total of 11 student-athletes qualifying, including the Women's Co-Player of the Year.

CCRI begins its quest for a national title Tuesday at 4 pm against Dallas College Brookhaven in the NJCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships quarterfinal round.

For the first time in 14 years, the Community College of Rhode Island women’s soccer team is heading back to the NJCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championships beginning next week in Gastonia, NC.

CCRI's volleyball and men's and women's soccer are in action Saturday and Sunday as they aim for Region XXI supremacy and a shot at competing in the NJCAA Division III National Championships.

Ushering in a new era of Athletics, the Community College of Rhode Island enjoyed another successful academic year on and off the playing field in 2022–23.

Spurred by the hashtag #InWithTheNew, the Knights exceled across three seasons, earning three NJCAA Division III Region XXI championships, two NJCAA National Tournament appearances, two All-Americans, 30 All-Region XXI selections, three Region XXI Coach of the Year recipients, and 43 student-athletes who qualified for the NJCAA Region XXI Honor Roll.

The Community College of Rhode Island men’s soccer program will host its first Information Session of the summer for new and returning students Wednesday, June 14 from 5:30–6:30 pm at the Lincoln Campus Fieldhouse.

Tryouts for the 2023 season begin in August. Information Sessions are designed for enrolled students interested in playing soccer at CCRI.

The Community College of Rhode Island’s Athletic Department named 37 student-athletes to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Spring 2023 semester, 29 of whom also qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XXI Honor Roll.

To qualify for the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, a student-athlete must earn a 3.0 GPA while attending college full-time during the current semester. The NJCAA Region XXI Honor Roll is reserved for those who earn a 3.20 GPA or higher in the current semester.

After a tremendous season in which they more than doubled their win total from 2022, the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team is well-represented on this year’s Region XXI honor roll.

Eight Knights earned all-Region XXI honors in 2023 and four won Region XXI gold gloves, highlighted by freshmen Sam Laurie (Narragansett, RI), Sean Gallagher (Warwick, RI) and sophomores Caleb Harris (Cranston, RI) and Zak Thomas (North Providence, RI) as First Team selections.

A season of progress for the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team ended this weekend in the Region XXI Tournament, capping a year in which the Knights more than doubled their win total and continued to establish their presence as one of the northeast’s top programs.

For the second consecutive season, CCRI lost to Northern Essex in the regional finals, but finished with 26 wins overall, more than double their 2022 production when they finished with only 10 wins.

Sophomore second baseman Caleb Harris (Cranston, RI) hit a grand slam and sophomore third baseman Jacob San Antonio (Cranston, RI) added a two-run home run Thursday as the No. 2 seed Community College of Rhode Island baseball rallied for a 10-6 win over No. 3 Massasoit at Whitey Fell Field in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division III Region XXI Tournament.

With the win, the Knights advance to the winner’s bracket, where they face No. 1 seed Northern Essex tomorrow at 1 pm at Clark University in Worcester, MA. Northern Essex advanced with a win over No. 4 Quinsigamond.

The Community College of Rhode Island Athletics department celebrated an outstanding academic year both on and off the playing field at the 2022–23 Student Athlete Awards Ceremony on Tuesday at the Warwick Campus.

Team MVPs, All-Region XXI certificates, and scholarships were awarded to more than three dozen student athletes who exemplified what it means to be a CCRI Knight. This year, CCRI is currently ranked among the top 30 schools in the nation in the prestigious Daktronics Cup, which is awarded annually by the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) to the junior and community colleges in the United States with the most success in collegiate athletics.

The Community College of Rhode Island baseball team is peaking at just the right time.

With 10 wins in their last 11 games, the Knights closed out the regular season this past weekend and earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming 2023 Region XXI Tournament, where they will host No. 3 seed Massasoit Community College (20-10 overall, 16-5 Region XXI) this Thursday at 3:30 pm at Whitey Fell Field. The opening round is a double-elimination format with the last two teams standing advancing to the finals.

The journey to a historic finish for the Community College of Rhode Island’s softball continues Saturday in the biggest weekend of the season.

The Knights are in Selden, NY, for the NJCAA Division III Region XV Tournament, a best-of-three against host school Suffolk Community College – the first step in a potential trip to the NJCAA D-III Softball World Series for the first time in program history.

The red-hot Community College of Rhode Island baseball team heads into the final weekend of the 2023 regular season with an opportunity to solidify its spot in the upcoming NJCAA Region XXI Tournament.

At 21-5 overall and 15-3 in regional play, the Knights are headed back to the Region XXI Tournament following last year’s dramatic run to the championship round. Depending on how they fare Saturday against Massasoit Community College – which is neck and neck with CCRI in regional play at 16-4 – and in Sunday’s doubleheader against Quinsigamond Community College, which is 10-7 in regional play, the Knights will be either the No. 2 or 3 seed when tournament play begins the following weekend.

Ten Community College of Rhode Island student-athletes and one Distinguished Alumni Award winner were honored Monday at this year's Rhode Island State Legislative Awards ceremony at the State House. 

The success of the Community College of Rhode Island Athletics programs in the 2022–23 academic year has not gone unnoticed.

CCRI is ranked No. 27 among the nation’s top 30 non-scholarship schools in the prestigious Daktronics Cup, marking the first time the college has cracked the top 30 this late in the academic year since it officially joined Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). CCRI is currently the only New England college ranked among the top 30.

The Community College of Rhode Island softball team continues to roll at a record-setting pace.

With two more victories this past weekend on the road against Columbia-Greene Community College, the Knights have now won 12 in a row as they prepare for their inevitable return to the postseason next month.

CCRI beat the Twins 19-2 and 15-4 Saturday in a pair of five-inning games and now boast a 15-7 overall record, which earns them a spot in the NJCAA Division III Region XV Tournament from May 6–7 in Selden, NY – a three-team, double-elimination that includes host school Suffolk County Community College and Monroe College-Bronx, the latter whom the Knights have beaten six times (including two forfeits).

With a big win Thursday and a doubleheader forfeit this weekend, the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team has now won three consecutive games and eight of its last 12 heading into the stretch run of the 2023 regular season.

CCRI beat Bunker Hill Community College 19-4 in a five-inning game Thursday on the road and the Bulldogs forfeited both games of Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader at Whitey Fell Field, leaving the Knights at 17-13 overall and an impressive 13-2 in Region XXI play.

The Community College of Rhode Island softball team is peaking at just the right time.

Following a Saturday doubleheader sweep at Brayton Park against Monroe College-Bronx – and two more wins Sunday with the Express forfeiting both games of Sunday’s scheduled doubleheader – the Knights have now won 10 in a row and are 13-7 overall heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Warwick, RI – Freshman shortstop Avery Acuna (Providence, RI) delivered a bases-loaded tie-breaking single in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday as the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team beat No. 8 nationally-ranked Northern Essex 5-3 at Whitey Fell Field.

Both teams entered yesterday’s game with matching 9-0 records in Region XXI play; the red-hot CCRI Knights are now 10-0 in the conference, 14-9 overall, and have won five in a row in addition to 13 of their last 14. Northern Essex – also nicknamed the Knights – hosts CCRI for a doubleheader Saturday at Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, MA, beginning at 2 pm.

The Community College of Rhode Island softball team enters this week on a four-game win streak courtesy of back-to-back doubleheader sweeps on the road this past weekend.

The Knights won a pair against Monroe College-Bronx on Friday and then headed further north on Saturday in a sweep over Southern Maine Community College, improving their overall record to 7-7.

Anchored by complete games from freshmen Nate Kelly (Lincoln, RI), Calvin Battersby (West Warwick, RI), and Dayton Van Amberg (Warren, RI), the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team won three consecutive games against rival Holyoke Community College to remain undefeated in Region XXI.

The Knights beat Holyoke 2-1 on Thursday at Whitey Fell Field in Warwick and swept a doubleheader Saturday on the road at Holyoke by scores of 4-0 and 19-1. They’ve now won 12 of their last 13 games and are 13-9 overall, including an impressive 9-0 record against regional competition.

Sophomore outfielder Sam Laurie (Narragansett, RI) drove in five runs and starter Brock Bruneau (Ontario, Canada) struck out eight over 4 1/3 innings as the red-hot Community College of Rhode Island baseball team held off a late surge Wednesday in a 21-11 victory over NCAA Division III rival University of St. Joseph at Whitey Fell Field.

The Knights have won nine of their last 10 games, including an eight-game win streak between March 23 and April 3, and are now 10-9 overall – and a perfect 6-0 in league play – heading into a busy stretch of three games in the next three days against regional rival Holyoke Community College.

Community College of Rhode Island sophomore center Maggie Schwab (North Kingstown, RI) earned 2022-23 NJCAA Division III Second Team All-American honors, becoming just the 14th All-American in program history.

Schwab led the Knights with 15.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds and finished No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage (59.4) while recording 16 double-doubles during the regular season. CCRI finished 22-8, won its second consecutive Region XXI championship, and earned a trip to the NJCAA D-III National Championships for the second year in a row.

After a tough finish to its Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach, the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team is back on track with three consecutive wins heading into the heart of Region XXI play.

The Knights swept a Sunday doubleheader on the road against regional rival Quincy College and are now 5-7 with a full April slate on the horizon. CCRI is scheduled for a 11 am showdown today on the road against regional foe Roxbury Community College and a non-league game Friday at home at 3:30 pm against Southern Maine Community College.

Community College of Rhode Island Director of Athletics Kevin Salisbury has received a 2022-23 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Cushman & Wakefield Athletic Director of the Year Award (ADOY) for his commitment and positive contributions to CCRI’s student-athletes, campuses, and surrounding communities.

Now in its 58th year, the NACDA is the professional and educational association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Each year for the past 25 years, it selects Athletic Directors from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision schools; institutions at the Division I-AAAA, II, IIII, and NAIA levels; and community colleges as recipients of its ADOY. Winners will be recognized in conjunction with the 58th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando on June 13.

Warwick, RI – Sophomore third baseman Jacob San Antonio (Cranston, RI) finished 3-for-4 Thursday, including the tie-breaking home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Community College of Rhode Island baseball team earned its first Region XXI win of the season, beating Quincy College 4-3 at Whitey Fell Field.

Sophomore Garrett Bolwell (North Scituate, RI) earned the win in relief with 2 2/3 scoreless innings and sophomore co-captain Marcus Botelho (Portsmouth, RI) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.

The Community College of Rhode Island baseball team hosts Quincy College this Thursday, March 23 in its 2023 home opener following an encouraging week-long trip to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break.

The Knights played nine games in five days and finished 2-7 on the trip, which included games against Division II schools SUNY Sullivan, Sussex County, and County College of Morris. First pitch Thursday in Warwick is 3:30 pm; the Knights then travel to Quincy for a Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon.

Despite a strong effort from sophomores Maggie Schwab (Narragansett, RI) and Ashley Lima (Providence, RI), the No. 6 seed Community College of Rhode Island (22-7) women’s basketball team came up short Thursday against No. 3 Rochester Community and Technical College (25-1), 67-52, in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division III National Championships at the Rochester Regional Sports Center.

The Knights now shift to the consolation round, where they play No. 2 seed Fulton-Montgomery Community College at 3 pm ET. CCRI needs two wins to finish fifth in the tournament. All remaining games both in the consolation and winner’s bracket stream live.

Sophomores Maggie Schwab (Narragansett, RI) and Ashley Lima (Providence, RI) each recorded a double-double Wednesday as the No. 6 seed Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team rallied to beat No. 11 Onondaga Community College 72-64 in the opening round of the NJCAA Division III National Championships at the Rochester Regional Sports Center.

The Knights (22-6) advance to the quarterfinals to face host school and No. 3 seed Rochester Community and Technical College (24-1) Thursday, March 16 at 9 pm ET. The action streams live.

Sophomore co-captain Casey Regine (Cranston, RI) pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts Monday as the Community College of Rhode Island softball team earned its first win of the season by beating Hudson Valley Community College 11-7 in Myrtle Beach, SC.

The Knights play a total of eight games as part of their annual Spring Break trip to South Carolina, which concludes Thursday, before returning to Rhode Island for their home opener April 1 at Brayton Park in Cranston – their new home field for the 2023 season.

In an announcement that came as no surprise to its regional peers, the Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team dominated the field this year among NJCAA Region XXI award-winners.

Head coach Doug Haynes won the 2022-23 Region XXI Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year Award while five of his players earned All-Region XXI honors. Sophomores Maggie Schwab (North Kingstown, RI), Ashley Lima (Providence, RI), and Chloe Rayko (Coventry, RI) earned First Team All-Region XXI honors while freshman Nysia Ortiz (Providence, RI) and sophomore Michelle Moreno (Providence, RI) were Second Team selections.

The Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team earned the No. 6 seed out of 12 schools in the 2022-23 NJCAA Division III National Championships, as announced during today’s official NJCAA Selection Show, and will play No. 11 seed Onondaga Community College next Wednesday in the opening round. 

The Knights earned one of eight automatic bids by winning their second consecutive NJCAA Region XXI Tournament last weekend in Warwick. Ranked No. 7 nationally, the Knights tip off next Wednesday in host city Rochester, MN, at 7 pm ET. The tournament runs from March 15-18 with all games streaming live.

Sophomore guard Chloe Rayko (Coventry, RI) tied a season-high with seven three-pointers and sophomore center Maggie Schwab (North Kingstown, RI) finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball repeated as NJCAA Division III Region XXI champions Sunday with a 71-50 win over Massasoit Community College in the tournament finals at the Warwick Field House.

The No. 1 three-point shooter in the nation in NJCAA Division III this season, Rayko connected seven times from beyond the arc for a game-high 23 points while Schwab registered her 16th double-double of the season as the Knights surged in the third and fourth quarters to pull away down the stretch. The No. 7 nationally-ranked Knights, who entered the tournament’s No. 1 seed, are now heading back to the NJCAA D-III National Championships in Rochester, MN, for the second year in a row.

Due to this weekend’s inclement weather forecast in western Massachusetts, the 2022-23 NJCAA Division III Region XXI Women’s Basketball Tournament has been relocated from Holyoke Community College to the home of the tournament’s No. 1 seed, the Community College of Rhode Island.

Saturday’s semifinal round and Sunday’s championship finale will be played at CCRI’s Warwick Field House.

Marcus Douthit’s first year as head coach of the Community College of Rhode Island men’s basketball came to an end this past weekend following a loss to No. 3-ranked Northern Essex in the NJCAA Region XXI Tournament.

The Knights finished the season 14-15 overall and earned the No. 8 seed in the regional tournament, but will carry significant momentum into the 2023-24 season following a strong second half and the potential for several key returning players from this year’s team.

The Community College of Rhode Island men’s and women’s basketball teams are heading back to the postseason and their quest for a return trip to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament begins within their own region.

Both teams have qualified for the NJCAA Region XXI Tournament, won last year by CCRI’s men’s and women’s teams, who were the No. 1 overall seeds in both brackets.

Sophomore guard RJ Pina (Rumford, RI) finished with 35 points and fellow sophomore guard Jason Palmer (Westerly, RI) scored 22 as the red-hot Community College of Rhode Island men’s basketball team beat Springfield Tech, 95-82, Tuesday for its seventh win in its last nine games.

CCRI is now 13-12 heading into the stretch run after starting the season 4-9. The Knights have won three in a row and nine of 13 overall since the beginning of January – an impressive turnaround under first-year head coach Marcus Douthit – and have put themselves in position to return to the NJCAA Region XXI Tournament later this month, where they will have a chance to defend their 2021–22 title.

The Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team is on the brink of a major milestone following last night’s rout at Bristol Community College.

With a 94-30 victory over the Bayhawks on Thursday, the No. 4-ranked Knights are one win away from reaching 20 victories in a season for the first time since 2012-13 with four games remaining on the schedule, the first of which is this Saturday at home at 1 pm against the University of Maine at Augusta.

The Community College of Rhode Island’s Athletic Department named 35 student-athletes to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2022 semester, 27 of whom also qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XXI Honor Roll.

To qualify for the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, a student-athlete must earn a 3.0 GPA while attending college full-time during the current semester. The NJCAA Region XXI Honor Roll is reserved for those who earn a 3.20 GPA or higher in the current semester.

Led by 26 points from sophomore guard Jason Palmer (Westerly, RI), the Community College of Rhode Island men’s basketball team won its third consecutive game Tuesday, a 68-45 road win against Quinsigamond Community College.

The Knights have also won four of their last five overall to improve to 9-10 after struggling throughout much of November and December and are 5-2 in their last seven since the calendar flipped to January.

Newcomer Elvin Mbengi (Providence, RI) scored 20 points in his season debut Saturday as the Community College of Rhode Island men’s basketball won for the third time in four games with a 102-57 home win over UConn Avery Point.

Mbengi, a 6-foot-5 freshman forward who joined the team in early January, shot 8-of-19 from the field, including three three-pointers, and also hauled in 11 rebounds in his CCRI debut.

The good times continue to roll for the Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team, which started a new win streak Saturday with an 88-50 home win over UConn Avery Point and remained No. 4 in the most recent NJCAA Division III national poll for the fifth consecutive week.

At 16-2, the Knights boast the third-best win percentage (.889) among the nation’s ranked teams, trailing only No. 1 Rochester, No. 3 Minnesota West, and No. 5 Fulton-Montgomery. CCRI has won back-to-back games since a January 17 loss to D-II Union that snapped its season-best 10-game win streak.

Firmly planted as the No. 4-ranked team in the NJCAA Division III national poll for the past five weeks, the Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team stayed hot Thursday with an 84-53 road win over SUNY Westchester.

The Knights are now 15-2 overall and have won 11 of 12 games dating back to mid-November and remained fourth in this week’s NJCAA poll behind Rochester (1), Owens (2), and Minnesota West (3).

The Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team set a new school record Wednesday in its 115-14 victory over Bristol Community College at the Warwick Field House.

The 115 points scored by the Knights broke the previous single-game record of 114 set in 2013. CCRI has won eight in a row as it also chases the school record for most consecutive wins, set by the 2004–05 with 14. The No. 4 nationally-ranked Knights are now 12-1 and 5-0 in Region XXI play heading into Thursday’s home game against Massasoit Community College.

The Community College of Rhode Island women’s basketball team remains ranked No. 4 in the latest NJCAA Division III national poll following Sunday’s 82-70 win over Southern Maine Community College at the Warwick Field House.

The Knights have won seven in a row dating back to mid-November and remain unbeaten in Region XXI play at 4-0. CCRI has been firmly planted at No. 4 in the NJCAA since the Week 6 rankings were released December 12. Unbeaten Rochester is currently No. 1 in the nation followed by Owens and Minnesota West at No. 2 and 3, respectively.