Athletics cracks top 30 in prestigious Daktronics Cup standings

04/28/2023

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.

Established in 2003, the Daktronics Cup is awarded each year 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 junior college equivalent to the NACDA Directors' Cup. Points for the Daktronics Cup are based on order of finish in various NJCAA championships with one winner chosen at the end of the academic year for the most successful schools in the Scholarship Division, Non-Scholarship Division, and State Association Division.

Rankings are released at the end of each season – fall, winter, and spring – and final winners in all three divisions are determined at the end of the spring championship season. CCRI is No. 27 following the winter season based on the success of this year’s men’s soccer and women’s basketball teams, which each qualified for the NJCAA D-III National Championships after winning their respective Region XXI Championships. The Daktronics Cup Awards will be presented at the Annual NATYCAA Convention from June 10–14 at the World Marriott Resort in Orlando.

CCRI men’s soccer team finished 7-8-1 and earned the program’s first trip to the NJCAAs as the tournament’s No. 8 seed. Led by NJCAA Region XXI Coach of the Year Gabe Toro, the Knights finished strong, winning five of their final seven games, including a six-day run in the Region XXI Tournament in which they defeated No. 2 seed Bunker Hill on the road in the semifinals – avenging last year’s loss to the Bulldogs in the regional championship – and beating Holyoke in the title game at their home field in Lincoln. Sophomore center Roy Barrios (Pawtucket, RI) earned NJCAA Second Team All-American honors after scoring 24 points (nine goals, six assists) in 15 starts.

This past winter, the women’s basketball team continued its success under head coach Doug Haynes, who earned his first NJCAA Region XXI Coach of the Year Award and led the Knights to a 22-8 finish that included back-to-back Region XXI Championships and a second consecutive trip to the NJCAAs. As the No. 6 seed, the Knights beat 11th-seeded Onondaga in the opening round and advanced to the quarterfinals. Sophomore center Maggie Schwab (Narragansett, RI) averaged a double-double in 2022-23; led the nation in field-goal percentage, shooting at an exceptional 59.2 percent clip; and earned NJCAA Second Team All-American honors.

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