In the Northeast, a college baseball powerhouse is forming. UConn baseball has been the gold standard of BIG EAST baseball over the past three seasons, and the Huskies have become a frequent fixture at the top of their league and in the NCAA Tournament year after year. 

Baseball-mad New England has many solid college teams, but none in the region have reached the heights that UConn has over the past three seasons in particular.

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With a conference four-peat in sight as they try to build an even stronger legacy off the back of one of the most successful periods in school history, the Huskies look as if they’re reloading, not rebuilding. 

Is a long-awaited run to Omaha next?

Here’s all you need to know about UConn baseball ahead of the 2024 season.

How Did UConn Baseball Do In 2023?

Another year, another BIG EAST title and NCAA Tournament appearance (the fifth straight one, in fact) for UConn baseball. 

The Huskies won 44 games in 2023—with their two-year stretch of 94 victories (after 50 in 2022) being the winningest period in program history. They also captured a top-10 national ranking, their third straight BIG EAST regular-season championship and plenty of other accolades en route to getting placed in the Gainesville Regional. 

UConn’s postseason stock got dinged a bit after it failed to take the league’s automatic bid (which went to Xavier) by winning the BIG EAST Championship title. Losses to Texas Tech and No. 2-seeded Florida (with a win over Florida A&M in between them) in Gainesville denied the Huskies a chance at a second consecutive appearance in a Super Regional. 

Who Coaches UConn Baseball?

Jim Penders’ baseball life has entirely revolved around the University of Connecticut. 

A Connecticut native who played for the Huskies in the early 1990s (after his father, Jim Penders Sr. was a member of the school’s 1965 College World Series team), Penders first was a graduate assistant, then an assistant coach, then the head coach at UConn beginning in 2004. 

He’s since become the Huskies’ winningest coach, having hit 700 wins in last season’s regional, and he is the leader of the longest-tenured coaching staff in Division I, all while having 72 players drafted or signed by professional organizations in 20 seasons. 

An eight-time regular-season league/conference tournament champion, a five-time conference coach of the year across the BIG EAST and American Athletic Conference and a two-time qualifier for the Super Regional round, Penders led UConn last season to its highest national ranking in his tenure (No. 9 by D1Baseball).

Has UConn Baseball Ever Won The College World Series?

No, UConn baseball has never won the College World Series, but it has appeared in the CWS five times (1957, 1959, 1965, 1972, 1979), with two Super Regional appearances in the NCAA Tournament’s current format (2011 and 2022). 

The Huskies’ best finish at the CWS was fifth, twice, in 1957 and 1972.

Notable Returning Players

Stephen Quigley, RHP

Stephen Quigley never pitched regularly at the college level until his senior year, and even that happened at Division III Wheaton (Massachusetts), the school where he spent his first four college seasons. 

But sure enough, Quigley’s breakout campaign on the mound at a lower level in 2022 was enough to catch UConn’s eye once he entered the transfer portal, and the Huskies sure are glad they took a swing on him. 

He made an immediate impact in the UConn rotation during his debut Division I season, earning All-BIG EAST first-team accolades with a team-high 74 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings.

Quigley seemed largely unbothered by the jump in competition and the standard established at UConn following its super-regional run in 2022. 

Picking up a pair of victories in the Cape Cod League over the summer, as well, Quigley is getting tastes of some of the best hitters in the country and thriving, and he’ll be looking to stamp his foot down once again as one of the top aces in the BIG EAST in his sixth college season.

Jake Studley, OF

An aptly named stud of the Huskies’ lineup, Jake Studley, like Quigley, moved up to Division I from Wheaton after a standout 2022 season in which he was named a Division III All-American after slashing .412/.490/.718.

And, like Quigley, the Rhode Islander had no issues adjusting to his new home and the level of teams UConn faced in his first season there. 

Also an All-BIG EAST first-team pick, Studley finished with a .325 average, eight home runs and 57 RBIs. It became easy for Penders and his staff to rely upon him right away for his consistency.

Studley held the team’s longest hitting streak of the year at 17 games, while also having 13 multi-RBI games and 23 multi-hit games. 

Now, no one the Huskies face should be caught off-guard by Studley. With Dominic Freeberger and Ben Huber, UConn’s top two hitters a year ago, now gone, Studley enters 2024 as the Huskies’ top returning option at the plate.

Notable Newcomers

Gabe Van Emon, LHP

Van Emon—who transferred in from Division III's Endicott in the offseason—might just be one of the best names the Huskies have ever plucked from the portal from a non-Division I program, and that’s saying something. 

The ABCA/Rawlings Division III National Pitcher of the Year in 2023, Van Emon, a 6-foot-2 Massachusetts native and Endicott’s all-time strikeouts leader, was fantastic for the Gulls, who made the championship round of the Division III Baseball Championship.

Van Emon went 10-2 on the mound with a 1.88 ERA and 108 strikeouts to just 25 walks in 86 1/3 innings. 

He’ll have some great mentors on the UConn roster to help him get acquainted with Division I, and the expectation for Van Emon after so much success in Division III should be for him to contribute heavily from his first pitch in a Huskies uniform.

Caleb Shpur, OF

Caleb Shpur was a teammate of Van Emon at Endicott as the Gulls were ranked as high as No. 4 in the country last season by D3Baseball. Van Emon did damage on the mound, while Shpur did it with the bat, being named his league’s player of the year in 2023. 

Shpur also was a three-time first-team all-conference pick after a career slash line of .371/.458/.620, 24 home runs, 132 RBIs, 35 doubles and 67 stolen bases—including 44 swipes last season alone, which ranked fifth in Division III. 

With David Smith’s team-leading 39 steals out of the picture, Shpur should be able to slide right in as UConn’s top threat on the basepaths, while also delivering some constant contact at the plate, giving him plenty of serious breakout potential this year.

UConn Baseball Schedule 2024

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2024 UConn Baseball Roster 

How To Watch BIG EAST Baseball in 2024

Watch the BIG EAST Baseball in 2024 on FloBaseball and the FloSports app.

FloBaseball will be streaming several season-opening college baseball tournaments, including the Shriners Children's College Showdown, Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic and the Kubota College Baseball Series.

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