The East Carolina Pirates baseball team is an intercollegiate baseball team representing East Carolina University in NCAA Division I college baseball and participates as a full member of the American Conference. The Pirates have made regular appearances in the NCAA tournament. As of 2025, they have the most NCAA tournament appearances without a College World Series appearance.

The Pirates are coached by Cliff Godwin and play their home games at Clark-LeClair Stadium, named after donor and alumnus Bill Clark and former coach Keith LeClair. Every year, the Pirates host a baseball tournament in Greenville in honor of Coach LeClair called the Keith LeClair Classic.

History

Conference 1948–1962: North State 1963–1965: Independent 1966–1977: Southern Conference 1978–1981: Independent 1982–1985: ECAC South 1986–2001: Colonial Athletic Association 2002–2014: Conference USA 2015–present: American Conference

Head coaches TenureCoachYearsRecordPct. 1932 R.C. Deal 1 1-5-0 .167 1933 Kenneth Beatty 1 3-3-0 .500 1934 A. D. Frank 1 5-8-0 .385 1935 Doc Mathis 1 7-7-1 .500 1936–1938 Bo Farley 3 (4) 32-11-3 .728 1939 Gordon Gilbert 1 6-5-0 .545 1940 Bo Farley 1 (4) 5-4-1 .550 1941-1942 John Christenbury 2 13-11-0 .542 1946 Earl Smith 1 7-4-0 .636 1947 John Cameron 1 11-7-0 .611 1948 James Johnson 1 5-10-1 .344 1949–1953 Jack Boone 5 49-39-1 .556 1954–1962 James Mallory 9 (10) 146-52-0 .737 1963–1972 Earl Smith 10 186-102-2 .645 1973 James Mallory 1 (10) 16-8-0 .667 1974–1976 George Williams 3 56-32-0 .636 1977–1979 Monte Little 3 82-49-0 .626 1980–1984 Hal Baird 5 145-66-1 .686 1985–1997 Gary Overton 13 427-237-1 .643 1998–2002 Keith LeClair 5 212-96-1 .688 2003–2005 Randy Mazey 3 120-66-1 .644 2006–2014 Billy Godwin 9 317-214-1 .597 2015–present Cliff Godwin 12 470-238-2 .663 Totals 21 coaches 92 seasons 2321-1274-16 .645 * 1943–1945 No Games Played

Stadium

Clark-LeClair Stadium is the home of Pirate baseball at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. The stadium was named after Pirate alumnus and key contributor Bill Clark and former Pirate skipper Keith LeClair.

The stadium has 3,000 Stadium bleacher seats, plus space for several thousand more spectators in "The Jungle". There are concession and restroom facilities at the stadium plus a family picnic area. Amenities include the Pirate Club fundraising and hospitality suite and a private suite for the LeClair family.

The stadium is home to the ECU Invitational and the Keith LeClair Classic.

Year-by-year results National championsCollege World Series berthNCAA Tournament berthConference Tournament ChampionsConference/Division Regular Season Champions

Season Head coach Conference Season results Tournament results Final poll Overall Conference Conference Postseason BA CB Coaches Wins Losses Ties % Wins Losses Ties % FinishEast Carolina Pirates 1932 R. C. Deal Independent 1 5 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1933 Kenneth Beatty 3 3 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1934 A. D. Frank 5 8 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1935 Doc Mathis 7 7 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1936 Bo Farley 6 4 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1937 9 4 2 — — — — — — — — — — 1938 17 3 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1939 Gordon Gilbert 6 5 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1940 Bo Farley 5 4 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1941 John Christenbury 6 4 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1942 7 7 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1943 No games played 1944 1945 1946 Earl Smith Independent 7 4 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1947 John Cameron 11 7 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1948 James Johnson North State 5 10 1 3 7 1 — — — — — — 1949 Jack Boone 6 8 0 4 6 0 — — — — — — 1950 7 7 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1951 11 10 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1952 9 9 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1953 16 5 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1954 James Mallory 15 7 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1955 20 5 0 — — — — 1st — — — — — 1956 18 5 0 — — — — 1st — — — — — 1957 16 7 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1958 10 6 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1959 16 3 0 — — — — 1st — — — — — 1960 17 5 0 — — — — 1st — — — — — 1961 23 4 0 — — — — 1st — NAIA National Championship — — — 1962 11 10 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1963 Earl Smith Independent 25 6 1 — — — — — — NAIA World Series — — — 1964 18 7 0 — — — — — — District 3 Playoffs — 23 — 1965 16 7 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1966 Southern Conference 17 10 0 12 3 0 1st — District 3 Playoffs — 28 — 1967 23 6 0 13 3 0 T–1st — — — 23 — 1968 21 11 1 10 1 0 1st — District 3 Playoffs — 19 — 1969 15 14 0 7 7 0 3rd — — — — — 1970 20 13 0 13 6 0 1st — District 3 Playoffs — 25— 1971 12 18 0 7 5 0 4th — — — — — 1972 19 10 0 11 5 0 2nd — — — — — 1973 James Mallory 16 8 0 10 4 0 T–2nd — — — — — 1974 George Williams 17 13 0 12 2 0 1st — District 3 Playoffs — 25 — 1975 17 12 0 9 5 0 3rd — — — — — 1976 22 7 0 7 6 0 4th — — — — — 1977 Monte Little 30 12 0 15 1 0 1st — Atlantic Regional — — — 1978 Independent 27 18 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1979 25 19 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1980 Hal Baird 28 7 0 — — — — — — Northeast Regional — — — 1981 28 15 0 — — — — — — — — — — 1982 ECAC South 34 14 0 6 3 0 3rd 1st East Regional — — — 1983 21 17 1 2 3 1 — — — — — — 1984 34 13 0 7 2 0 1st 1st South I Regional — 20 — 1985 Gary Overton 32 14 0 12 4 0 1st — — — — — 1986 CAA 40 10 0 13 5 0 T–1st — — — — — 1987 26 17 0 8 7 0 4th 1st Atlantic Regional 1988 33 14 0 8 6 0 T–2nd — — — — — 1989 37 11 0 12 3 0 2nd 1st East Regional — — — 1990 47 9 0 11 2 0 1st 1st Atlantic Regional — — — 1991 30 24 1 9 8 0 3rd 1st Midwest Regional — — — 1992 25 24 0 7 10 0 5th — — — — — 1993 41 19 0 11 7 0 3rd 1st Atlantic Regional — — — 1994 36 18 0 8 9 0 5th — — — — — 1995 29 26 0 5 13 0 6th — — — — — 1996 22 24 0 10 11 0 5th — — — — — 1997 29 27 0 10 11 0 T–4th — — — — — 1998 Keith LeClair 30 29 0 10 11 0 T–4th — — — — — 1999 46 16 0 14 6 0 2nd 1st Baton Rouge Regional 18 19 23 2000 46 18 0 14 7 0 T–1st 1st Columbia Regional — 29 — 2001 47 13 0 19 2 0 1st — Kinston Super Regional 11 11 11 2002 CUSA 43 20 1 16 13 1 6th 1st Columbia Regional — — 24 2003 Randy Mazey 34 27 1 17 13 0 5th — Atlanta Regional — — — 2004 51 13 0 25 5 0 1st — Columbia Super Regional 8 13 9 2005 35 26 0 18 12 0 4th — Tempe Regional — — — 2006 Billy Godwin 33 26 0 10 14 0 6th — — — — — 2007 40 23 0 14 9 0 2nd 2nd Chapel Hill Regional — — — 2008 42 21 0 13 11 0 5th — Conway Regional — — — 2009 46 20 0 17 7 0 1st — Chapel Hill Super Regional 17 16 15 2010 15 27 0 11 13 0 6th — — — — — 2011 41 21 0 14 10 0 3rd — Charlottesville Regional 25 — — 2012 36 24 1 13 10 1 6th — Chapel Hill Regional — — — 2013 31 26 0 14 10 0 3rd — — — — — 2014 33 26 0 16 14 0 6th — — — — — 2015 Cliff Godwin AAC 40 22 0 15 9 0 2nd 1st Coral Gables Regional — — — 2016 38 23 1 15 8 1 2nd — Lubbock Super Regional 15 15 16 2017 32 28 0 7 17 0 8th — — — — — 2018 44 18 0 14 10 0 T–3rd 1st Greenville Regional 23 29 23 2019 47 18 0 20 4 0 1st — Louisville Super Regional 12 15 12 2020 13 4 0 0 0 0 — Cancelled Cancelled 24 — — 2021 44 17 0 20 8 0 1st — Nashville Super Regional 13 12 13 2022 46 21 0 20 4 0 1st 1st Greenville Super Regional 17 13 12 2023 47 19 0 18 6 0 1st 2nd Charlottesville Regional 24 26 23 2024 46 17 0 19 8 0 1st — Greenville Regional 16 — 16 2025 35 27 0 13 14 0 T–5th 1st Conway Regional — — — 2026 American 38 24 1 17 10 0 T–1st 1st Chapel Hill Regional — — — Total 2,321 1,274 16

Notes

NAIA tournament In 1961, the Pirates won the NAIA World Series championship to claim their first national championship in baseball. The Pirates won 13–7 over the Sacramento State Hornets. Since then, the Pirates have yet to make it to a national championship.

NCAA tournament The NCAA Division I baseball tournament started in 1947. The format of the tournament has changed through the years.

YearRecordPctNotes 1964 1–2 .333 Lost to North Carolina in the District 3 Regional. 1966 0–2 .000 Lost to North Carolina in the District 3 Regional. 1968 1–2 .333 Lost to Florida State in the District 3 Regional. 1970 0–2 .000 Lost to Mississippi State in the District 3 Regional. 1974 0–2 .000 Lost to South Carolina in the District 3 Regional. 1977 0–2 .000 Lost to South Carolina in the Atlantic Regional. 1980 0–2 .000 Lost to Maine in the Northeast Regional. 1982 1–2 .333 Lost to West Virginia in the East Regional. 1984 2–2 .500 Lost to South Alabama in the South Regional. 1987 0–2 .000 Lost to Central Michigan in the Atlantic Regional. 1989 0–2 .000 Lost to Villanova in the East Regional. 1990 1–2 .333 Lost to N.C. State in the East Regional. 1991 1–2 .333 Lost to Ohio State in the Midwest Regional. 1993 1–2 .333 Lost to Ohio State in the Atlantic Regional. 1999 2–2 .500 Lost to LSU in the Baton Rouge Regional. 2000 2–2 .500 Lost to Louisiana–Lafayette in the Lafayette Regional. 2001 3–2 .600 Won Wilson Regional; Lost to Tennessee in the Kinston Super Regional. 2002 2–2 .500 Lost to Clemson in the Clemson Regional. 2003 1–2 .333 Lost to Stetson in the Atlanta Regional. 2004 3–2 .600 Won Kinston Regional; Lost to South Carolina in the Columbia Super Regional. 2005 0–2 .000 Lost to UNLV in the Tempe Regional. 2007 1–2 .333 Lost to Western Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional. 2008 2–2 .500 Lost to Coastal Carolina in the Conway Regional. 2009 4–3 .571 Won Greenville Regional; Lost to North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional. 2011 2–2 .500 Lost to Virginia in the Charlottesville Regional Final. 2012 1–2 .333 Lost to North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional. 2015 0–2 .000 Lost to FIU in the Coral Gables Regional. 2016 4–2 .667 Won Charlottesville Regional; Lost to Texas Tech in the Lubbock Super Regional. 2018 1–2 .333 Lost to UNC Wilmington in the Greenville Regional. 2019 4–3 .571 Won Greenville Regional; Lost to Louisville in the Louisville Super Regional. 2021 3–2 .600 Won Greenville Regional; Lost to Vanderbilt in the Nashville Super Regional. 2022 4–3 .571 Won Greenville Regional; Lost to Texas in the Greenville Super Regional. 2023 2–2 .500 Lost to Virginia in Charlottesville Regional. 2024 3–2 .600 Lost to Evansville in Greenville Regional. 2025 2–2 .500 Lost to Coastal Carolina in Conway Regional. 2026 2–2 .500 Lost to North Carolina in Chapel Hill Regional. Total 56–75 .427

Pirates in the Major Leagues Over the 5-year tenure of current head coach Cliff Godwin, 14 Pirates have been drafted. Since the MLB draft began in 1965, 3 Pirates have been selected in the first round: Pat Watkins was selected 32nd in 1993, Jeff Hoffman was selected 9th in 2014, and Trey Yesavage was selected 20th in 2024. A total of 22 Pirates have gone on to play in the MLB, 4 of which are active players.