The North Florida Ospreys baseball team represents the University of North Florida in the sport of baseball. The Ospreys compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), in the ASUN Conference (A-Sun). They play their home games in Harmon Stadium on the university's Jacksonville, Florida campus. The Ospreys were founded in 1988 as members of the NAIA. They moved to the NCAA Division II level in 1994, and began their Division I transition in 2006. They became fully eligible at the Division I level in 2010. The Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun regular season championship in 2015.
History
North Florida's baseball program was founded in 1988. The team was established under the leadership of Dusty Rhodes, who served as head coach from 1988 to 2010. Since its inception, the Ospreys baseball team has won 13 conference titles: six in the NAIA, six in NCAA Division II, and one in NCAA Division I and has made a total of 16 playoff appearances: six in the NAIA and ten in NCAA Division II. They went to the NAIA World Series in 1989 and 1991 and the NCAA Division II World Series in 2000, 2001, and 2005, advancing to the final in 2005.
Notably, the team's former logo is similar to the New York Yankees logo. It was designed in 1986 at the urging of Dusty Rhodes and continued, and brought extra attention to the baseball program. It was discontinued after Rhodes' retirement in 2010 and replaced with a new logo for the 2011 season.
The Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun regular season championship in 2015. Star outfielder Donnie Dewees, a redshirt sophomore, was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Year and Laval was the conference's Coach of the Year. Dewees led the nation in runs (81), runs per game (1.51), hits (101) and total bases (178) at the conclusion of the regular season and posted a 31-game hit streak. Dewees was also named one of 21 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. The Chicago Cubs selected Dewees in the second round, with the 47th overall selection, of the draft. He was UNF's highest-drafted player since they transitioned to Division I in 2005.
Facilities The Ospreys play their home games on campus at Harmon Stadium. It was built in 1988 and has a seating capacity of 1,000. The playing field and batting facility are named for former Ospreys baseball coach Dusty Rhodes. On Feb. 13, 2026, UNF unveiled its new AstroTurf Diamond Series baseball field, and a newly padded outfield wall.
Head coaches Baseball head coaches SeasonsDusty Rhodes 1988–2010Smoke Laval 2011–2017Tim Parenton2018–2023Joe Mercadante2024–
Year-by-year results College World Series appearanceNCAA Tournament appearanceConference regular season championsConference tournament championsConference regular season and tournament champions
SeasonHead coachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason District 25 (NAIA) 1988 Dusty Rhodes 47–17 18–6 1stArea V Tournament, 1–2 1989 Dusty Rhodes 53–18 25–3 1st NAIA World Series, 3rd place 1990 Dusty Rhodes 43–20 19–3 1st District 25 Tournament, 2–2 1991 Dusty Rhodes 57–13 23–1 1st NAIA World Series, 3rd place 1992 Dusty Rhodes 51–12 27–3 1st Area V Tournament, 2–1 District 7 (NAIA) 1993 Dusty Rhodes 45–12 28–4 1st District 7 Tournament, 1–2 NAIA Total:296–92 ()140–20 () Sunshine State Conference (NCAA Division II) 1994 Dusty Rhodes 33–19 15–6 2nd NCAA South Regional, 1–2 1995 Dusty Rhodes 36–16 15–6 1st NCAA South Regional, 0–2 1996 Dusty Rhodes 26–29 10–11 4th 1997 Dusty Rhodes 39–17 13–8 3rd NCAA South Regional, 0–2 Sunshine State Total:134–81 ()53–31 () Peach Belt Conference (NCAA Division II) 1998 Dusty Rhodes 32–21 15–11 2nd 1999 Dusty Rhodes 43–17 22–8 1st NCAA South Atlantic Regional, 3–2 2000 Dusty Rhodes 49–14 26–4 1st D-II World Series, 3rd place 2001 Dusty Rhodes 47–17 25–5 1st D-II World Series, 3rd place 2002 Dusty Rhodes 40–16 23–7 2nd NCAA South Atlantic Regional, 0–2 2003 Dusty Rhodes 39–18 18–9 T-1st NCAA South Atlantic Regional, 2–2 2004 Dusty Rhodes 41–18 23–7 1st NCAA South Atlantic Regional, 2–2 2005 Dusty Rhodes 48–16 23–7 1st D-II World Series, runner-up Peach Belt Total:339–137 ()175–58 () ASUN Conference (NCAA Division I) 2006 Dusty Rhodes 34–21 20–10 2nd 2007 Dusty Rhodes 24–32 13–14 6th 2008 Dusty Rhodes 29–26 18–15 4th 2009 Dusty Rhodes 23–31 15–15 T-6th 2010 Dusty Rhodes 30–28 14–12 4thA-Sun Tournament, 1–2 2011 Smoke Laval 27–27 13–17 8th 2012 Smoke Laval 31–24 12–15 8th 2013 Smoke Laval 40–19 18–9 3rdA-Sun Tournament, 2–2 2014 Smoke Laval 22–31 11–16 8thA-Sun Tournament, 0–2 2015 Smoke Laval 45–16 16–5 1stA-Sun Tournament, 3–2 (Runner-up) 2016 Smoke Laval 39–19 15–6 2ndA-Sun Tournament, 2–2 2017 Smoke Laval 33-24 12–9 4thA-Sun Tournament, 0–2 2018 Tim Parenton 28-28 10–11 4thA-Sun Tournament, 3–2 2019 Tim Parenton 32-25 12–11 5thA-Sun Tournament, 1–2 2020 Tim Parenton 4-12 0–0 2021 Tim Parenton 22-23 11–7 2nd A-Sun Tournament, 1–2 2022 Tim Parenton 22-33 11–18 5th A-Sun Tournament, 1–1 2023 Tim Parenton 28-27 13–17 11th 2024 Joe Mercadante 21-30-1 11–17-1 9th 2025 Joe Mercadante 27-29 15-15 4th A-Sun Tournament, 0-2 2026 Joe Mercadante 31-24 22-8 1st A-Sun Tournament, 0-2 Atlantic Sun Total:534–476-1 ()246–226-1 () Total:1,303–584 ()
Conference championships (regular season) Season Coach Overall record Conf. record 2015 Smoke Laval 45–16 16–5
Awards Conference awards Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year Smoke Laval (2015) Joe Mercadante (2026) Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year Donnie Dewees (2015)
References
External links