North Alabama Lions baseball
{{Short description|Baseball team}}
{{Infobox College baseball team
|current = 2025 North Alabama Lions baseball team
|name = North Alabama Lions
|logo = North Alabama Athletics wordmark.svg
|logo_size = 200
|founded = 1932
|university = University of North Alabama
|coach = Jad Prachniak
|tenure = 3rd
|conference = ASUN Conference
|division = Gold
|location = Florence, Alabama
|stadium = Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium
|capacity = TBD
|nickname = Lions
|record = 1671-1214-16
|national_champion =
|cws = Division II: 1999
|regional_champ = Division II: 1999
|ncaa_tourneys = Division II: 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2011, 2012
|conference_tournament = Division II: 1984, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999
|conference_champion = Division II: 1992, 1993
}}
The North Alabama Lions baseball team represents the University of North Alabama, which is located in Florence, Alabama. The Lions are an NCAA Division I college baseball program that competes in the ASUN Conference. They began competing in Division I in 2019 and joined the ASUN Conference the same season.
The North Alabama Lions play all home games on campus at Mike D. Lane Field. Under the direction of Head Coach Jad Prachniak, the Lions are entering their 2nd season under full Division I membership. In the program's 35 years in Division II, the Lions played in 12 NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the College World Series once in 1999.
Since the program's inception in 1932, 5 Lions have gone on to play in Major League Baseball, highlighted by 3-time World Series champion and 2013 All-Star Sergio Romo. Since 1982, 15 Lions have been drafted, most recently in 2018 when the Baltimore Orioles selected Tyler Joyner in the 30th round.
Conference membership history
- 1973–2018: Gulf South Conference
- 2019–present: ASUN Conference
Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium
{{main|Bank Independent Stadium}}
Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium is a baseball stadium on the North Alabama campus in Florence, Alabama. It is a part of the Bank Independent Stadium complex. It is scheduled to be open for the 2025 season. It is built on the site of their previous stadium, Mike D. Lane Field, which shares the same namesake.
Head coaches
Records taken from the 2024 UNA Baseball Record Book. UNA began its baseball program in
1932 but records are incomplete or nonexistent for many of the early seasons. This results in incomplete records for Eddie Flowers and George Weeks. {{Cite web| url=https://roarlions.com/documents/2023/1/26/2024_Baseball_RECORD_BOOK.pdf|title=2024 UNA Baseball Record Book|accessdate=February 23, 2024}}
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=North Alabama Lions|Season|Coach|Years|Record|Pct.}} | ||||
1932-1949 | Eddie Flowers | 18 | 23-19-3* | {{Winning percentage|23|19|3}} |
1950-1971 | George Weeks | 22 | 163-159* | {{Winning percentage|163|159}} |
1972 | Jackie Pedigo | 1 | 10-19 | {{Winning percentage|10|19}} |
1973-1974 | Ricky Lindsey | 2 | 33-26 | {{Winning percentage|33|26}} |
1975 | Mike Dean | 1 | 12-23 | {{Winning percentage|12|23}} |
1976 | Tommy Jones | 1 | 15-26 | {{Winning percentage|15|26}} |
1977-1978 | Mike Knight | 2 | 55-65 | {{Winning percentage|55|65}} |
1979 | Gary Elliott | 1 | 18-17 | {{Winning percentage|18|17}} |
1980–1983 | Mike Galloway | 4 | 72-87 | {{Winning percentage|72|87}} |
1984–2008 | Mike Lane | 25 | 908–398–12 | {{Winning percentage|908|398|12}} |
2009–2018 | Mike Keehn | 10 | 308–201–1 | {{Winning percentage|346|333|1}} |
colspan=5 style={{NCAA color cell|North Alabama Lions}}| Division I Era | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
2019–2022 | Mike Keehn | 4 | 38–132 | {{Winning percentage|38|132}} |
2023–present | Jad Prachniak | 2 | 32–72–1 | {{Winning percentage|32|72|1}} |
class="sortbottom" style="{{NCAA secondary color cell|North Alabama Lions}}; font-weight:bold;"
| Totals | 12 coaches | 93 seasons | 1687–1244–17 | {{Winning percentage|1687|1244|17}} |
Program achievements
class="wikitable" |
Gulf South Conference League Championships
| 1984, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999 |
Gulf South Conference Division Champions
| 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2005 |
NCAA Division II Regional Tournament Appearances
| 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2011, 2012 |
NCAA Division II Regional Championships
| 1999 |
NCAA Division II National Championship Appearance
| 1999 |
Lions in the Major Leagues
style="background-color:#FFCC00; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"|
|= All-Star | |style="background-color:#CCFFCC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"|
|= Baseball Hall of Famer |
class="wikitable" |
Athlete
! Years in MLB ! MLB Teams |
---|
Cedric Landrum
|1991–1993 |Chicago Cubs, New York Mets |
Jim Czajkowski
|1994 |Colorado Rockies |
Terry Jones
|1996, 1998–2001 |Colorado Rockies, Montreal Expos |
Josh Willingham
|2004–2014 |Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals |
bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Sergio Romo
|2008–present |San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins |
Taken from the 2024 UNA Baseball Record Book. Updated February 22, 2024.