Baseball Recognized in Winningest NCAA Division III Programs of Decade

The Penn State Behrend Lions baseball program continues to gain attention after back-to-back championship seasons.

The NCAA recognizes the most successful Division III baseball programs over the last decade based on winning percentage and total wins. In the most recent posting, the Behrend Lions have won 65.7% of their games and rank thirty-third. The blue and white have also racked up 275 wins, which is thirtieth on the charts. St. Scholastica (MN) leads the winning percentage at 81.9% and Wooster (OH) has registered the most wins with 372. Currently the NCAA Division III level has more than 350 baseball programs.

"We are fortunate to have had several top notch players and assistant coaches involved in our baseball program over the years, and we have managed to mesh together to achieve a great deal of success," said head coach Paul Benim. "Behrend is a great place for positive academic and athletic experiences. The future of Behrend baseball looks very exciting," said Benim who will enter his eighteenth season as a head coach at Behrend this fall. He is the all-time leader in baseball coaching victories at Behrend with a 353-212-2 record during fourteen seasons and posts a career head coach mark of 435-249-2.

The 2009 Behrend Lions posted an impressive 16-2 AMCC regular-season record, a regional ranking of fourth in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic region polls, and national rankings in a couple polls. Behrend then earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament and posted the fourth most wins in school history with a 31-13 overall record. In addition, three players earned ABCA-Rawlings All-Region honors, and three made the ECAC South All-Star squad and were selected as the Pitcher and Player of the Year. The program also had its fifth AMCC Player of the Year.