Bethune-Cookman Wins First SWAC Baseball Title; NCAA Tournament Bracket Monday

The Wildcats gain first SWAC title and await their NCAA opponent.

Bethune-Cookman, SWAC Baseball Tournament Champions | SWAC

Sunday's victory at Rickwood Field was the first major sports championship for the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats under athletic director Reggie Theus since becoming a member of the SWAC in July 2021.

"Listen, one of the most exciting things I've ever seen," Theus told HBCU Premier Sports postgame. "Down to the wire, a 400-yard walk-off home run in a championship game. It doesn't get any bigger than that. This team is a winner. They exemplify what we talk about the championship culture. Not only they're great on this on the field, [but] they're also great academically - a 3.5 GPA for this team."

The Wildcats can boast that after SWAC Co-Hitter of the Year, Andrey Martinez boomed a walk-off home run off FAMU pitcher Carson Kelly at the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs.  

Bethune-Cookman - SWAC Champs | BCU Athletics

"It was never a panic, man," Coach Johnathan Hernandez said to HBCU Premier Sports. The biggest thing was I told Jeter. If we get on, we're winning this game. I just need you to get on any way possible. And it worked out. You just spoke it to existence. There's never a doubt. There was never a panic." He continued, "I think this week showed the resilience, the grit, and the toughness of the Bethune-Cookman baseball program."

It was Martinez's second time during the SWAC Baseball Tournament that his clutch hitting advanced Bethune-Cookman to the next game. B-CU will play in the NCAA Baseball Tournament as the SWAC's automatic qualifier this time.

Bethune-Cookman Wins The 2025 SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship | ESPN

"We travel well, man, and it's a tight-knit group. We have a family-oriented atmosphere here in our program, and our families are involved just as much as we are. So I thank them for traveling all the way from the 386 here to Birmingham, Alabama, to show support," Coach Hernandez remarked.

Reggie Theus praised his SWAC Coach of the Year, Johnathan Hernadez, noting, "When you think about what he's done with this team, not only this year, but all the years prior to. He's done a fantastic job. He creates a culture that is necessary. And the thing I love about this team is that he does his job, but this is a player-driven team. This is why they're champions. Anytime the coach is a coach-driven team, you can't win a championship. When it's a player-driven team, these are the things that happen for you."

Automatic bids to the NCAA baseball tournament automatic bids for 2025:  

• America East: Binghamton
• AAC: East Carolina
• ASUN: Stetson*
• Atlantic 10: Rhode Island
• ACC: North Carolina
• Big 12: Arizona
• Big East: Creighton
• Big South: USC Upstate
• Big Ten: Nebraska
• Big West: Cal Poly
• CAA: Northeastern
• Conference USA: Western Kentucky
• Horizon League: Wright State
• Ivy League: Columbia
• MAAC: Fairfield
• MAC: Miami (OH)
• Missouri Valley: Murray State
• Mountain West: Fresno State
• NEC: Central Connecticut
• Ohio Valley: Little Rock
• Patriot: Holy Cross
• SEC: Vanderbilt
• Southland: Houston Christian
• Southern: East Tennessee State
• SWAC: Bethune-Cookman
• Summit: North Dakota State
• Sun Belt: Coastal Carolina
• WCC: Saint Mary's
• WAC: Utah Valley

NCAA REGIONAL HOST SITES

1. Athens Regional (Georgia)
2. Auburn Regional (Auburn)
3. Austin Regional (Texas)
4. Baton Rouge Regional (LSU)
5. Chapel Hill Regional (North Carolina)
6. Clemson Regional (Clemson)
7. Conway Regional (Coastal Carolina)
8. Corvallis Regional (Oregon State)
9. Eugene Regional (Oregon)
10. Fayetteville Regional (Arkansas)
11. Hattiesburg Regional (Southern Miss)
12. Knoxville Regional (Tennessee)
13. Los Angeles Regional (UCLA)
14. Nashville Regional (Vanderbilt)
15. Oxford Regional (Ole Miss)
16. Tallahassee Regional (Florida State)

Bethune-Cookman, the only HBCU baseball program with an automatic bid, should land in the Tallahassee Regional. However, the NCAA Selection Committee has sent smaller programs across the country to face larger programs.

The 2025 NCAA baseball schedule is as follows:

1. Selection Show: Monday, May 26 (noon ET)
2. Regionals: May 30-June 2
3. Super Regionals: June 6-9
4. College World Series: June 13-22/23

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BETHUNE-COOKMAN ARE THE SWAC BASEBALL CHAMPS

Andrey Martinez, the Co-Hitter of the Year, leads Bethune-Cookman to victory in the 2025 SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship by hitting a walk-off home run over center field against Florida A&M. This thrilling finale was a storybook ending for the Wildcats, as their top hitter secured an 11-9 win, allowing Bethune-Cookman to advance to the 2025 NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament.

ESPN's color analyst Jay Walker said it best as Martinez stood at the plate: "Either they are going to win it with this at bat, or they're going to lose it with this at bat."

Bethune-Cookman, SWAC Baseball Tournament Champions | SWAC

At Rickwood Field, a park where legendary performances have occurred by baseball's greats, Martinez was facing a two-ball pitch with two runners out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Rattlers' pitcher delivered a pitch down the center of the plate, and Martinez crushed it high for a 400+ foot bomb to go yard. Game over!

Andrey Martinez hits the walk off homerun in the SWAC Baseball Tournament Championship | ESPN

Andrey Martinez was hitting .351 on the season with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs- but he threw him the pitch anyway. The Wildcat's hitting leader went 3-for-6 at-bats while hitting a game-winning home run and four RBIs.

It was an exhilarating victory for the Wildcats, who trailed for most of the contest after going up 3-0 in the second inning.

FAMU tied the game 3-3 in the sixth inning and took control with a four-run seventh inning to lead 7-6 over the No. 1 seeded B-CU squad.

Each team scored two runs in the eighth inning, making it a 9-8 game as FAMU maintained its advantage heading into the final inning. The Rattlers could not extend the lead in the ninth, giving Bethune-Cookman an opportunity for a dramatic ending.

Wildcats Celebrate! | ESPN

With two outs, Andrey Martinez calmly stepped to the plate like an Ol' Wild West gunslinger. He took two balls from FAMU pitcher Carson Kelly before launching the baseball over the wall in epic fashion for the walk-off homer.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat was on full display in the SWAC Championship. You cannot fault Kelly. He was pitching well, and Rodriguez was hitting behind Martinez, who already had 2 RBIs for B-CU.

SWAC Champs | ESPN

Bethune-Cookman pitcher Joel Core (6-1) earned the win, and Florida A&M's Carson Kelly posted the loss.

Florida A&M had 9 runs, 9 hits, and four errors, while B-CU notched 11 runs, 15 hits, and one error on the afternoon.

2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament | ESPN

The Wildcats will await the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee's announcement on their regionals placement and seeding on Monday at noon ET.

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HBCU LEGENDS - KYLE T. MOSLEY, HOST