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North Central Texas College (formerly known as
Cooke County College) began intercollegiate baseball play
in the spring of 1993. This was the first year for the school
to ever have a baseball team in its 75-year history
. (Incidentally, NCTC is the oldest continuously operating
public two-year college in Texas and in 1999 celebrated its
Diamond Jubilee Anniversary.)
North Central's first ten seasons
have been among the top productive junior colleges in the
nation. Only four teams out of our nineteen team region
have made the play-offs every year since the changed format
in 1995. In the last four years alone the Lions have
averaged 42 wins per season at a .720 winning percentage.
The Lions have won two Conference Championships in
the last three years. Our highest achievement was winning
the National Championship in 2001 with a 53-15 record.
This past season the team won the Conference Championship
with a 30-6 record and finished with a 46-12 record overall.
There has been much success placing our players with
scholarships to four-year universities (Click "Where
Are They Now?" ). The
program has placed over 85% of its sophomores at four-year
universities. In the last four years, over 94% of our
sophomores received scholarships to continue their baseball
career. Over 80% have received scholarships at the
Division I level. Nineteen former Lions have signed
professional contracts.
On the academic side, North Central has been just as successful.
North Central has averaged over a 3.0 GPA each year
for the past four seasons. This past season's team
finsihed 4th in the country for NJCAA Academic Team of the
Year with an overall GPA of 3.23. North Central has
had six Academic All-Americans in the last four years.
Players have to carry at least a 3.65 GPA for four semesters
to be named Academic All-American.
NCTC is a member of the National
Junior College Athletic Association and plays in the
North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference which includes:
McLennan Community College in Waco, Vernon College in Vernon,
Hill College in Hillsboro, Grayson County College in Sherman,
Ranger College in Ranger, Temple College in Temple, and Brookhaven
College of Dallas. The Lions play in NJCAA Region V, which
holds its regional tournament at McMurray University's million-dollar
stadium located in Abilene, Texas. |
