By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
March 17, 2020
JENKINTOWN, PA—The NJCAA announced March 16, following recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations, that the Division I and II Men's and Women's Basketball Championships and all Spring competition has been officially cancelled due to COVID-19.
According to the NJCAA:
"'In light of the progressive evolvement of the COVID-19 situation, the NJCAA has decided to end all competition for the remainder of the academic year,' stated Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President & CEO. 'As an association, the NJCAA exhausted all possible avenues to potentially postpone competition for both upcoming basketball championships and spring sport competition. We believe following the recommendations of the CDC is in the best interest of our member colleges and our student-athletes.'
Spring competition includes all practices, regular season, postseason, and national championship play. Regarding eligibility for spring sports, no spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled at a member college in 2020 will be charged a year of participation.
Along with the cancellation of competition, all on and off-campus recruiting for all sports will be halted until April 15 with further evaluation to be assessed at that point in time.
The NJCAA will explore the opportunity to expand allowable Letters of Intent for spring sports for both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years under the recommendation of the NJCAA Eligibility Committee.
The NJCAA will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available."
Manor College baseball (5-22 overall, 3-12 Region XIX Division III, and 2-6 Eastern Pennsylvania Athletics Conference in 2019) was scheduled to begin its third season under Head Coach Jose Toledo in a road doubleheader versus the Division III Atlantic Cape Community College Buccaneers (0-5 overall and 0-3 Region XIX Division III in 2020) on Saturday, March 14 at Surf Stadium in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Their non-conference schedule included USCAA member Williamson College of the Trades and NJCAA Region XIX Division II schools: Lehigh Carbon Community College, Rowan College at Burlington County, and Sussex County Community College.
The Blue Jays were returning four players from the 2019 squad: Outfielder Alex Bautista (Philadelphia, PA/Swenson Arts & Technology) (0.294 batting average in 22 games), second baseman Xavier Delgado (Philadelphia, PA/MaST Charter) (11 games), right-handed pitcher Briant Loya (Philadelphia, PA/Parkway Center City) (Nine games/six starts/school-record three wins/school-record two complete games/school-record 45 2/3 innings pitched/school-record 35 strikeouts), and outfielder Shawn Vega (Philadelphia, PA/Olney Charter) (0.355 batting average/0.419 on-base percentage/0.419 slugging percentage in 25 games). Vega led Manor in 2019 in at-bats (school-record 93) and runs scored (school-record 26) and shared the team lead in plate appearances (school-record 105). Loya was named to the EPAC Spring 2019 Semester All-Academic Team. Vega was named to the EPAC All-Region Team.
The Blue Jays' Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field team was scheduled to begin its second season under first-year Head Coach Jeff McCann on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 at the Danny Curran Invitational at NCAA Division I Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Men's and Women's teams competed in four invitationals/meets each in 2019.
Manor College Director of Athletics John Dempster: "Although the athletic season was cut short, I want to let the Manor College community know that our athletes are smart, tough, and resilient. They work play hard and study harder. I want our athletes to know that we will take every step we can to get them back and doing what they love the most. The Athletic Department takes the COVID-19 virus seriously and your health and safety is our first priority. Be well and be safe."