BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - FDU Baseball set another program record as the Knights has six players named to the All-NEC first team, as well as three major award winners, as sophomore outfielder Hunter Ray won the NEC's Player of the Year, freshman relief pitcher Chris Messina won the NEC's Rookie of the Year, and FDU's head coach Manny Roman was tabbed with the NEC Coach of the Year honors. 

Hunter Ray's record breaking NEC season came to an end with him hitting .352 with 28 home runs, an FDU and NEC single season record, as well as 75 RBI's, also an FDU record. Ray finished the regular season just five RBI's shy of the NEC's single season record. Ray also swiped 24 bases in the regular season, making him the first player to a 20/20 season in all of division one baseball this season. Ray becomes the 6th player in FDU's history to be named the NEC Player of the Year, and the first since 2012. 

Chris Messina has been lock down out of the FDU bullpen in 2026, so good that he earned the honor of being the NEC's Rookie of the Year. Messina pitched to a 4.47 ERA in his freshman season across 48.1 innings. Messina also owns a unbeaten record of 5-0 with 47 strikeouts, that figure leads the team. Messina is the 4th NEC Rookie of the Year in FDU Baseball history, and the first since Salvatore Monticciolo in 2019. 

Manny Roman has been the leader of Knights Baseball since 2022, and was honored with the first NEC Coach of the Year award in his career with FDU. Roman has led the Knights to 32 wins in the regular season, as well as 25 wins in the NEC, both of which are program records. The Knights have also broken all sorts of team records offensively such as home runs, runs scored, as well as batting average. Roman is only the second coach to win the NEC's Coach of the Year award, and the first since Dennis Sasso's third award in 1999. 

Six Knights landed on the All-NEC first team in 2026, with the first being the designated hitter Jeremy Delamota. Delamota came to the Knights from Wagner for his final year of college eligibility and has been a revelation to the potent FDU lineup. Delamota ended the regular season with a .345 batting average in 50 games, as he made 47 starts. Delamota also hit eight home runs and drove in 44 runners this season, both being career highs. 

Nick Quagliato received the honor as being on the NEC's First Team as a catcher, as Quagliato has provided the power and clutch hitting all season for the burgundy and blue. Quagliato in 35 games, 31 of which being starts, hit .331 with seven home runs and 35 RBI. Quaglaito also provided one of the moments of FDU's season, hitting a game tying home run at Wagner in the ninth inning, as the Knights were down to their last out. 

Jeremy Cheeseman's two-way ability made headlines all season long, but his ability to hit the baseball and play a great first base earned him the honor as being on the All-NEC first team as the first baseman. At the plate this season, Cheeseman finished the regular season with a .333 batting average in 50 games and 49 starts. Cheeseman finished the season second on the team with 15 home runs, good for third all time in a single season for any FDU Knight. 

Johnathan Gomez was another Knight that found himself on the All-NEC first team, as he was named the conference's best shortstop by the coaches vote. Gomez played and started in 102 consecutive games to start his FDU career, a streak that lasted for all of his freshman season in 2025, and 50 games of the 2026 campaign. Gomez led the team in average for a second season in a row, hitting .376 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI's. Gomez also finished third in the country in total runs scored with 75, finishing just two runs behind the nation's leader, whom played four more games than Gomez did. Gomez lead the country in runs per game in 2026, and finds himself on a All-NEC list for a second season in a row. 

Reliever Nick Noble was another Knight that was named to the All-NEC first team after a career season out of FDU's bullpen. Noble opened the season with eight straight scoreless appearances, and stayed with that momentum all through 2026. Noble finished the regular season with a team low ERA of 2.76, striking out 34 batters in 42.1 innings. Noble also grabbed five wins and seven saves, with the saves figure being third all time in a single season by any FDU Knight. Noble also logged 19 appearances in the regular season for FDU, a number that has only been topped three times in the history of FDU baseball, going back to the start of appearance tracking. 

Outfielder Jimmy Mantuano was the only Knight to make the NEC's second team, as Mantuano produced an incredible year before going down with a wrist injury. Mantuano logged 56 base hits in 41 games to the tune of a .348 batting average in 2026. Mantuano also stole 18 bases on 19 tries, and hit 17 doubles, that number good for top five all time in a single season. 

FDU will commence post season play at Skylands Stadium Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. with the Knights taking on the three seed Wagner in the first round. Action from Skylands Stadium can be streamed on ESPN+.