NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The New England Collegiate Baseball League is proud to announce that its executive board has agreed to include a roster exemption for federal service academy players for every organization going forward.

“The New England League is excited to offer even more opportunities to some of the best and brightest student-athletes our country has to offer by providing a great opportunity to experience New England while gaining valuable baseball experience playing in a top summer collegiate baseball league,” stated Sean McGrath, commissioner of the NECBL. 

“Students at these military academies have a very demanding schedule that includes military commitments during the summer months, which makes it more challenging for them to find a place to play during the summer,” McGrath continued. “Our decision to incorporate these military waivers provides our teams flexibility in managing their roster in order to accommodate these military obligations.”

The executive board’s decision to designate spots on every roster for two players from any of the five federal service academies will be in effect for the 2021 season onward. This exemption will allow every organization in the New England League to work with the academies to provide roster spots to their players in order to accommodate their military obligations over the summer. 

"On behalf of all the players and coaches from service academies, I would like to say thank you to the leadership in the NECBL that helped make this new rule happen,” stated Army West Point head coach Jim Foster. “Commissioner Sean McGrath, the team presidents, general managers and all the coaches in this great summer baseball league really did a great thing. This new rule that will allow service academy players to play more baseball in the summer while not counting towards roster limitations is a huge win for everyone involved.”

The NECBL has maintained a longstanding tradition of welcoming student-athletes from all walks of life and all across the country, spanning NCAA, NAIA and junior college ranks. The league upholds a commitment to partnering with a number of the region’s most scenic summer communities to offer collegiate baseball at its finest. Its obligation to student-athletes from every federal service academy furthers its mission to transcend communities and give the best student-athletes from across the country a chance at their dream.

“Every day, I see what these players will do for our country as future leaders and the commitment they have to play the game we all love,” Foster continued. “They will now get the same opportunities and experiences as others because of the roster flexibility now afforded to them thanks to this new rule.  Our hope is other leagues around the country will do the same and allow players from service academies – who do so much for all of us – to play and not count towards roster number limitations. Thank you again to the NECBL for being the first!"

“Our teams are grateful for the experiences they have had with players from these academies on their roster,” McGrath summated. “These future leaders of our military bring leadership qualities that influence fellow teammates as well as make an impact in their community as role models and mentors.” 

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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 150 alumni to the Major Leagues and has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 10 Major League Baseball Drafts. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.