Baseball practice has started for Madison College as the team prepares for the start of a new season.

Usually, the team has its sights set on post-season play, and for good reason.

Madison College has made 14 appearances in the National Tournament in school history, including a point from 2010-2015 where the WolfPack made consecutive appearances. Madison College has even won back-to-back-to-back national titles from 1995-1997.

Last season Madison College reached the National Tournament with a 40-9 record, earning a No. 2 seed and playing in the semi-finals.

Unfortunately for Madison College, the team already knows it will not be playing in the national tournament this season.

The baseball program has been placed on probation and is ineligible for this year’s post-season tournaments.

Every year the NJCAA audits 5 percent of the schools, and last year Madison College was one of those schools. During the audit, the NJCAA found that Madison College didn’t have the transfer waiver form filled out for some of the players. 

Because of the results of the audit, Madison College had to forfeit the games in which the players whose paperwork wasn’t complete played. So instead of a 40-win season, the official record will show last year’s record as 29-24 with a forfeit in the NJCAA regional championship.

“The college made a mistake in not having the proper paperwork turned in, it was just a clerical error.  The players didn’t do anything wrong,” Madison College baseball coach Mike Davenport said.  “We know what we did on the field was earned.”

Madison College will have to sit out of the post season this year as a result.  The baseball team along with three other teams will be audited this year as a result also.

Since the audit, Madison College Athletic Director Steve Hauser had implemented a new checks and balance system, where more people are going to be involved in the paperwork process. 

Even without the possibility of post-season play this season, Davenport said his players are excited about the upcoming season and working hard.

“We are young.  Last year’s entire team position-wise was sophomores, we only return Cam Cratic, Carson Holin, and Pierson Gibis that have post-season play,” he said. “They are the only players that would have been playing at the end of last season, for the most part.  But it is a talented group.”

Madison College starts of the season on Feb. 28 through March 1 when they travel to Millington, TN, to play in the Babe Howard JUCO Classic.