NIAGARA FALLS, NY. (WKBW) — Imagine you’re a college baseball player from Western New York. And you hear that the SUNY Niagara Thunderwolves are a perfect 49-0 entering the NJCAA Division III World Series. I bet your reaction would be a lot like this.
“I’d want to play because they win and winning is fun," said Thunderwolves catcher and Maryvale alum Dalton Harper.
Harper, a former Super 7 Athlete of the week and Maryvale alum, is among the plethora of local area talent that make up the Thunderwolves roster. As is Cheektowaga alum and 2025 MLB Draft Prospect Matt Barr.
"We’re very close together here," Barr said. "All of our local guys have played against each other growing up so we were all really close even before coming here. It just makes it a little extra special.”
What this team has been able to do this season sounds more like a video game.
In 49 games this season, SUNY Niagara as a team has:
- .419 batting average
- .509 on-base percentage
- .632 slugging percentage
Defensively, they’ve racked up:
- 16 shutouts
- Opposing teams are batting just .182 against them.
In his 19 years as head coach, Matt Clingersmith may have his best roster yet.
“I think we've had great players in certain positions, and this team is our most balanced," said Clingersmith. "We can pitch it, obviously with Matt Barr, who’s a high draft pick this year, and our other D-1 (Division I) guys on the mound. And our one through nine and even our bench players, this is the most depth and balanced team I’ve ever had. One through nine, I don’t think there’s an easy out, and they can all leave the yard. Which I’ve never had before in my 19 years.”
In those 19 years at the helm, Clingersmith has led the Thunderwolves to the only nine College World Series appearances the program has ever had. His track record of success speaks for itself. So when Harper needed a change of scenery after his freshman year at Georgia Southern, coming back home and playing for Clingersmith was a no-brainer.
“It’s the trust he puts into his players," Harper said. "One, they have the knowledge and they coach us, but two, when we go out and play, they give us this trust and give us this confidence that brings out the best in us."
The Thunderwolves earned the number one overall seed in the NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series. A nice accomplishment, sure, but Harper, Barr, Clingersmith, and everyone have bigger goals than just being the number one team in the country.
“Doesn’t matter what seed we are or who we’re playing, we’re going to get the job done," Barr added. "We’re going to hit, we’re gonna pitch, doesn’t matter what seed we are, we’re going to get it done.”
“Right now, they think they’re just opening the park to go to Disney World. Every kid’s dream is to play in a World Series," Clingersmith added. "But it’s not just getting there for us, we’re not trying to sight-see, we’re going to try and bring it home for Western New York.”
That journey starts Saturday when SUNY Niagara takes on Century College in the opening round of the NJCAA Division III World Series in Auburn, New York. A couple more wins and this team will be crowned national champions.
