GORHAM, Maine  -- The 1997 University of Southern Maine baseball team that captured the NCAA Division III national championship is the Huskies' second national championship team, but it has the distinction of the first team selected for induction into the Little East Conference Hall of Fame.  When the conference expanded its selection process to include teams, the '97  team was announced as the inaugural team to be enshrined in the LEC Hall of Fame  as part of the Class of 2020.

In addition to the '97 team's selection, the LEC announced that former LEC baseball Player of the Year (1999) and All-American outfielder Mike McCullum and two-time LEC women's basketball Player of the Year Allison Gagnon Gray will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2020. The LEC also recently announced its 2021 Hall of Fame Class and it includes former women's basketball standout and three-time All-Little East Conference center Katriina Pulkkinen-Hoass. 
Established in 2012, the LEC Hall of Fame now includes 93 individuals and two teams with the inclusion of the Class of 2020 and 2021.  Plans to celebrate the inductions of McCullum, Gagnon Gray, Pulkkinen-Hoaas and the '97 baseball team will be announced at a future date. 

While the LEC was formed in 1986, baseball did not become a conference sport until the 1996-97 academic year, which proved to be a banner year for the Huskies as head coach Ed Flaherty's squad posted an overall record of 39-9 on its way to winning the first-ever LEC regular season and tournament championships, and USM's second DIII national title.

The Huskies posted an 11-3 record in conference play to claim the top spot in the league's North Division before going undefeated in the inaugural LEC championship tournament, securing the conference title with an 11-5 victory over UMass Dartmouth. The Huskies totaled seven All-LEC selections in the conference's first baseball season, which saw third baseman Tony Miner named the 1997 LEC Player of the Year and Flaherty named LEC Coach of the Year.

Southern Maine then went on to capture the 1997 Division III New England Regional with a perfect 3-0 record, posting a 23-3 victory over Amherst and twice defeating LEC rival Eastern Connecticut (6-3 and 4-1) to punch its ticket to the College World Series in Salem, Virginia.

The Huskies opened the national tournament with three straight victories, defeating Wooster (7-1), North Carolina Wesleyan (14-4) and Carthage (6-5) before dropping a 2-1 decision to SUNY Cortland. Despite the loss, USM remained one win away from winning it all, and went on to rout Wooster 15-1 to secure the program's second national championship in six years.

In addition to their LEC postseason honors, Miner was named a first team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) for the second consecutive season, and the 1997 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Player of the Year.  Three USM players were named to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-New England Team - pitchers Matt Harbour and Jason Jensen, and Miner.  Harbour and Miner also garnered All-ECAC honors.

With his 2020 selection, McCullum became the first player from the 1997 squad to be inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame, while Flaherty was inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame in 2013.  To date, Cory Adams, Jason Jensen, Jason Crepeau, McCullum, Bill O'Brien Denny Webber, and assistant coaches Greg Coppeta and Vinnie Degifico, both of whom starred on the field at USM before joining the coaching staff, are members of the Husky Hall of Fame.