What Sports Teams Are in New Jersey?

New Jersey is home to some amazing professional sports teams! Here’s a list of all the teams that call the Garden State home.

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Major League Teams

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other being the New York Mets of the National League. In baseball, the Yankees’ chief rivals are the Boston Red Sox, with whom they compete for the AL East division title; and the Houston Astros, with whom they played for the AL Pennant and competed against in the 2017 American League Championship Series.

New York Mets

The Mets are a professional baseball team based in New York City. They play in the National League East division. The Mets are one of two Major League Baseball teams in New York City, the other being the New York Yankees.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a professional baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team’s home has been Citizens Bank Park, located in South Philadelphia. The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008), seven National League pennants (1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009), and 14 National League East titles (1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2007-2011).

Minor League Teams

While New Jersey is home to several professional sports teams, there are also several Minor League teams located throughout the state. From baseball to hockey, there is a minor league team for almost every sport. In this article, we will take a look at all of the minor league teams in New Jersey.

Trenton Thunder

The Trenton Thunder are a minor league baseball team that play in the Eastern League. The Thunder are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They play their home games at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Thunder were originally founded in 1980 as the Trenton Stars and were members of the New York-Penn League. In 1985, the team was renamed the Trenton Oldsmobiles after their parent club, the Oakland Athletics, changed affiliations from the Yankees to the Oldsmobiles. After a few more years as an unaffiliated minor league team, they became part of the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 1989 and took on the name “Trenton Phillies”.

In 1994, the team moved to their current home, Waterfront Park. The following year, they became known as the “Thunder”, a reference to both a severe weather event that occurred during construction of their new stadium and to General George S. Patton who was based in nearby Lawrenceville during World War II.

The Thunder won back-to-back Eastern League championships in 2007 and 2008. They have also produced several Major League Baseball players including Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes and Brett Gardner.

Camden Riversharks

The Camden Riversharks were a professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey. They were members of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Riversharks played their home games at Campbell’s Field.

The franchise was previously known as the Nashua Pride (1995–2003), and the North Shore Spirit (2004–2006) before moving to Newark, New Jersey, and becoming the Newark Bears (2007). The team then moved to Camden prior to the 2008 season.

In 2015, after failing to find a new stadium lease or buyer for Campbell’s Field, and facing declining attendance, team ownership announced that they would not operate the team beyond the end of the 2015 season. The team ceased operations after the 2015 season.

Lakewood BlueClaws

The Lakewood BlueClaws are a Minor League Baseball team in the South Atlantic League. The team, which plays in the Northern Division, is the Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The BlueClaws are based in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, and play their home games at FirstEnergy Park.

The team was founded in 2001 and has won two league championships, in 2006 and 2010. They have also been named “Organization of the Year” by Minor League Baseball four times, more than any other team in Minor League Baseball.

College Teams

There are several college teams in New Jersey. These teams include, but are not limited to, the Seton Hall Pirates, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and the Princeton Tigers. New Jersey also has several professional teams, but college teams are the focus of this article. Each team mentioned has a link to their website so you can learn more about them.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers Scarlet Knights, commonly referred to as Rutgers, is the athletic program that represents Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rutgers is a Division I school in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s Big Ten Conference. In 2016, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Rutgers #65 in the country out of 277 schools for having the best return on investment for its students.

Seton Hall Pirates

The Seton Hall Pirates are the athletic teams representing Seton Hall University. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I. Seton Hall’s athletics department fields 22 varsity level teams and plays in the Big East Conference for all sports except fencing, where it competes in the Mid-Atlantic Fencing Conference.

The pirates are best known for their nationally ranked men’s basketball team, but Seton Hall also sponsors successful programs in other sports. The women’s volleyball team has won seven Big East Regular Season Championships (1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1994) and nine Big East Tournament Championships (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1994), while the men’s soccer team has won four Big East Regular Season Championships (2000, 2003, 2004 and 2006) and two Big East Tournament Championships (2000 and 2004).

Princeton Tigers

The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Princeton University. They compete in the NCAA Division I and in the Ivy League. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The Princeton Tigers are also notable for their success in a number of Olympic sports, winning multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter games.