Wilmington Sharks: Everything you need to know

The Wilmington Sharks 2025 season will open on May 29, 2025, the Coastal Plain League announces. 

If you’re planning a trip to the area, check out all of our Wilmington, NC posts.

A couple years ago, I saw a tweet from Wilmington Sharks giving away free tickets for the baseball team’s home opening scrimmage. The team was calling the day Fan Fest and had a band playing for an hour before the game.

Of course, we had to go and check it out.

We had such a fun time. If you’re coming to Wilmington, NC, or if you just live here, definitely catch a game if you get the chance.

Wilmington Sharks: Everything you need to know

The Wilmington Sharks are a collegiate summer baseball team that plays in the Coastal Plain League. It was founded in 1997, the same year the Coastal Plain League began.

The team’s home field is Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium (2149 Carolina Beach Road), which is technically in the . To locals, the field is affectionately known as “The Shark Tank.”

This was also home to the semi-professional soccer team, The Wilmington Hammerheads, until 2016.

There are four divisions of the league: North, South, East, and West. The Wilmington Sharks play in the East division, along with the Fayetteville SwampDogs from Fayetteville, NC, the Holly Springs Salamanders from Holly Springs, NC, and the Morehead City Marlins from Morehead City, NC.

There are usually 52 regular season games during a full-season, with a mix of home and away. The majority of the games are played in the division, but there are additional games outside of division play.

After the regular season, the Petitt Cup Playoffs begin with divisionals, regionals, and then the championship.

The Sharks actually won the Petitt Cup last year (2024). It won the championship (pre-Petitt Cup) in 1998 and 1999. So, last year was a big deal.

Another big year for the Sharks was 2002. That’s when Tom Mastny, a former pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, was a member of the Sharks.

Fun fact: Mastny is the only Indonesian-born player in Major League history, which is pretty cool.

He wasn’t the only former Sharks player to play in the MLB. Alec Bohm, current third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, played for the Sharks in 2016. And Ryan Jeffers, who played for UNCW, is currently catching for the Minnesota Twins.

Tickets range from $13 to $15, depending on where you want to sit. If you check out the Wilmington Sharks seating chart, you can see what seats are what prices.

Concessions are not included in the ticket price. So you’ll want to bring some extra money to buy beverages, hot dogs, pizza, ice cream … all the traditional baseball fare.

And beer.

In the past, Thursdays were Thirsty Thursdays and select beverages were only $1. I can’t find any info on that promotion for this year, though.

But, the Wilmington Sharks have a full promotions schedule with fireworks, theme nights, and more.

Part of why I love rec leagues and minor league teams. There are usually games between innings and periods. And the Wilmington Sharks don’t disappoint.

Between innings, a child (previously selected) can race the team’s mascot Sharky the Shark. There are also potato sack races, relay races, and more.

Wilmington Sharks: Frequently Asked Questions

Are you planning to go to a Wilmington Sharks game this season?