The most versatile player on the Scarlet Raptors, and one of the top stars in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, R.J. Concepcion has appeared in 105 games at Rutgers-Camden, starting 104. He has started games in the outfield, at second base, at first base and as a catcher and a designated hitter, while compiling a .309 career batting average with 84 RBIs and 77 runs scored. His .462 career slugging percentage is built around 131 hits, including 22 doubles, eight triples and nine home runs. He also has stolen 18 bases in 24 attempts. His 131 career hits are tied for 15th on the program’s all-time list.
Concepcion owns a .9863 career fielding percentage, the sixth-best mark in program history for all players with the minimum of 200 total changes.
During his career, Concepcion has captured a pair of All-NJAC honors on the field and in the classroom. He also was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2018.
Academics: New Jersey Athletic Conference Academic Honorable Mention for the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 scholastic years…Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the 2017 Fall, 2018 Fall, 2019 Spring, 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring and 2021 Spring semesters…Dean’s List Spring 2019, Fall 2019 and Spring 2021.
Baseball 2021: Named New Jersey Athletic Conference Second Team as a utility player, as he started 11 games in left field, seven at second base, four as the designated hitter and four at first base…Played in all 27 Rutgers-Camden games, starting 26…Hit .315 with 17 runs and 22 RBIs…Collected five doubles, one triple and five home runs…Had a .519 slugging percentage and a .385 on-base percentage…Collected 11 walks, was hit by two pitches and had 11 strikeouts…Notched 54 putouts and 18 assists, while making only two errors, for a .973 fielding percentage…Participated in three double plays…Collected his 100th career hit with an eighth-inning double against Kean (March 27, Game One)…That March 27 game started a 10-game hitting streak (19-for-41 with a slash line of .463/.511/.805) which included three doubles, one triple, eight runs and 13 RBIs before being snapped on April 17…Along the way during that streak he went 5-for-5 with a home run, four runs and two RBIs against New Jersey City (April 10, Game 2), capping a doubleheader in which he went a combined 7-for-9 with five runs, four RBIs and two home runs…His 10-game hitting streak was the second-longest on the team in 2021 and included six multiple-hit games, including four straight…Named Rutgers-Camden’s Raptor of the Week (April 12)…Tied for the team lead with 10 multi-hit games…Tied for third on the team with five multiple-RBI games…Went 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run and four RBIs at The College of New Jersey (April 29)…Had his season high of eight putouts while playing first base against Rutgers-Newark in the second game of an April 8 doubleheader…Notched his season high of six assists as a second baseman at Stockton University (April 23).
Baseball 2020: Started all six Rutgers-Camden games in the season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic…Was the only Scarlet Raptor to hit safely in all six games…Finished second on the team in batting average (.417) among all regulars…Had five runs, three doubles, seven RBIs and the team’s only triple during the short season…Compiled a .625 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage…Walked twice and tied for the team lead with one sacrifice fly…Was successful on his lone stolen base attempt…Compiled a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 17 chances (16 putouts, one assist), while adding three double plays…Went 1-for-4 with a triple and one RBI in the first game of a season-opening doubleheader at Immaculata (Feb. 23) and was 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI in the nightcap…In a doubleheader against Oneonta (March 1), went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a stolen base and one run in the opener and 1-for-4 with a double and one run in the second game…Went 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and one run at Ursinus (March 2)…Had one double in four at bats at Neumann (March 9), adding a sacrifice fly, scoring one run and plating three.
Baseball 2019: Appeared in 31 games, starting all of them…Hit .280 with a .472 slugging percentage (third on the team) and a .352 on-base percentage…Finished second on the Raptors with eight doubles, two triples and seven stolen bases…Third on the team with 25 RBIs…Tied for third on the team with four home runs and 24 runs scored…Fourth on the team with 13 walks…Notched 123 putouts and 10 assists for a .985 fielding percentage…NJAC Player of the Week (March 4)…Had 12 multiple-hit games, the fourth-highest total on the team…Compiled a seven-game hitting streak to start the season (11-for-27, .407) and a pair of four-game streaks during the campaign…Notched three hits against both 10th-ranked Cortland (March 2, 3-for-4, one run, two RBIs, one double and one home run) and William Paterson (March 30, Game 2, 3-for-5, two runs)…Notched a high of 15 total chances (13 putouts, two assists) while playing catcher against Anderson (March 19)…Also had 12 putouts as the catcher against both Springfield (March 17, Game 2) and Benedictine (March 21, Game 2).
Baseball 2018: New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year…NJAC First Team…Started all 41 of his games, including 28 at first base, eight in left field, three at designated hitter and two at catcher…Batted third in the lineup in 32 games and served as the leadoff man in nine contests…Hit .311 with a .395 slugging percentage and a .363 on-base percentage…Led the club in triples (4), sacrifices (8) and putouts (274)…Finished fourth on the team with 66 total bases…Added six doubles…Tied for third on the team in RBIs (30) and finished sixth in runs scored (31)…Fifth on the team with 15 multiple-hit games, including a huge 5-for-5 game against Kean University (April 26) when he collected six RBIs, scored three runs, had two stolen bases and stroked two triples in addition to adding 17 putouts and one assist…His two triples tied the program’s single-game mark, his five hits missed the record by one and his 17 putouts were three shy of the team’s single-game mark…Also went 4-for-6 with two runs, three RBIs and two stolen bases as the Raptors’ leadoff man at Johns Hopkins University (March 3)…His trio of three-hit games came against Eastern Connecticut State University (March 16, 3-for-4), The College of New Jersey (3-for-4, including a double, while notching 12 putouts) and Rowan University (April 12, 3-for-4, two runs, two RBIs, one walk and 12 putouts)…Had a sacrifice in four of his last six games, including the last three…Tied for third on the team with nine multiple-RBI games, including his six against Kean and a 2-for-5, four-RBI game at Montclair State University (April 21, Game Two) in which he added one double, one stolen base, one run and 12 putouts…Collected double-digit putouts on 11 occasions…Had his season-high eight-game hitting streak from March 31 (Game Two) through April 12, going 13-for-30 (.433) with eight runs and six RBIs.
High School: Captured three varsity baseball letters at Audubon High School for Coach Rich Horan…Earned All-South Jersey First Team honors and played in the Carpenter Cup as a junior…Captured All-Conference First Team honors during both his junior and senior seasons…Principal’s List and National Honor Society…Graduated in 2017.
Club Team: Played for the Brooklawn American Legion program.
Personal: Born October 26, 1999…. Roberto “R.J.” Concepcion…Last name pronounced “Con-sep-see-own”…Hobbies and interests include video games, cars and racing…Biology major and pre-med student at Rutgers-Camden…Plans to attend medical school and study radiology…R.J. is the son of Roberto Sr. and Elizabeth Concepcion of Cherry Hill.
