PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Houston was picked as the preseason favorite in the 2015 American Athletic Conference preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the conference’s eight head coaches. UCF, which received two first-place votes, ranked second, while conference newcomer East Carolina was selected as third. Cincinnati OF Ian Happ was voted the Preseason Player of the Year, while USF’s Jimmy Herget was tabbed as Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Houston received six of a possible seven first-place votes and had a conference-high six selections on the preseason team. The Cougars were 48-18 in 2014, capturing The American Championship before going on to win the Baton Rouge Regional in the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Super Regionals. Houston won eight games in 2014 over teams in the Baseball America Top 25. Four of Houston’s pitchers were preseason all-conference selections, as Aaron Garza, Andrew Lantrip and Jake Lemoine are joined by relief pitcher selection Jared Robinson on the team. Cougar 3B Connor Hollis and OF Kyle Survance were also selected to the team.
UCF finished second in the preseason voting, as the Knights look to build on a 36-23 campaign from a year ago. The Knights finished second in The American in 2014 before they were ousted by Houston in The American Championship. UCF placed three players on the preseason all-conference team in P Zach Rodgers, 2B Dylan Moore and DH Matt Diorio. Rodgers and Moore were second team all-conference selections a year ago.
East Carolina, one of two newcomers to The American in baseball this year, ranks third in the preseason poll with first-year head coach Cliff Godwin at the helm. The Pirates went 33-26 in their final year in Conference USA before the hiring of Godwin, who helped ECU to three NCAA Regional appearances as a player from 1999-2001 and seven appearances as an assistant coach prior to his return to Greenville.
UConn was selected fourth and had three preseason all-conference selections, as C Max McDowell, 1B Bobby Melley and OF Blake Davey earned the honors. All three were first team all-conference selections in 2014. UConn ranked third in The American with a 3.19 ERA in 2014, while Melley led the league in hitting at .359.
USF was picked fifth by the conference’s head coaches, and will be led again this year by Preseason Pitcher of the Year Jimmy Herget. Herget was second in The American with a 1.26 ERA over 15 starts in 2014, while ranking fourth in the conference with 107.1 innings pitched and third in strikeouts with 90. SS Kyle Teaf was also selected to the preseason all-conference team.
Tulane took sixth place in the poll. The Green Wave enters The American with a new head coach – David Pierce, who comes to New Orleans after leading Sam Houston State to NCAA Regional appearances in each of the last three seasons. The Green Wave returns seven of its top eight players in hits from a year ago.
Memphis finished seventh in preseason voting after a 30-29 campaign in 2014. The Tigers had four wins over ranked teams in 2014, with all four coming on the road. Memphis returns its top three leaders in batting average from a year ago, plus top starter Caleb Wallingford and reliever Nolan Blackwood.
Cincinnati was picked eighth, but will feature OF Ian Happ, The American’s Preseason Player of the Year. Happ hit .322 in 2014 with five home runs and 27 RBIs, while going 19-for-24 on the base paths and drawing 32 walks for a .443 on-base percentage.
Preseason Poll (First-place votes in parentheses)
Team Points
1. Houston (6) 48
2. UCF (2) 41
3. East Carolina 35
4. UConn 28
5. USF 27
6. Tulane 22
7. Memphis 16
8. Cincinnati 7
Preseason Player of the Year
Ian Happ, Jr., OF, Cincinnati
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Jimmy Herget, Jr., USF
Preseason All-Conference Team
P – Zach Rodgers, Sr., UCF
P – Jimmy Herget, Jr., USF
P – Aaron Garza, Sr., Houston
P – Andrew Lantrip, So., Houston
P – Jake Lemoine, Jr., Houston
RP – Jared Robinson, Sr., Houston
C – Max McDowell, Jr., UConn
1B – Bobby Melley, Jr., UConn
2B – Dylan Moore, Sr., UCF
3B – Connor Hollis, So., Houston
SS – Kyle Teaf, Jr., USF
OF – Ian Happ, Jr., Cincinnati
OF – Blake Davey, Sr., UConn
OF – Kyle Survance, Jr., Houston
DH – Matt Diorio, So., UCF
