NEW YORK – For the second-straight season, the voting for preseason favorite is split by just one vote, this time in favor of St. John’s, who was the BIG EAST baseball coaches’ decision for No. 1 with 32 total points, three first-place votes. Creighton, last year’s regular-season champion was picked second with 31 points with Seton Hall a close third at 29 votes. Creighton and Seton Hall split the final four first-place votes evenly. All three teams finished at the top of the BIG EAST regular-season standings for 2014.
The Red Storm’s No. 1 pick was bolstered by a league-high six players selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team. Three of the six were unanimous selections. St. John’s was also picked as No. 29 in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s Fabulous 40 Preseason Poll, released on Dec. 22. Both Creighton and Seton Hall received votes in the poll.
St. John’s returns nine starters from a team that went 35-20 and finished second with a 13-5 BIG EAST record. Offensively, the lineup returns 100 percent (20-of-20) of its home runs, 96 percent (338-of-352) of its runs scored and 95.6 percent of its hits (524-of-548) from a season ago. The offense also returns 95.1 percent (294-of-309) of its RBI and 92.6 percent (75-of-81) of its doubles. On the mound, returning pitchers account for 77.3 percent (314-of-406) of its strikeouts and 72.7 percent (40-of-50) of starts.
Xavier, which defeated Creighton to win the 2014 BIG EAST Championship and earn an automatic NCAA bid, was chosen fourth by the coaches with 22 points. Villanova (12 points), Butler (11 points) and Georgetown (10 points) rounded out the poll.
Creighton and Seton Hall split the major player awards with Bluejay juniors Reagan Fowler picked as Preseason Player of the Year and Matt Warren voted Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year. Warren split the honors with Seton Hall junior Luke Cahill.
Voting was conducted by the conference’s seven head coaches who could not cast ballots for their own players.
Fowler, the reigning BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year, recently earned Louisville Slugger® Preseason All-America honors with a third team selection. A unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, Fowler led the Bluejays with a .362 average, 16 doubles, three triples and a .464 on-base percentage in 2014. The first baseman also earned BIG EAST All-Tournament and First Team honors. Fowler contended for a Gold Glove, committing just two errors for a .997 fielding percentage in 2014.
With a tie in voting, the BIG EAST coaches selected two players as Co-Pitchers of the Year.
Warren, a right-handed pitcher, posted a 10-1 record in 2014 with a 2.03 Earned Run Average, which was third-best in the BIG EAST. He was also selected to the Louisville Slugger® Preseason All-America Second Team and was a 2014 BIG EAST First Team honoree. Warren struck out 45 batters and yielded just 62 hits in 14 appearances, 12 starts. His 6.62 hits-allowed-per-nine-innings ranked second in the conference. Warren was also a unanimous selection the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad.
Cahill was voted to the All-BIG EAST Second Team and was an ABCA All-Region Second Team selection in 2014. The junior hurler posted an ERA of 2.38 with 32 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched for a 4-0 record during conference play. Overall, Cahill made 15 appearances and 11 starts and became the regular Sunday starter for the Pirates. He finished tied for second in the BIG EAST with 10 wins. Cahill went 10-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 78.0 innings pitched. He struck out 58 batters and walked just 15.
Creighton will host the BIG EAST Tournament in 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha from May 21-24. In addition to Fowler and Warren, the Bluejays who were 32-17, 14-4 in 2014 return sophomore Nicky Lopez at short stop who had 16 runs, 18 hits in BIG EAST play last season with a .310 batting average. Junior second baseman Ryan Fitzgerald will also add to the Bluejay’s scoring offense as he looks to improve on a .240 average from last season that resulted in 31 runs, 42 hits and 19 RBI. In addition Warren, the Creighton pitching staff will be aided by junior John Oltman who had 31 appearances on the mound in 2014 and a 2.92 ERA.
Seton Hall returns a core group of upperclassmen led by senior shortstop D.J. Ruhlman, last year’s BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year and a unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST selection for the Pirates. Ruhlman was a ABCA All-Region First Team selection with a .351 batting average, 43 runs, 65 hits and 28 RBI. The Pirates went 39-15 in 2014, 11-7 in conference play. The Pirates return three of its four starting pitchers, with senior Anthony Elia and sophomore Anthony Pacillo supporting Luke Cahill. The trio combined for 142 strikeouts last season.
Xavier will look to build off last year’s BIG EAST Tournament title with a challenging schedule that features three additional NCAA Tournament teams in the non-conference slate. The Musketeers had a 30-29, 8-10 campaign that led them to a 1-2 finish in the Nashville, Tenn. Regional. Xavier returns junior catcher Dan Rizzie, a unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST selection, as well as senior Derek Hasenbeck and senior Brian Bruening who were both BIG EAST Second Team honorees last season. On the mound, Eric Stiene returns to lead the way in his junior season. He had a conference ERA of 1.62 in 2014 with 11 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched. Overall, he went 3-3 with a 2.92 ERA.
For Villanova who finished 16-34, 5-13 in BIG EAST play last season, their offense will be led by sophomore Todd Czinege, a preseason All-BIG EAST unanimous selection at second base and 2014 Louisville Slugger All-American. The rookie led the Wildcat offensive last season with a .306 batting average with 26 runs, 60 hits and 38 RBI. He was a Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American. Villanova also returns starting pitcher Hunter Schryver who had a 4.55 ERA with 43 strikeouts as rookie in 2014.
On the mound, Georgetown returns Matt Hollenbeck, a senior who posted a 3.18 ERA in a 5-2 season as a starting pitcher for the 19-29, 5-13 Hoyas. In the batter’s box, catcher Nick Collins returns to lead the Hoya offense as a two-time BIG EAST All-Conference selection. Collins posted a .351 average in 188 at bats with 31 runs, 66 hits and 38 RBI.
Butler finished 7-11 in league play in 2014, 20-30 overall. The Bulldogs’ offensive efforts will be led by junior Chris Maranto who posted a .268 league batting average last season with five runs, 15 hits and three stolen bases. Sophomore Austin Miller will also return as the Bulldogs’ utility infielder. Miller had 38 hits and 20 runs in 2014.
2015 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year – Reagan Fowler, Creighton, Jr., 1B
Preseason Co-Pitchers of the Year – Luke Cahill, Seton Hall, Jr., SP; Matt Warren, Creighton, Jr., SP
Preseason All-BIG EAST
^ Dan Rizzie, Xavier, Jr., C
^ Reagan Fowler, Creighton, Jr. 1B
^ Todd Czinege, Villanova, So., 2B
^ D.J. Ruhlman, Seton Hall, Sr., SS
Robbie Knightes, St. John’s, So., 3B
Nick Collins, Georgetown, Jr., DH
Sal Annunziata, Seton Hall, Sr., DH
^ Michael Donadio, St. John’s, So., OF
Derek Jenkins, Seton Hall, Jr., OF
Zach Lauricella, St. John’s, Sr., OF
Alex Caruso, St. John’s, Jr., OF ^
Matt Warren, Creighton, Jr., SP ^
Ryan McCormick, St. John’s, Jr., SP
Luke Cahill, Seton Hall, Jr., SP
Matt Hollenbeck, Georgetown, Sr., SP
Eric Stiene, Xavier, RS-Jr., SP
^ Joe Kuzia, St. John’s, Sr., RP
^ – denotes unanimous selection
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. St. John’s – 32 pts. (3)
2. Creighton – 31 pts. (2)
3. Seton Hall – 29 pts. (2)
4. Xavier – 22 pts.
5. Villanova – 12 pts.
6. Butler – 11 pts.
7. Georgetown – 10 pts.
