PROVIDENCE, R.I. – On the heels of a 43-win season that included a regular-season conference title, Houston has been chosen as the favorite to capture the 2016 American Athletic Conference championship by the league’s eight head coaches.
Houston lefthanded pitcher Seth Romero and UConn southpaw Anthony Kay were named as The American’s Preseason Pitchers of the Year, while Memphis outfielder Darien Tubbs was tabbed by the coaches as the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year.
The American Athletic Conference enjoyed a banner year in 2015. The conference finished the season as the No. 3-rated league in the RPI and placed four of its eight teams in the NCAA Championship. Three of the four NCAA tournament teams were led by first-year head coaches at their respective schools.
Houston received six first-place votes and 48 points in the preseason poll to edge Tulane as The American’s preseason favorite. The Cougars, who are ranked No. 18 in the 2016 Collegiate Baseball preseason poll, went 43-20 overall and 16-8 in the American Athletic Conference last season on their way to hosting an NCAA Regional. Head coach Todd Whitting’s squad will be led by a potent pitching rotation which includes Romero, the 2015 American Rookie of the Year, and righthander Andrew Lantrip, who earned third-team All-America honors from Perfect Game last season. Both players were unanimously chosen as preseason all-conference selections, while second-baseman Josh Vidales earned preseason honors as well.
Tulane was picked second in the preseason poll with 41 points and one first-place vote. Ranked No. 19 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll, the Green Wave returns six starting position players and its entire starting pitching staff from last season’s team, which went 35-25 overall and 13-11 in The American. Tulane made its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2008 in the first season under head coach David Pierce, who has shortstop Stephen Alemais and righthander Corey Merrill on the preseason all-conference team. Alemais was a unanimous choice.
East Carolina was third in the preseason poll with 38 points. The Pirates have six starting position players and nine pitchers returning from a team that went 40-22 overall and 15-9 in The American. East Carolina went on to win the American Athletic Conference Championship and advance to the NCAA Coral Gables Regional in its first year under coach Cliff Godwin. The Pirates will have to replace the production of three of their top four hitters from last year, but find a solid pitching staff led by lefthanders Evan Kruczynski and Jacob Wolfe, who combined for 13 wins last season.
UConn was tabbed for fourth in the preseason poll with 32 points, while the Huskies earned one first-place vote. The Huskies were 35-25 overall and 11-13 in The American last season, but Jim Penders’ club advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament. The Huskies had five players – the most of any team in the conference – named to the preseason all-conference team, including Kay, first baseman Bobby Melley and outfielder Jack Sundberg, who were unanimous selections. Third baseman Willy Yahn and designated hitter Joe DeRoche-Duffin were also named to the preseason team.
USF was fifth in the poll with 26 points. The Bulls went 34-26-1 overall and 13-11 in The American last season on their way to the NCAA Gainesville Regional. USF returns four of their top five hitters from last year, including catcher Levi Borders and outfielder Luke Maglich, who were both named to the preseason all-conference team.
UCF was sixth in the preseason poll. The Knights began the 2015 season with 22 wins in their first 27 games, and finished the season with a 31-27 record. Coach Terry Rooney looks to 15 newcomers, including nine transfers, for 2016, but finds a familiar face at the top of the rotation as preseason all-conference righthander Cre Finfrock returns.
Memphis was seventh in the preseason poll. Coach Daron Schoenrock’s has two players on the preseason all-conference team, including Tubbs, a unanimous choice in the outfield and The American’s Preseason Player of the Year. Tubbs hit a team-high .321 with seven home runs and 38 RBI and was ranked in the top five in the conference in hits (75), runs (57), triples (5), stolen bases (24). Righthander Nolan Blackwood, whose 14 saves ranked second in The American, also earned preseason all-conference honors.
Cincinnati was eighth in the preseason poll. Head coach Ty Neal will look to replace the production of Ian Happ, who was the No. 9 overall selection in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, but will have four returning starting pitchers and a solid defensive club to help offset the loss.
The 2016 baseball season begins Feb. 19, while the first weekend of conference play begins April 1. The 2016 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship will take place May 24-29 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
PRESEASON BASEBALL POLL
Team (First-Place Votes)
Points
1. Houston (6) 48
2. Tulane (1) 41
3. East Carolina 38
4. UConn (1) 32
5. USF 26
6. UCF 17
7. Memphis 14
8. Cincinnati 8
2016 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Pos
Name School 2015 Statistics
P Cre Finfrock UCF 7-5, 3.30 ERA, 95.1 IP, 73 K, 34 BB
P Anthony Kay * UConn 8-6, 2.07 ERA, 100.0 IP, 96 K, 25 BB
P Andrew Lantrip * Houston 9-3, 2.62 ERA, 113.1 IP, 115 K, 22 BB
P Seth Romero * Houston 7-4, 1.94 ERA, 83.1 IP, 92 K, 22 BB
P Corey Merrill Tulane 5-6, 2.12 ERA, 102.0 IP, 81 K, 43 BB
RP Nolan Blackwood Memphis 2-1, 0.52 ERA, 14 SV
C Levi Borders USF .291, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 14 2B
1B Bobby Melley * UConn .315, 1 HR, 40 RBI, 19 2B
2B Josh Vidales Houston .300, 2 HR, 39 RBI, .987 FLD%
3B Willy Yahn UConn .343, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 4 SB
SS Stephen Alemais * Tulane .312, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 27 SB
OF Jack Sundberg * UConn .288, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 33 SB
OF Darien Tubbs * Memphis .321, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 24 SB
OF Luke Maglich USF .308, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 15 SB
DH Joe DeRoche-Duffin UConn .271, 11 HR, 39 RBI
- unanimous selection
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
OF Darien Tubbs Memphis .321, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 24 SB
PRESEASON PITCHERS OF THE YEAR
LHP Anthony Kay UConn 8-6, 2.07 ERA, 100.0 IP, 96 K, 25 BB
LHP Seth Romero Houston 7-4, 1.94 ERA, 83.1 IP, 92 K, 22 BB
