PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After winning the NCAA Charlottesville Regional and advancing to the Super Regional round last season, East Carolina earned six first-place votes and has been tabbed to win the 2017 American Athletic Conference championship by the league’s eight head coaches.
East Carolina’s Evan Kruczynski and UConn’s Tim Cate were named Preseason Pitchers of the Year while Joe Davis, last season’s Rookie Position Player of the Year was named Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches.
Three American Athletic Conference teams reached the NCAA tournament last season (Tulane, UConn and East Carolina). Tulane took home the regular-season championship and UConn won the conference tournament. The American has had seven NCAA tournament bids in the last two seasons.
East Carolina received six first-place votes and 48 points in the preseason poll finishing six points ahead of Houston as The American’s preseason favorite. The Pirates went 38-23-1 overall and 15-8-1 in conference play to finish second in the league. The Pirates went on to win the Charlottesville Regional before falling to Texas Tech, two games to one, in the Lubbock Super Regional. Head coach Cliff Godwin’s squad will be led by Kruczynski, who anchored the pitching staff with an 8-1 record and a 2.01 earned-run average, while closer Joe Ingle and outfielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton were both unanimous selections by the coaches to the preseason all-conference team. Williams-Sutton led The American with a .360 batting average as a freshman in 2016, while catcher Travis Watkins who also earned preseason all-conference honors, was fourth in the conference at .326.
Houston was picked second in the preseason poll with 42 points and one first-place vote. Last season the Cougars finished 36-23 overall with an 11-12 conference mark, but Todd Whitting’s club advanced to the American Athletic Conference championship final for the third-straight season before falling to UConn. Davis, who was named a Louisville Slugger third-team All-America as a freshman last season led The American with 58 RBIs and was second in the conference with 14 home runs while finishing third in batting (.331). Davis joined pitcher Seth Romero and outfielder Corey Julks as unanimous selections to the preseason all-conference team.
Tulane was third in the preseason poll with 35 points and picked up one first-place vote. The Green Wave won its first regular-season conference championship since 2005, when the Green Wave was in Conference USA, with a 41-21 overall record and a 15-7 record in conference play. Tulane won two games in the Oxford Regional last season but was eliminated by Boston College. Pitcher Ross Massey, first baseman Hunter Williams and second baseman Jake Willsey all earned preseason all-conference honors for first-year head coach Travis Jewitt
UConn was tabbed for fourth-place in the preseason poll with 30 points. The Huskies won their first American Athletic Conference tournament title last season after beating Houston in the championship final. UConn, under head coach Jim Penders, finished 38-25 overall and 14-9 in conference play and earned a spot in the Gainesville Regional. The Huskies will be led on the mound by Cate, a southpaw who led The American in strikeouts per nine innings as a freshman (11.04), and third baseman Willy Yahn, who had a league-leading 88 hits in 2016.
Cincinnati earned fifth place in the preseason poll with 22 points. The Bearcats finished last season with a 26-30-1 record overall and a 13-10-1 mark in conference play to finish fourth in the league. Head coach Ty Neal returns most of the key players from last year, including pitcher Andrew Zellner, who went 7-4 with a 2.32 ERA on his way to first-team all-conference accolades in 2016.
USF was sixth in the preseason poll after finishing last season with a 24-33 overall record. Second baseman Kevin Merrell earned all-conference first team honors after he hit .320 with 22 runs scored, 22 RBIs and 16 stolen bases last season and was named to the preseason all-conference team. Head coach Mark Kingston looks to return the Bulls to NCAA tournament play after a one-year absence.
UCF and Memphis tied for seventh in the preseason poll. The Knights finished with a 26-33 overall record last season and named former Wright State head coach Greg Lovelady to lead the team in 2017. Junior pitcher Robby Howell was named to the all-conference second team last year after posting a 7-4 record with a league-leading 1.96 earned-run average. The Tigers finished last season with a 22-39 overall record. Head coach Daron Schoenrock will look to preseason all-conference outfielder Chris Carrier, who hit .280 with six home runs and 38 RBIs last season.
The 2017 baseball season begins Feb. 17, while the first weekend of conference play begins March 31. The 2017 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship will take place May 23-28 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida.
| 2017 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PRESEASON BASEBALL POLL | ||
| Team (First-Place Votes) | Points | |
| 1. | East Carolina (6) | 48 |
| 2. | Houston (1) | 42 |
| 3. | Tulane (1) | 35 |
| 4. | UConn | 30 |
| 5. | Cincinnati | 22 |
| 6. | USF | 21 |
| 7. | UCF | 13 |
| Memphis | 13 | |
2017 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Pos Name School 2016 Statistics
P Tim Cate UConn 5-1, 2.73 ERA, 82.1 IP, 101 K, 27 BB
P Evan Kruczynski East Carolina 8-1, 2.01 ERA, 116.2 IP, 95 K, 27 BB
P Seth Romero * Houston 6-4, 2.29 ERA, 94.1 IP, 113 K, 28 BB
P Ross Massey Tulane 10-3, 2.29 ERA, 90.1 IP, 51 K, 18 BB
RP Joe Ingle * East Carolina 6-3, 3.59 ERA, 12 SV, 52.2 IP, 75 K
C Travis Watkins East Carolina .326, 7 HR, 44 RBI
1B Hunter Williams Tulane .294, 9 HR, 30 RBI
2B Jake Willsey Tulane .265, 10 HR, 31 RBI
SS Kevin Merrell USF .320, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 16 SB
3B Willy Yahn UConn .319, 3 HR, 46 RBI, 7 SB
OF Dwanya Williams-Sutton * East Carolina .360, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 7 SB
OF Corey Julks * Houston .332, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 10 SB
OF Chris Carrier Memphis .280, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 15 SB
DH Joe Davis * Houston .331, 14 HR, 58 RBI
* unanimous selection
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DH Joe Davis Houston .331, 14 HR, 58 RBI
PRESEASON PITCHERS OF THE YEAR
LHP Tim Cate UConn 5-1, 2.73 ERA, 82.1 IP, 101 K, 27 BB
LHP Evan Kruczynski East Carolina 8-1, 2.01 ERA, 116.2 IP, 95 K, 27 BB
