RICHMOND, Va. (January 25, 2017) – UNCW, which returns seven position starters from last year’s 41-19 team that advanced to the NCAA Regional finals, was a unanimous choice to capture the CAA baseball championship in 2017 according to a vote of the league’s head baseball coaches.
The Seahawks received all eight possible first-place votes and finished atop the poll with 64 points. William & Mary, which captured the 2016 CAA title, got the remaining first-place vote and was picked second with 52 points, while College of Charleston was third with 47 points. Delaware was the fourth-place choice with 39 points, followed by Elon (36 points), James Madison (34 points), Northeastern (28 points), Towson (14 points) and Hofstra (10 points). Teams were not allowed to vote for themselves in the poll.
UNCW earned the CAA regular-season title, reached the 40-win mark for the second year in a row and advanced to the finals of the Columbia Regional of the NCAA Baseball Championship before falling to host South Carolina in 2016. The Seahawks’ offense was one of the best in the nation a year ago and five players who received All-CAA honors are back. Leading that group are junior catcher Nick Feight, who was the CAA Player of the Year and a consensus All-America honoree in 2016 after batting .349 with a school-record tying 21 homers and a nation’s best 91 RBI’s, and junior second baseman Brian Mims, who also received All-America accolades after hitting .371 with 14 homers and 64 RBI’s. Other returning all-conference honorees include third baseman Daniel Stack and outfielders Casey Golden and Robbie Thorburn. UNCW’s pitching staff is expected to be led by sophomore starter Alex Royalty and junior reliever Austin Magestro.
William & Mary welcomes back 24 players from last season’s 31-31 team that captured its first CAA championship since 2001. The Tribe went on to reach the finals of the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Baseball Championship, which included a victory over defending national champion Virginia. Three all-conference players are back in the W&M lineup with senior Ryder Miconi (.314, 26 RBI’s) and juniors Ryan Hall (.316, 33 RBI’s) and Cullen Large (.328, 46 RBI’s). The Tribe also welcomes back their top three starting pitchers in Dan Powers (8-6), Bodie Sheehan (5-4) and Nick Brown (5-7).
College of Charleston, which has participated in two of the past three NCAA Tournaments, is coming off a 31-26-1 campaign. The Cougars’ offense features sophomore infielder Dupree Hart (.314, 33 RBI’s) and catcher Erven Roper (.263, 34 RBI’s). Returning on the mound are junior starter Bailey Ober (7-4) and junior closer Carter Love (3-2, 10 saves).
Delaware returns its top eight hitters and the majority of its pitching staff from last year’s 32-22 squad. Senior outfielder Jordan Glover (.360, 52 RBI’s) is the top returnee offensively, while sophomore left-hander Brandon Walter (7-3) is expected to be the ace of the pitching rotation.
UNCW’s Feight was selected as the preseason Player of the Year and headlined the preseason All-CAA squad.
2017 CAA BASEBALL PRESEASON PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. UNCW (8 first-place votes) 64
2. William & Mary (1 first-place vote) 52
3. College of Charleston 47
4. Delaware 39
5. Elon 36
6. James Madison 34
7. Northeastern 28
8. Towson 14
9. Hofstra 10
2017 PRESEASON ALL-CAA BASEBALL TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown 2016 Stats
Nick Feight, UNCW C Jr. Gainesville, Va. .349, 21 HR, 91 RBI
Brett Johnson, James Madison 1B Sr. Charlottesville, Va. .328, 7 HR, 38 RBI
Nick Patten, Delaware 1B So. Butler, Pa. .285, 12 HR, 46 RBI
Brian Mims, UNCW 2B Jr. Montclair, Va. .371, 14 HR, 64 RBI
Richie Palacios, Towson SS So. Brooklyn, N.Y. .329, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 32 SB
Daniel Stack, UNCW 3B Sr. Charlotte, N.C. .284, 10 HR, 39 RBI
Jordan Glover, Delaware OF Sr. Marlton, N.J. .360, 5 HR, 52 RBI, 22 SB
Ky Parrott, James Madison OF Sr. Herndon, Va. .318, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 15 SB
Robbie Thorburn, UNCW OF Sr. Raleigh, N.C. .364, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 20 SB
Dupree Hart, Col. of Charleston UT So. Rock Hill, S.C. .314, 2 HR, 33 RBI
Ryder Miconi, William & Mary DH Sr. Guilford, Conn. .314, 2 HR, 26 RBI
CJ Young, Elon DH Sr. Coatesville, Pa. .293, 1 HR, 27 RBI
Bailey Ober, Col. of Charleston SP Jr. Charlotte, N.C. 7-4, 3.53 ERA, 96 K’s
Alex Royalty, UNCW SP So. Raleigh, N.C. 8-2, 4.71 ERA, 57 K’s
Brandon Walter, Delaware SP So. New Castle, Del. 7-3, 3.63 ERA, 85 K’s
Carter Love, Col. of Charleston RP Jr. Charlotte, N.C. 3-2, 10 saves, 2.87 ERA
CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Nick Feight, UNCW
Honorable Mention: Erven Roper, C, Col. of Charleston; Cullen Large, 2B, William & Mary; Ryne Ogren, SS, Elon; David Leiderman, 3B, Hofstra; Charlie McConnell, 3B, Northeastern; Kyle Baker, OF, Delaware; Casey Golden, OF, UNCW; Ryan Hall, OF, William & Mary; Kyle Jackson, OF, Elon; Cam Walsh, OF, Northeastern; Terence Connelly, UT, UNCW; Mike Fitzgerald, SP, Northeastern; Dan Powers, SP, William & Mary; Michael Evans, RP, James Madison; Austin Magestro, RP, UNCW
