2019 Atlantic Sun Preseason Poll and Teams Announced

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ATLANTA, Ga. – Three teams split the top ASUN Conference Baseball Preseason honors as Christian Proffitt from FGCU was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Stetson’s Mitchell Senger took home the Preseason Pitcher of the Year honor and Jacksonville’s Angel Camacho was voted the Preseason Player of the Year. Stetson was favored in the Coaches Poll to claim the league title with six first-place votes, announced Wednesday by the league office. 

Leading the way for most members on the team is Jacksonville with four players honored prior to the season starting including Preseason Player of the Year Camacho. Following close behind is FGCU who had three players named with Kennesaw State, North Florida and Stetson each placing two members on the team. NJIT’s Julio Marcano rounds out the squad as voted on by the league’s nine coaches.

Camacho, a senior first baseman returns to the Dolphins after leading the ASUN with 58 RBIs in helping the Dolphins make it into the Gainesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Also a member of the Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team, the Florida native recorded of pair of runs batted in during the tournament. 

Senger becomes the second-straight Hatters pitcher to be honored as Preseason Pitcher of the Year, joining Logan Gilbert. The Stetson southpaw aims to take over the ace spot this season following a 9-2 campaign in 15 starts. Posting a 2.51 ERA, the tall lefty also struck out 114 batters to place 31st in the country. Following the season Senger spent time in the Cape Cod League and was named to the Collegiate Baseball National Team. Part of Preseason All-American Teams from many outlets, the Stetson ace looks to be on track to become another drafted pitcher for the Hatters following the season.

Proffitt takes home Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors thanks to his wizardry in the middle infield for the Eagles. The 2018 ASUN Freshman of the Year started 50 games at shortstop, compiling 130 assists and 65 putouts all while making only 10 errors on the season. Offensively, the Florida native hit .284 on the year and .290 in conference play. Getting on base at a .392 clip, Proffitt drove in 25 runs as well to help FGCU to a 32-21 mark last season.

Stetson garnered six first-place votes to sit atop this year’s Coaches Poll with a total of 77 points, followed by Jacksonville which took home two first-place votes and 73 points. Conference newcomer Liberty and FGCU rounded out the top-four in the 2019 Preseason Coaches Poll with the Eagles receiving the final first-place nod. Kennesaw State sits in fifth place, followed by North Florida in sixth, Lipscomb in seventh, North Alabama in eighth and NJIT in ninth.  

Opening day is right around the corner as teams prepare for the first pitch of the 2019 ASUN Baseball season on February 15th. Read more about this year’s Preseason All-Conference Team below.

ASUN Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team (* – Denotes unanimous selection)

– Mitchell Senger, Stetson, Starting Pitcher*: The 2019 ASUN Baseball Preseason Pitcher of the Year was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team coming off his stellar sophomore season. The left-hander went 9-2 in 15 appearances, making 13 starts over the season. Senger posted a 2.51 ERA last year while ranking 31st in the country in strikeouts, punching out 114. The Florida native has already been named to the Preseason All-American teams by a few outlets including the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper as a Second-Team member.

– Brad Deppermann, North Florida, Starting Pitcher: Deppermann enters the 2019 season after posting career-highs in appearances, starts and innings pitched as one of the top arms for the Ospreys. The Florida native made nine starts last season, adding 10 appearances out of the bullpen and recording five saves. The righty struck out just under one batter per inning, notching 63 K’s in 69 innings pitched across 19 appearances.

– Tyler Santana, Jacksonville, Starting Pitcher: Became the first Dolphins pitcher to win 10 or more games since 2006 after posting a 10-2 mark in 15 starts. The stellar sophomore campaign from the Floridian included limiting opponents to a 3.76 ERA, lowering to 2.95 in conference play. Throughout the season, Santana made five starts in which he gave up one or fewer earned runs, allowing zero earned runs four times.  

– Chris Mauloni, Jacksonville, Relief Pitcher*: A unanimous selection to the All-Conference Team, Mauloni finished tied for the national lead with 20 saves which also set the Jacksonville all-time career record. A staple of All-American teams following the season, Mauloni averaged 12.96 K/9, pitching in 33.1 innings across 29 appearances. Another ASUN pitcher to garner early season attention as a Preseason All-American, Mauloni looks to stake the claim as best reliever in college baseball entering his second campaign.

– Alex Brait, FGCU, Catcher: Brait returns for his junior season with the Eagles after being named First Team All-Conference in 2018. Led FGCU with a .335 average, and caught nine runners of 28 that attempted steals while behind the plate. Collecting 61 hits throughout the season in which 12 went for extra bases, the Florida product knocked in 26 runs as well with nine coming in the first series of the season against Eastern Michigan.

– Angel Camacho, Jacksonville, First Baseman*: The Preseason Player of the Year is also a unanimous choice to fill the first base slot on the All-Conference team. Appearing in this same spot before the 2018 season, Camacho led JU to an NCAA Tournament appearance behind a league-leading 58 RBIs. The hometown product also ranked highly in slugging percentage (T-first, .454), home runs (T-third, 5) while notching 23 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games over the season. His play only increased during the NCAA Tournament at the Gainesville Regional, with four hits and a pair of RBIs to land a spot on the Regional All-Tournament Team.

– Julio Marcano, NJIT, Second Baseman: 2018 Second Team All-Conference and Freshman All-American following a year in which he hit .352 while driving in 19 runs. Saw time all over the diamond last year, Marcano only made three errors in 259 chances to record a .988 fielding percentage. The infielder’s play progressed as the season went along, culminating in a solo home run in NJIT’s final game of the season vs. Lipscomb in the conference tournament. 

– Richie Garcia, FGCU, Third Baseman: Another rising junior for the Eagles this season, Garcia joined the previously noted Alex Brait as a member of the First Team All-Conference following another big season in his young college career. The 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year, Garcia followed his debut campaign with seven homers and a team-high 50 RBIs with 14 games of multiple RBIs driven in. Hit .324 over the course of the season, Garcia topped the ASUN with 27 extra-base hits as one of just nine players to break the 20 mark in the entire 2018 season.

– Scott Dubrule, Jacksonville, Shortstop: 2018 First Team All-Conference and member of the All-Tournament Team. Regular season batting champion with a .350 average and league-high 76 hits. Second for Jacksonville and in the ASUN with 54 RBIs. Led Jacksonville with five triples and six sacrifice flies throughout the season.  Started all 61 games at shortstop for Jacksonville after appearing as a second baseman during his freshman campaign.

– Tyler Simon, Kennesaw State, Shortstop: Was named 2018 Second Team All-Conference and a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. Played in 46 games and started 42 for the Owls, one of seven players to make at least 40 starts for the team. Recorded a .322 batting average in conference play, good for third on the team while leading the Owls with 28 hits in 21 conference games played. Scored 36 runs over the entire season while swiping seven bags in 10 attempts.

– Tanner Murphy, North Florida, Outfielder*: 2018 ASUN First Team-All Conference and All-Academic. Started all 56 games for UNF in center field while establishing team-highs in average (.326), hits (72), doubles (12), home runs (10), RBI (40), stolen bases (15) and slugging percentage (.534). Produced 22 multi-hit games while recording multiple RBIs in 12 contests. Reached base in 27-straight games. 

– Jacob Koos, Stetson, Outfielder: Second Team All-Conference and All-Tournament Team member following the 2018 season. Started 60 of 61 games in center field as the defensive anchor for the Hatters, recording a career-high .991 fielding percentage. Tied his career-high with 23 stolen bases while marking career-bests in home runs (three), doubles (14), triples (four) and slugging percentage (.423). After spending most time in the leadoff or second spot in the lineup, moved to third and was a key cog to Stetson’s 18-game winning streak. Hit .555 during the Chapel Hill Super Regional 

– Terence Norman, Kennesaw State, Outfielder:  A 2018 First Team All-Conference member. Led Kennesaw State and tied for fourth in the ASUN with a .333 batting average. Raised his average to .354 in conference play while recording 12 RBIs as well as part of 32 total in the season. Started 50 of 52 games played , ranking third for Kennesaw State on the season.

– Kohl Gilmore, FGCU, Designated Hitter:  ASUN’s leading home run hitter a year ago with 11 long balls. Gilmore marks the third FGCU player to make the Preseason All-Conference Team and also the third junior from the club. In his first season with the Eagles following a transfer, Gilmore started the season with a 12-game hitting streak while also compiling a 23-game streak of getting on base. Hitting .282 while adding 43 RBIs, Gilmore led FGCU with 26 walks in the season, helping to build a .399 OBP.

*Records for Liberty reflect conference membership of the Big South for 2018. North Alabama’s records reflect membership of the Gulf South Conference in NCAA Division II.

For the eighth-consecutive year, the ASUN took to social media to poll the fans for the conference preseason superlative awards. Over 3,450 votes were cast for student-athletes across the league. Stetson’s Jacob Koos was named the Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year with 158 votes, while North Alabama’s Josh Stillman got the nod for Fan-Voted Pitcher of the Year with 451. Liberty’s Cam Locklear earned Fan-Voted Defensive Player of the Year honors after garnering a poll-high 587 votes.

Full Preseason All=Conference Teams and Polls