EDISON, NJ – Canisius College and Monmouth University shared the top spot in the 2019 MAAC Baseball Preseason Poll and Quinnipiac University’s Liam Scafariello is the Preseason Player of the Year.
Canisius and Monmouth tied with 104 points. Canisius secured five first-place votes, and Monmouth received three. Canisius won the 2018 MAAC Baseball Championship. Monmouth was the 2018 Regular Season Champions.
Marist College was third in the poll with 102 points. The Red Foxes collected the remaining three first-place votes. The Red Foxes finished in a tie for fourth in the regular season in 2018.
Quinnipiac concludes the top four with 91 points. The Bobcats were runners-up to Monmouth in the regular season in 2018.
Manhattan College (70), Fairfield University (64), and Siena College (60) were separated by 10 points in spots five, six, and respectively.
Niagara University was eighth with 53 points. Rider University (32), Iona College (30), and Saint Peter’s (16) rounded out the 11-team poll.
Scafariello was a First Team All-MAAC selection a season ago as a junior. The Southington, CT native was second in the MAAC in home runs (15) and seventh in slugging percentage (.512). The outfielder tied Quinnipiac’s Division I career home run record with 31. The senior was also a First Team All-MAAC selection in 2017.
Joining Scafariello in the outfield of the All-MAAC Team is his teammate Brian Moskey, Mark McKenna of Canisius, Marist’s Frankie Gregorio, and Rider’s Joe Simone. Moskey was named Second Team All-MAAC in 2018 and Simone was a First Team honoree.
Colton Bender of Quinnipiac and Mike Ionta from Rider share the catcher’s spot on the Preseason All-MAAC Team. Around the infield on the All-MAAC Team is Peter Battaglia of Niagara at first base, Marist’s Anthony Lazar at second, Conner Morro of Canisius at shortstop, and Evan Vulgamore from Quinnipiac at third.
Fairfield’s John Signore, who was a First Team All-MAAC selection last season, is the pitcher for the Preseason All-MAAC. While Marist’s Tyler Kapuscinski is the designated hitter and Manhattan’s Richie Barrella—Second Team All-MAAC in 2018—makes the team at utility.
| Rank | Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1. | Canisius (5) | 104 |
| 1. | Monmouth (3) | 104 |
| 3. | Marist (3) | 102 |
| 4. | Quinnipiac | 91 |
| 5. | Manhattan | 70 |
| 6. | Fairfield | 64 |
| 7. | Siena | 60 |
| 8. | Niagara | 53 |
| 9. | Rider | 32 |
| 10. | Iona | 30 |
| 11. | Saint Peter’s | 16 |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team | ||
| Player | Position | School |
| Colton Bender | Catcher | Quinnipiac |
| Mike Ionta | Catcher | Rider |
| Peter Battaglia | First Base | Niagara |
| Anthony Lazar | Second Base | Marist |
| Conner Morro | Shortstop | Canisius |
| Evan Vulgamore | Third Base | Quinnipiac |
| Mark McKenna | Outfield | Canisius |
| Frankie Gregorio | Outfield | Marist |
| Brian Moskey | Outfield | Quinnipiac |
| Liam Scafariello | Outfield | Quinnipiac |
| Joe Simone | Outfield | Rider |
| John Signore | Pitcher | Fairfield |
| Tyler Kapuscinski | Designated Hitter | Marist |
| Richie Barrella | Utility | Manhattan |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
