NEW YORK – The Connecticut Huskies, who will begin their first season of BIG EAST play since 2013, were picked as the favorite in the BIG EAST Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was announced by the Conference on Wednesday. The favorites designation was bolstered by four preseason All-BIG EAST nods and sophomore outfielder Kyler Fedko being named Preseason Co-Player of the Year. Seton Hall graduate student outfielder Tyler Shedler-McAvoy shared the honors as Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Butler senior Connor Schultz was voted Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
One point separated No. 1 UConn, which received five first-place nods and 45 points, from No. 2 Creighton, the 2019 BIG EAST regular-season and tournament victors. The Bluejays grabbed two first-place votes and 44 points. Connecticut had an 8-5 record, winning its last five games in 2020 before the season was cut short. UConn finished 2019 as the American Athletic Conference Championship runner-up. The Huskies will open 2021 this weekend, playing a three-game series at No. 5/16 University of Virginia. Creighton was 5-10 in the abbreviated 2020 season, which ended on March 11. Rounding out the top three in the preseason poll was Seton Hall with 35 points and the remaining first-place vote. The Pirates had 6-8 record last season.
Two points behind Seton Hall in the poll was No. 4 St. John’s. The Red Storm boasted two players to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team after finishing 5-9 in 2020. Xavier was picked fifth with 26 points and three players on the all-league squad. Villanova (19 points), Butler (15 points) and Georgetown (seven points) rounded out the poll.
Butler righty Schultz was also voted the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in 2020. The weekend starter for the Bulldogs went 2-1 last season over four starts, posting a 3.04 ERA. He ranked second on BU in strikeouts with 26 and limited opponents to just eight earned runs over 23.2 innings of action. In 2019, he was a member of the All-BIG EAST First Team and ranked second in the conference in ERA (2.29). The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native ranked third in the league in strikeout to walk ratio (3.76). He held a 6-1 record on the mound. For his career, he totals 140 strikeouts, a 2.99 ERA and an 11-4 record. Schultz is also credited with one shutout and two saves. He has limited his opposing batters to a .254 average over 138.2 innings pitched.
Last season, Fedko led UConn with 21 hits, 12 runs scored, two homers and a .627 slugging percentage while batting .412. The sophomore, a Gibsonia, Pa., native, finished the season on a six-game hitting streak. As a rookie in 2019, he made 52 starts in 54 games for Connecticut. Fedko hit .247 with 46 hits including 12 doubles, two triples and five home runs. He also added 24 RBIs, crossed the plate 27 times and drew 21 walks. He collected a pair of doubles and homered in the Huskies’ series vs. Nebraska in the NCAA Oklahoma City Regional.
Shedler-McAvoy, the Pirates starting center fielder was an All-BIG EAST First team selection in 2019 and a Preseason All-BIG EAST honoree in 2020. The graduate student hit .304 with two triples and was 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts last season through 14 games. In 33 chances in the field, he did not commit an error. Shedler-McAvoy tallied five multi-hit games. In 2019, he started all 53 games and batted a team-best .324 with two home runs and 37 RBI, all career highs. Shedler-McAvoy led Seton Hall in batting average, hits, triples, RBIs and stolen bases. He led the BIG EAST with 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and ranked seventh in the conference in batting average, 10th in runs scored, ninth in hits, tied for fifth in RBIs and second in triples. Shedler-McAvoy led Seton Hall with 18 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI contests. Notably he was one of three Pirates to have more walks (28) than strikeouts (24) and did not commit an error in 115 defensive chances.
Along with the poll, the Preseason All-BIG EAST team was also announced. Shedler-McAvoy, Schultz and Seton Hall infielder Matt Toke were unanimous selections at their respective positions. Of the 15-member squad, six received All-BIG EAST honors in 2019 with three on the first team, three on the second team. The coaches’ poll, all-conference team and major awards were voted on by the league’s eight coaches, who could not cast votes for their team or their players.
2021 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Co-Players of the Year
Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF
Tyler Shedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Grad Student, OF
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Connor Schultz, Butler, Sr., RHP #
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team *
Natale Monastra, Xavier, Grad Student, C
Matt Toke, Seton Hall, Grad Student, 1B ^
Christian Fedko, UConn, Jr., 2B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Jr., 2B
Jake Lazzaro, St. John’s, RS-Fr., SS
Eddie McCabe, Georgetown, Sr., 3B/DH
Reggie Crawford, UConn., RS-Fr., DH
A.J. Lotsis, Georgetown, Grad Student, DH/OF
Tyler Shedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Grad Student, OF ^
Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF
Connor Schultz, Butler, Sr., RHP ^
Ian Murphy, St. John’s, RS-So., RHP
Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, Jr., RHP
Nick Zwack, Xavier, Sr., LHP
Caleb Wurster, UConn, LHP (Relief)
^ denotes unanimous selection
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )
| 1. Connecticut (5) | 45 points |
| 2. Creighton (2) | 44 |
| 3. Seton Hall (1) | 35 |
| 4. St. John’s | 33 |
| 5. Xavier | 26 |
| 6. Villanova | 19 |
| 7. Butler | 15 |
| 8. Georgetown | 7 |
^ – denotes unanimous selection
# – preseason Pitcher of the Year in 2020
* due to a tie in voting, there is an extra member on the preseason all-conference team.
