Somerset, NJ — Bryant has made a habit of finishing first.
Having won the last eight Northeast Conference regular season crowns, the Bulldogs took first place in the 2021 NEC baseball preseason coaches’ poll.
Bryant pulled in six first-place votes to finish ahead of rival Central Connecticut. The CCSU Blue Devils, who won the 2019 NEC Tournament, garnered the remaining two top nods to take second place in the poll.
Wagner earned the third-place ranking followed by second-year Division I member Merrimack in the fourth spot.
Sacred Heart was slotted fifth ahead of Long Island in sixth. Mount St. Mary’s and Fairleigh Dickinson rounded out the preseason poll results in seventh and eighth, respectively.
All eight NEC teams are slated to contest a 30-game, round-robin schedule comprised of 10 three-game series. The top-four finishers in the regular season standings will advance to a four-team, double-elimination NEC Tournament that will be contested May 27-30.
Bryant, under the direction of second-year skipper Ryan Klosterman, returns nearly its entire starting lineup from last year’s abruptly-shortened season highlighted by run-producing outfielders James Ciliento and Shane Kelly. Ciliento is a career .305 hitter with 119 RBI in 164 games. Kelly, who has 101 career appearances, batted .328 with seven extra-base hits and nine RBI in an abbreviated 2020 campaign.
Veteran righty Tyler Mattison, a two-time all-NEC selection, returns to the top of the pitching rotation. The hard-throwing Mattison owns a 14-6 career record. Southpaw Vito Morgese, who had made 29 career starts, looks to reestablish himself following Tommy John surgery.
Central Connecticut has almost always been a title contender under head coach Charlie Hickey. The long-time manager has guided the Blue Devils to six NEC Tournament titles and numerous contributors to the 2019 championship run will return in 2021.
2021 Northeast Conference
Baseball
Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Bryant (6)
2. CCSU (2)
3. Wagner
4. Merrimack
5. Sacred Heart
6. LIU
7. Mount St. Mary’s
8. Fairleigh Dickinson
First place votes in parentheses
AROUND THE HORN
> Bryant, which has thrice won it all since joining the Division I ranks as a NEC member, last captured the conference tournament title in 2016.
> Central Connecticut has captured two of the last three NEC Tournament crowns (2019, 2017).
> Wagner has posted a top-four finish in three straight completed seasons under former NEC Pitcher of the Year Jim Carone, who has been the Seahawks’ skipper since 2012.
> Merrimack’s first Division I campaign included a series victory over Big Ten member Michigan State.
> Sacred Heart head coach Nick Restaino added former SHU southpaw Nick Leiningen, a two-time NEC champion (2012, 2011), to the coaching staff for 2021.
> LIU alumnus Dan Pirillo begins his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater.
> Mount St. Mary’s will be under the leadership of interim skipper Jeff Gergic in 2021 after long-time head coach Scott Thomson stepped aside for personal reasons.
> Fairleigh Dickinson won its only three home games during head coach Rob DiToma.
