Projected Regional Team (1): Bryant

Player of the Year: Ryan Ward, OF, Bryant

Pitcher of the Year: Neil Abbatiello, LHP, Wagner

Freshman of the Year: Jake Gustin, 2B, Bryant

Projected Regional Teams

Bryant has been the atop the Northeast Conference since their arrival in 2010, finishing first once again in 2018, their 7th first place finish in 8 years. The offseason was big for the Bulldogs as they put together a solid recruiting class led by Jake Gustin, a strong infielder that can play both shortstop and second base. The Bulldogs dominated the NEC on the offensive end, leading the conference in every major batting category including hitting .303 with a .446 slugging percentage. The team will look to continue that success at the blate as they return the majority of their everyday position players, lead by outfielder Ryan Ward. The redshirt sophomore had a standout 2018 season hitting .409/.449/.636 with 8 home runs and 52 RBIs. Ward was the 2018 NEC player of the year and has already been named a Collegiate Baseball Second Team Preseason All-American for 2019. The team also gets back infielder Jimmy Titus after the redshirt sophomore missed all but one game with a torn ACL last season. Titus as a freshman hit .296/.368/.500 with 8 home runs and 42 RBIs. 

On the mound, Bryant has three of their rotation pitchers returning for 2019. The pitching staff had a 4.47 ERA and held their opponents to a .264 average, both marks good enough for second in the conference. Tyler Mattison is the ace of the staff, with an impressive went 5-2, 3.40 with 53 strikeouts as a freshman last year. Mattison has great size a 6’4 with a low to mid 90’s fastball. Senior leader Steve Theetge, the 2017 NEC pitcher of the year returns as the second man in the rotation looking to improve on last years 6-7 record. He is followed by Vito Morgese and Tyler Schoff who was limited last season due to injury, but impressed in fall ball. The bullpen will be important this season, as closer Nate Wrighter struggled late last season with a 5.23 ERA, and Chris Wright returns to pitch after playing the majority of last season at first base. Returning last year’s core with good chemistry, and good depth behind each position, Bryant looks primed to have another successful season but they will have sustain that success in the tournament after last year’s loss in the semi-finals.

Keep an Eye on 

Wagner also finished atop the NEC standings finishing with a 21-7 conference play record to tie Bryant. The Seahawks finished top-3 in most offensive categories in 2018. However, in 2019 the team loses a number of their key everyday players including catcher Phil Capra who averaged.312/.409/.551 and shortstop Sean Mazzio who averaged .307/.380/.412, both of which helped pace the team. But the top of the lineup is strong for the Seahawks as senior Joe Silverstone leads off after averaging .294/.337/.382 with 19 RBIs, and Freddy Sabido is hitting cleanup after averaging .300/.368/.500 with 44 RBIs last season. Wagner’s advantage comes from their pitching staff as they return 446 of their 481 innings pitched last season. The team has a conference best 4.15 ERA last season. Neil Abbatiello is the team’s ace after he went 8-0. 3.30 with 79 strikeouts. Abbatiello has a fastball in the high 80’s and a great slider to use. Eric Ligda, 7-2, 3.89 with 60 strikeouts, and Pat Gallagher, 4-3, 5.67 with 37 strikeouts round out the rotation. Nick Robino went 7-4, 3.09 with 56 strikeouts will close for the Seahawks once again.

The Rest of the Pack

LIU Brooklyn won the NEC conference tournament last year after earning a three seed. The Blackbirds beat co-regular season champion Wagner 8-5 in the championship game. The title was LIU Brooklyn’s first in the NEC conference. The Blackbirds were the second highest scoring team in the conference 322 runs, along with a league best 82 stolen bases as they attempted more steals than any time in the conference. First baseman Andrew turner led the team averaging .346/.493/.531 before being drafted by the Marlins in the 40th round. The team also lost RHP Baylor LaPointe and OF Dom Paoitti this offseason. The team still returns much of their lineup, including three possible 2019 MLB draft prospects. Mike Krieger returned for his senior season after going 4-2, 2.20 and 57 strikeouts. Greg Vaughn Jr. returns to the outfield after winning the MVP of the NEC tournament last spring. Shortstop Anthony Warneke started 56 of 57 games last season averaging .272/.373./.374 with 3 homeruns and 34 RBIs. 

Sacred Heart finished below .500 in the NEC last season with a 12-16 record, but they hope to turn their luck in 2019. The Pioneers were about middle of the back offensively last year hitting .254 with 265 RBIs and 34 home runs. What the Pioneers do have on their side is experience as 7 of their nine position players saw substantial playing time last season. The two lone players being freshmen Justin Levito and Justin Jordan, with both stepping into starting roles this season. Redshirt Sophomore Jake Frasca will serve as the cleanup hitter after slashing .307/.373/.391 with 25 RBIs. Frasca is a good contact hitter, but also has a strong arm, making 13 appearances on the mound last season and went 4-1, 2.87 in 15.2 innings with one save. Senior captain Brent Teller started 13 games on the bump for the Pioneers finishing 4-7, 5.24 with 77 strikeouts, which was fourth among NEC pitchers. Sacred Heart’s lineup features a number of potential MLB selections this year. The Pioneers will rely heavily on their upperclassmen to turn around last year’s losing season.

Central Connecticut’s 2019 season didn’t go as planned after the team finished 21-7 the previous season and won the NEC tournament. Losing a number of key players, the Blue Devils fell to 11-16 in conference play, and 6th overall in the standings. However, much like Sacred Heart, the Blue Devils have experience on their side heading into the new season. The team lost 2B Dean Lockery to the MLB draft and Catcher Nick Garland signed with the Normal Cornbelters of the Independent Frontier League. Every starter this season has seen playing time during their time. After an impressive freshman campaign averaging .301/.390/.419, with 3 home runs and 23 RBIs, and winning NEC rookie of the week honors in March, Peyton Stephens looks to improve in year two for the Blue Devils. Chandler Debrosse who will replace Lockery showed promise in his limited playing time averaging .391/.453/.391 on just 46 ABs last season. The Blue Devils had the second highest batting average (.272) in the conference last season but failed to convert as they finished sixth in both runs (211) and RBIs (194). The pitching staff did allow the fewest hits (432) and runs allowed (253) despite a 5.25 ERA as a staff.

Mount St. Mary’s made their first NEC tournament appearance in 10 years as they finished 15-13 in conference play last season. The Mountaineers return the majority of their core this spring, with their only key losses being RHP Michael Collins and utility player Brendan Dabagian. Despite their tournament appearance, the mountaineers statistically struggled last season. Their pitching staff had the second highest ERA (7.34) while allowing opposing teams to hit .304 with a league leading 402 runs allowed and 278 walks. The pitching staff will have to improve heading into the season for the Mountaineers to return to the tournament for a second straight year. On the offensive end, senior Patrick Causa returns to the cleanup spot after averaging .316/.400/.511, with 6 home runs and 47 RBIs which ranked tenth in the conference. Myles Nicholson leads off the lineup after averaging .301/.386/.363. Nicholson lead the conference with 22 steals, and adds a dangerous threat for the Mountaineers when he gets on base. 

Fairleigh Dickinson has had a tough stint in the NEC lately, going from just 8 conference wins in 2017, to one sole conference win in 2018. This is most likely due to the team’s youth last season, with much of the everyday lineup consisting of either freshman or sophomores. This lack of experience showed as the Knights found themselves in the bottom half of most major statistical categories. Offense was hard to come by with the team hitting .249/.324/.369 and only scoring 178 runs. However, the team hopes last year was a valuable time for experience and learning. Senior Evan McDonald had trouble hitting consistently, averaging .289/.383./.566, but was able to put power behind the ball and had 9 home runs on the year which was third most in the conference. Sophomore Oliver Tavares made the most of his playing time in his first year with the team batting .264/.287/.326, with 21 RBIs which ranked second on the team. The Knights decided to move in a different direction with their head coach, promoting Justin McKay to interim head coach heading into the season.