A-Sun preseason poll: FGCU ranked No. 2
Atlantic Sun Conference baseball coaches have chosen defending regular season champion North Florida as the favorite to claim back-to-back titles this season. The Ospreys garnered four first-place votes and 58 total points.
FGCU earned three first-place votes and 50 total points. Lipscomb landed in the No. 3 spot with one first-place vote.
Stetson and Kennesaw State round out the top five in the coaches poll. Jacksonville, USC Upstate and conference newcomer NJIT complete the eight-team poll.
FGCU’s Jake Noll secured the A-Sun preseason Player of the Year recognition for the second straight season after batting .348 with 79 total hits and 41 RBI as a sophomore. Noll added 37 runs and 15 stolen bases for the Eagles last season with a .406 on-base percentage.
Noll (Punta Gorda) and teammate Nick Rivera (Cape Coral) were unanimous choices to the Atlantic Sun Preseason All-Conference team as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
“It’s not only rewarding for these guys, but also rewarding for the entire program to see us represented among the best in the league,” said FGCU coach Dave Tollett. “Jake and Nick have been major contributors for our program since stepping foot on campus, and this year should be no different. They’re certainly two of our team leaders heading into the season.”
Rivera put up career-best numbers in 2015 and ranked near the top of the A-Sun in a number of offensive categories. He hit a career-high .347 and drove in a Division I program record 70 runs, coming up just four RBI shy of the FGCU single-season record of 74 set by Jason Louwsma in 2006. Additionally, Rivera became the 11th player in program history to hit 10 home runs in a single season and collected 20 doubles for the second straight year.
The Bishop Verot grad became the 25th draft pick in Eagles program history when he was selected by the Houston Astros in the 38th round. He elected to return to FGCU for his senior campaign.