Baseball Picked Fifth in West Division

Posted: Jan 25, 2022

BREVARD, N.C. - The USA South Conference has released its annual preseason coaches poll, selecting the Brevard College baseball team to finish fifth in the West Division.

Each divisional preseason poll only includes votes from coaches within that particular division-only. Head coaches do not vote for their own teams in the balloting.

LaGrange College earned the top spot on the West side, as the Panthers received 36 points and six first-place votes following their fourth-consecutive league title in the 2021 season. Piedmont University garnered the remaining first-place vote and tallied 31 points in the poll.

Huntingdon (21 points) and Maryville (20 points) finished slightly ahead of the Tornados, who tabulated 18 points to finish in fifth place. Covenant College garnered 15 points, while Berea College received six points.

In the East Division, NC Wesleyan was selected as the preseason favorite with seven first-place votes and 49 total points. The Battling Bishops and Panthers met in last season's USA South Conference Championship Series, while NCWC was recently ranked in D3baseball.com's Preseason Top 25.

2022 USA South Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll *West Division*
Rank	Institution (1st Place Votes)	Points
1.	LaGrange^# (6)	36
2.	Piedmont (1)	31
3.	Huntingdon	21
4.	Maryville	20
5.	Brevard	18
6.	Covenant	15
7.	Berea	6
^Defending Division Champion #Defending Tournament Champion

BC will look to build upon a successful Covid-shortened 2021 campaign that saw the Tornados with a 13-14 record that included a 7-6 record in USA South Conference play. BC's 7-6 mark in USA South matchups gave BC the program's first winning season in conference action since the 2012 season. Brevard's 13 victories were its most since 2016.

Brevard will return 2021 USA South Conference Rookie of the Year and D3baseball.com All-South Region Rookie of the Year Logan Clark, who led all Tornados with five triples to go alongside a team-high .360 average with 32 hits, 16 runs, three doubles, and 15 RBIs. Senior infielder Jason Jucker led all Tornados in 2021 with 37 hits and six doubles while posting 15 runs, 19 RBIs, and a .352 average, while junior outfielder Zach Allison drive in a team-best 20 RBIs and drew a team-high 17 walks alongside scoring a team-best 21 runs. BC's pitching staff will return a majority of its key contributors, including Matthew Scavotto who totaled three wins and a team-low 2.75 ERA among starters with 27 strikeouts. Trenten Anderson and Nathan Sanders also return for the strong Tornado staff.

Brevard College, under the direction of third-year Head Coach Mike Victory, third-year Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Rob Julian, and Volunteer Assistant Coaches Steve Hucke and Jakob Dennis, will open the regular season with a road doubleheader on Saturday, February 5 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina vs. William Peace University at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Brevard will host its home-opener on Saturday, February 12 at 1 and 3:30 p.m. against Allegheny College at Gil Coan Field.

To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, and 'Brevard College Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from Brevard College events.

-BC-