Newport News, Va. – (February 11, 2020) – The Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason baseball coaches poll this afternoon with Fordham being picked second out of 13 teams in a vote of the league's head coaches.
Fordham, the defending Atlantic 10 champions, was one of three teams to receive a first place votes in the poll with two, along with VCU (8) and Dayton (3).
VCU is the preseason favorite, followed by Fordham, Dayton, Richmond, Davidson, Saint Louis, Rhode Island, George Washington, Saint Joseph's George Mason, Massachusetts, La Salle, and St. Bonaventure. All 13 teams will vie for a spot in the 2020 Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be at The Diamond in Richmond, Virginia, May 20-23.
Jake MacKenzie
Under the direction of ninth-year head coach
Kevin Leighton, Fordham returns the majority of last year's starting lineup, highlighted by a pair of .300 hitters in
Jake Baker and
Jake MacKenzie, and two-thirds of its weekend rotation with All-American and defending Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year
John Stankiewicz and left-hander
Matt Mikulski.
As a part of winning the Atlantic 10 Championship and reaching the NCAA Regional for the first time since 1998, the Rams led the nation in stolen bases for the second consecutive year in 2019, setting a school record with 178, while also setting a new team record with 605 strikeouts. The team also set modern day (after 1920) team marks for wins (38), ERA (3.26), and opponent batting average (.222)
Fordham opens its 2020 season on Friday, February 14
th, at Florida International in Miami, Florida.
| 2020 Atlantic 10 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll |
|
| Rank – Team |
Points (1st Place Votes) |
| 1. VCU |
162 (8) |
| 2. Fordham |
149 (2) |
| 3. Dayton |
144 (3) |
| 4. Richmond |
123 |
| 5. Davidson |
112 |
| 6. Saint Louis |
111 |
| 7. Rhode Island |
97 |
| 8. George Washington |
73 |
| 9. Saint Joseph's |
71 |
| 10. George Mason |
52 |
| 11. Massachusetts |
37 |
| 12. La Salle |
31 |
| 13. St. Bonaventure |
21 |
