WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven baseball team has been picked third in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Poll, and junior relief pitcher Brandon LaManna (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) has been selected as a Preseason First Team All-Region honoree.
Defending regional champion Southern New Hampshire was tabbed first in the preseason rankings, receiving six first place votes. 2018 regional finalist Saint Thomas Aquinas was picked second, while the Chargers finished third with one first place vote. New Haven was one of five teams from the Northeast 10 to be listed among the preseason top 10.
The Chargers are coming off a historic 2018 season that saw them win a program record 39 games, reach the finals of the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament and earn the No. 1 seed in the NCAA East Region Championship tournament. The team returns six position players who made at least 36 starts last season.
After earning NE10 All-Rookie honors in 2017, LaManna followed up with a dominating 2018 season that saw him earn Honorable Mention All-America honors from both the NCBWA and D2CCA. He was also named to the D2CCA All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region Second Team, All-Northeast 10 First Team and was elected to play in the NEIBA Joe Walsh All-Star Game. Appeared in 25 games out of the bullpen, compiling a 2-0 record with a 0.79 ERA in 34.0 innings pitched. He finished the season with five saves, which was second on the team and tied for fourth in the NE10, and was a part of five combined shutouts, surrendering just three earned runs the entire season.
The Chargers will be challenged right out of the gate to start the 2019 season, facing three regionally ranked team to start the season in Wilmington on Feb. 22, and a doubleheader against Felician and Saint Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 23.
2019 NCBWA Preseason Poll
1. Southern New Hampshire (6) - 83 points
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) (2) – 80 points
3. New Haven (1) – 72 points
4. Franklin Pierce – 60 points
5. Wilmington (Del.) – 51 points
6. Le Moyne - 49 points
7. Merrimack – 30 points
8. Molloy – 27 points
9. LIU Post – 17 points
10. Felician - 13 points
()-first place votes
Others Receiving Votes: Adelphi- 11 pts., Chestnut Hill (Pa.)- 1 pt., Post- 1 pt
