Official BIG EAST Release

NEW YORK--Villanova senior left-hander Hunter Schryver (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) was named the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year in an announcement made by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. Schryver, who is one of the top returning seniors in the league, was also a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. The league office announced the preseason team and the predicted order of finish in the 2017 standings based on a poll of the league's head coaches. Villanova was picked to finish sixth.

Schryver is expected to be in the Wildcats weekend starting rotation for the fourth straight year when the 2017 campaign gets underway. He is coming off one of the best seasons by a Villanova starting pitcher in recent memory, and was both a first team All-BIG EAST selection and the Philadelphia Big 5 Co-Pitcher of the Year as a junior last season. Schryver was the Wildcats first pitcher to earn first team All-BIG EAST recognition since two-way player Dan Boublis merited the honor in 1998.

During a breakthrough 2016 season, Schryver went 6-4 with a 2.64 ERA in 15 appearances. He started all but one of his appearances and recorded the lowest ERA by a Villanova starter since 2000. Schryver logged 88 2/3 innings on the season and had as many strikeouts as hits allowed (79). He went seven or more innings on seven occasions, including pitching at least six innings in every one of his starts against conference foes.

Schryver made six starts in BIG EAST games last season and went 3-2 with a 1.51 ERA and a .166 opponent batting average. He was tied for second in the league in strikeouts during conference play, and had the lowest ERA and opponent batting average of any starting pitcher in the league. Schryver put together a stretch of seven starts during the season in which he went 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA. During that stretch, he allowed just 34 hits and had 50 strikeouts over 49 1/3 innings. The seven-start stretch began with a win over Fordham on March 11 and culminated with a start against Seton Hall on April 22 in which he tossed eight scoreless innings and allowed just one hit on a bunt single.

Villanova returns a pair of first team All-BIG EAST performers this season in Schryver and senior second baseman Todd Czinege (Overland Park, Kan.). In all, the Wildcats return 24 players from last season. Schryver and juniors Ryan Doty (Rye, N.Y.) and Mike Sgaramella (Florham Park, N.J.) should help the team in the starting rotation, while Czinege, fellow seniors Donovan May (Newark, Del.) and Zander Retamar (Boca Raton, Fla.), and junior David Gulati (Collegeville, Pa.) are all returning starters in the lineup.

Czinege has started all 152 games that Villanova has played during his first three collegiate seasons. He batted a team-high .307 last season and also led the team with a .395 on-base percentage, a .460 slugging percentage, 36 runs batted in and 93 total bases. He added 32 runs scored, 11 doubles and six home runs during the season while batting over .300 for the third straight year.

Wildcats head coach Kevin Mulvey is in his first season leading the program after spending the previous four years as an assistant coach. Villanova opens the season with a three-game series at Norfolk State from February 17-19.

BIG EAST PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAM AND AWARDS

Preseason Player of the Year: Joe Gellenbeck, Xavier, Sr., 1B/OF
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Hunter Schryver, Villanova, Sr., SP

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Nate Soria, Xavier, Jr., C
Joe Gellenbeck, Xavier, Sr., 1B/OF ^
Josh Shaw, St. John's, So., 2B
Chris Givin, Xavier, So., SS
Rylan Bannon, Xavier, Jr., 3B
Mike Alescio, Seton Hall, Jr., DH
Mike Donadio, St. John's, Sr., OF
Tyler Houston, Butler, Jr., OF
Michael DeRenzi, Georgetown, Jr., OF ^
Will LaRue, Xavier, Jr., OF
Rollie Lacy, Creighton, Jr., SP
Zac Lowther, Xavier, Jr., SP
Shane McCarthy, Seton Hall, Jr., SP ^
Simon Mathews, Georgetown, Sr., SP
Hunter Schryver, Villanova, Sr., SP
Garrett Schilling, Xavier, Jr., RP

^ denotes a unanimous selection
Note: due to ties in voting there are four outfielders and five starting pitchers on the 2017 Preseason All-BIG EAST team

Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
T1. Xavier ââ'¬" 32 points (4)
T1. St. John's ââ'¬" 32 points (3)
3. Creighton ââ'¬" 25 points
4. Seton Hall ââ'¬" 24 points
5. Georgetown ââ'¬" 17 points
6. Villanova ââ'¬" 9 points
7. Butler ââ'¬" 8 points