NEW YORK – Villanova baseball was picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Additionally, two Wildcats were named to the preseason all-BIG EAST team.
Villanova was picked to finish sixth in the 2020 campaign after a 13-38 season a year ago. The league should be tightly contested this season, with the top four teams in the poll separated by just one point as Creighton took the top spot.
It was a pair of sophomores each landing a spot on the all-BIG EAST team, with infielder
Nick Lorusso and pitcher
Gordon Graceffo getting the nod. Lorusso is the reigning BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, while Graceffo returns as the Friday starter and is poised to be the Wildcats' top starter again this season.
Lorusso hit .302 with four home runs and 29 RBIs as a freshman. He worked 28 walks and posted an OPS of .833. He was also a regular on the mound last season, appearing in 16 games and starting six. He finished 1-3 6.05 ERA.
Graceffo led the Wildcats pitching staff with 13 starts last season, finishing 3-8 with a 4.33 ERA. He threw 72.0 innings and struck out 47.
The full BIG EAST preseason awards list can be found below:
Preseason Co-Players of the Year
Mike Antico, St. John's, Sr., OF ^
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Connor Schultz, Butler, Jr., RHP
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
Natale Monastra, Xavier, Sr., C
^ Matt Toke, Seton Hall, 1B
Ryan Altenberger, Xavier, Jr., 2B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, So., SS
Eddie McCabe, Georgetown, Jr., 3B
Ryan Mantle, Creighton, RS-Sr., DH
Jared Wegner, Creighton, So., OF
^ Mike Antico, St. John's, Sr., OF
Tyler Shedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Sr., OF
^ Connor Schultz, Butler, Jr., RHP
Noah Thompson, Seton Hall, Sr., RHP
Nick Mondak, St. John's, Sr., LHP
David Festa, Seton Hall, So., RHP
Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, So., RHP
Nick Lorusso, Villanova, So., INF/RHP
^ Lane Flamm, Xavier, So., RHP (RP)
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. Creighton (2) – 29 pts.
T2. Seton Hall (3) – 28
T2. St. John's (1) – 28
T2. Xavier (1) – 28
5. Butler – 14
6. Villanova – 11
7. Georgetown – 9
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there are six starting pitchers on the preseason all-conference team
