2010 Atlantic Sun Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
MACON, Ga. – Coming off its fourth-straight Atlantic Sun Championship appearance, the Mercer University baseball team has been picked to finish in a two-way tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Sun Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon. The 11 head coaches of the A-Sun voted in the poll, which picked Florida Gulf Coast as the preseason and tournament champions.
FGCU earned the nod from coaches as the conference favorite grabbing 10 of a possible 11 first-place votes. Interestingly enough, it was Mercer who was the only other school to receive a first-place vote in the poll.
"We are not really concerned with the A-Sun preseason coaches’ poll,” head baseball coach
Craig Gibson said. “That is fine that the other coaches picked us sixth in February, but all we care about is what happens in May because that is all that matters."
FGCU not only placed the most players on the 2010 Atlantic Sun Preseason All-Conference team (4), but it also swept the Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year honors with junior Zach Maxfield being awarded Player of the Year and junior Chris Sale being the unanimous selection for Pitcher of the Year.
Defending A-Sun champion Jacksonville was picked to finish second in the poll followed by Stetson in third, Kennesaw State in fourth and UNF in fifth. Mercer tied with Lipscomb in sixth place while Belmont, ETSU, Campbell and USC Upstate rounded out the poll.
The Bears enter 2010 with high hopes and expectations as they welcome 20 letterwinners back from last year’s squad that finished up with a 23-23 overall mark and a No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Sun Championship.
Mercer kicks off its season on February 19, as it hosts Morehead State on Claude Smith Field at 4 p.m.