
Baseball Tipped 3rd in NEC Preseason Coaches Poll
Central Connecticut was picked third in the 2025 Northeast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll it was announced on Monday. CCSU collected a first-place vote from the league's head coaches who were not able to vote for their own squad.
The Blue Devils are slated to open the 2025 season at Central Arkansas for a three-game series beginning February 28.
Head coach Charlie Hickey is back to guide CCSU in his 27th season. He has led the Blue Devils to eight NEC tournament titles, most recently in 2023 when they were also regular season champions.
The Blue Devils will return a roster stocked with numerous veterans, including a pair of 2024 All-Northeast Conference honorees. Gianno Merlonghi and Brady Short were both named to the Second Team last season. Merlonghi ranked third in the Northeast Conference with a .378 batting average and posted a .417 on-base percentage and a .529 slugging percentage. Short led the circuit in batting average (.388) and on-base percentage (.473). Theinfielder led the team with 39 runs scored, 69 hits, and 91 total bases, while collecting 21 multi-hit games during the season.
Defending NEC champion LIU collected four first place nods and was tabbed the favorite. Wagner collected four first-place votes and was picked second, just ahead of CCSU and FDU, which tied for third in the poll. The 2025 NEC Baseball Championship will take place from May 22-25 at Heritage Financial Park, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, in Wappingers Falls, NY. The field will include the league's top-four regular season finishers and feature a double elimination format.
PRESEASON POLL RESULTS
(first-place votes)
1. LIU (4)
2. Wagner (4)
3t. CCSU (1)
3t. FDU
5. Le Moyne (1)
6. Stonehill (1)
7. Mercyhurst
8. Norfolk St.
9. Delaware State
10. Coppin St.
11. UMES