EDISON, NJ – The defending MAAC Baseball Champions, Fairfield University, was voted by the leagues 11 head coaches to repeat as MAAC Baseball Champions in 2017. The Stags received seven out of 11 first-place votes, totaling 116 points. Manhattan College sophomore catcher Fabian Pena is the 2017 MAAC Baseball Preseason Player of the Year.
Fairfield won its first MAAC Baseball Championship in program history after going 17-7 in MAAC play and 32-26 overall. During the 2016 MAAC Baseball Championship, Fairfield defeated Manhattan, Canisius and Siena to become champions. The Stags represented the conference at the 2016 NCAA Baseball Tournament and faced #7 Texas Tech and #17 Dallas Baptist. Fairfield led the MAAC in team batting average (.279) and hits (540).
Coming in second place is Canisius College. The Griffs received one first place vote and tallied 99 points. Last season, Canisius went 16-8 in the MAAC and 33-26 overall. Returning for the Griffs is 2016 All-MAAC Second Team selection Jake Lumley, who was named to the 2017 Preseason All-MAAC Team. Lumley was tied for first in the MAAC with 50 runs scored and was third in the MAAC with 74 hits while batting .339.
Monmouth University received two first-place votes and totaled 97 points in the preseason poll to place third in the preseason poll. The Hawks placed a league-best four players on the 2047 Preseason All-MAAC Team. Monmouth was 16-8 in the MAAC and 30-27 overall. Shaine Hughes led the MAAC with a .385 batting average and ranked third in the conference with a .457 on-base percentage in 2016.
Manhattan College took the other first-place vote and totaled 90 points to come in fourth place in the preseason poll. The Jaspers are led by 2016 MAAC Baseball Rookie of the Year and 2017 MAAC Baseball Preseason Player of the Year, Fabian Pena. As a freshman, the Jaspers backstop hit .350, recorded 75 hits, and led the league in RBIs (54) and doubles (22). His nine home runs was second best in the MAAC. Pena’s 128 total bases ranked first in the conference.
Rounding out the top five is Marist College, who totaled 76 points in the preseason poll. The Red Foxes were 13-11 in the MAAC and 24-27 overall. Frankie Gregoire tied for first in the MAAC with 10 home runs. In his freshman campaign, he posted 39 RBIs and hit 15 doubles. He led the MAAC with a .599 slugging percentage.
Siena College finished with 69 points claiming sixth place, while Quinnipiac totaled 51 points to come in seventh. Rider University, Niagara University, Iona College and Saint Peter’s University finished eighth through eleventh in the preseason poll, respectively.
The 2017 MAAC Baseball Preseason All-MAAC Team consists of : Catcher Fabian Pena (Manhattan), First Baseman Shaine Hughes (Monmouth), Second Baseman Jordan Bishop (Siena), Shortstop Matthew Batten (Quinnipiac), Third Baseman Grant Lamberton (Monmouth), Outfielders Troy Scocca (Fairfield), Dan Shea (Monmouth), Tanner Kirwer (Niagara) and Dan Swain (Siena). Frankie Gregoire (Marist) makes the team at designated hitter and Mac Crispino (Fairfield) makes the team at the utility spot. 2016 MAAC Baseball Pitcher of the Year, Ricky Dennis (Monmouth) makes the Preseason All-MAAC Team at pitcher.
The 2017 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls, NY and will be co-hosted by Canisius College and Niagara University from Tuesday, May 23 – Sunday, May 28.
Preseason Coaches Poll
| 1. | Fairfield (7) | 116 |
| 2. | Canisius (1) | 99 |
| 3. | Monmouth (2) | 97 |
| 4. | Manhattan (1) | 90 |
| 5. | Marist | 76 |
| 6. | Siena | 69 |
| 7. | Quinnipiac | 51 |
| 8. | Rider | 43 |
| 9. | Niagara | 40 |
| 10. | Iona | 27 |
| 11. | Saint Peter’s | 18 |
Preseason All-MAAC Team
| Fabian Pena | Catcher | Manhattan |
| Shaine Hughes | First Base | Monmouth |
| Jordan Bishop | Second Base | Siena |
| Matthew Batten | Shortstop | Quinnipiac |
| Grant Lamberton | Third Base | Monmouth |
| Tanner Kirwer* | Outfield | Niagara |
| Troy Scocca | Outfield | Fairfield |
| Dan Shea | Outfield | Monmouth |
| Dan Swain | Outfield | Siena |
| Frankie Gregoire | Designated Hitter | Marist |
| Mac Crispino | Utility | Fairfield |
| Ricky Dennis | Pitcher | Monmouth |
