ROCK HILL, S.C. - With opening day coming up on Saturday, Anderson University baseball was placed seventh in the annual Preseason South Atlantic Conference Coaches' Poll, as standout first baseman, Steven Cooper, was named to the preseason All-SAC First Team list, announced by the league office on Wednesday.
The seventh place ranking is the highest AU has been projected to finish since joining the SAC prior to the 2011 season, beating out a pair of eighth-place finishes in 2011 and 2012. Anderson is coming off a 19-32 season when it finished sixth in the final conference standings and advanced to the SAC Tournament for the first time.
Catawba claimed the top spot in the poll, earning nine of a possible 10 first-place votes. Wingate followed the Indians in second, while Tusculum claimed the third position, as both teams received a first-place vote.
In addition to the ranking, Cooper becomes the first Trojan in program history to be named to the preseason first team after landing on the postseason first team in 2014. A season ago, Cooper ranked third in the SAC in RBI with 48 and fourth in total bases with 116, while hitting .347 and slugging .574. The Williamston, S.C. native was also slotted third in RBI with 48 and clubbed eight home runs to close the year.
Cooper joins former teammate Landon Beck, Erick Sanderson, Thomas Padro and Ryan Saxon as Trojans to earn preseason all-SAC recognition, as Cooper and Sanderson are the lone first basemen to earn the honor. Entering his junior season, Cooper has a chance to match Sanderson next season, who is the lone AU player to receive a preseason nod twice for his career.
Anderson gets its season underway on Saturday when it heads to UNC Pembroke. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Preseason SAC Coaches' Poll
Rk Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Catawba (9) 119
2. Wingate (1) 109
3. Tusculum (1) 95
4. Newberry 94
5. Lincoln Memorial 93
6. Carson-Newman 72
7. Anderson 58
8. Lenoir-Rhyne 57
9. Mars Hill 49
10. Coker 45
11. Brevard 34
All-SAC First Team
C - Josh Clark, Wingate
1B - Steven Cooper, Anderson
2B - Brantley Rumford, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS - Craig Brooks, Catawba
3B - Albert Baur, Newberry
OF - Ivan Vieitez, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF - Bo Ausmus, Carson-Newman
OF - Thomas Spitz, Wingate
DH - T.J. Wharton, Catawba
SP - Craig Brooks, Catawba
SP - Wesley Camp, Newberry
SP - Shaefer Shepard, Catawba
RP - Ryan McClintock, Catawba
All-SAC Second Team
C - Kyle Floyd, Lincoln Memorial
1B - Kelvin Brito, Lincoln Memorial
2B - Vinny Ferrara, Tusculum
2B - Jean Rodriguez, Lincoln Memorial
SS - Evan Rogers, Mars Hill
3B - John Topoleski, Tusculum
OF - Blake Houston, Catawba
OF - Alex Kirby, Newberry
OF - Johnathan Lowe, Lincoln Memorial
DH - Cody Andreychuck, Tusculum
SP - Cole Cromer, Newberry
SP - Caleb Edwards, Mars Hill
SP - Brandon Donahue, Wingate
RP - Daniel Nations, Newberry
