University of Massachusets Athletics
Atlantic 10 Announced Preseason Baseball Poll
January 11, 2009 | Baseball
Jan. 11, 2009
Amherst, Mass. - The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its 2009 preseason baseball poll on Friday where the Minutemen were projected to finish 11th of the 14 teams in the conference. The poll is based on the votes of the head coaches from around the league.
Teams such as Charlotte, who will look to win their third conference title in three years as they were picked to finish first in the conference this season, were ranked ahead of the Minutemen while UMass ranked higher than St. Louis, Saint Joseph's and La Salle.
The Minutemen, who finished 11-16 in conference play and 18-27 overall last season, will look to senior captains Adam Tempesta (Brockton, Mass.) and Jim Macdonald (Cheshire, Conn.) as well as junior captain Bryan Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) for leadership in the 2009 season. The three captains held the top three spots in numerous stat categories from last season's numbers and Tempesta was also named Team MVP for the third time of his career.
UMass will begin their season in Winter Haven, Fla. as they take on Northwestern and will face their first A-10 opponent March 20 as they take on Richmond on the road.
2009 Predicted Order of Finish (2008 A-10/Overall record in parentheses)
1. Charlotte (19-8/43-16)
2. Xavier (19-8/27-31)
3. Rhode Island (15-11/31-27-1)
4. Richmond (10-16/20-31-2)
5. Dayton (13-14/31-25)
6. Temple (16-11/27-29)
7. George Washington (11-16/26-29)
8. Duquesne (16-10/26-29-1)
9. Fordham (13-14/29-24-1)
10. St. Bonaventure (15-12/29-24)
11. Massachusetts (11-16/18-27)
12. Saint Louis (9-17/24-29)
13. Saint Joseph's (9-18/18-34)
14. La Salle (11-16/16-36)