D1 Baseball's Annual preview.
They have UNCW winning the South division pick, and NU is the North pick,
D1 has UNCW beating out NU and CofC to win the tournament, but they say all 3 could play in a regional.
Projected Regional Team (1): UNC Wilmington
Player of the Year: Austin Gauthier, SS, Hofstra
Pitcher of the Year: Landen Roupp, RHP, UNC Wilmington
Freshman of the Year: Ethan Chenault, RHP, UNC Wilmington
![[Image: EuC1RJBXEAAeJ4x?format=jpg&name=medium]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuC1RJBXEAAeJ4x?format=jpg&name=medium)
UNC WILMINGTON
UNCW has been the most consistent winner in the CAA during the 21st century, making 10 regional appearances since 2003 and six in the last eight years. Head coach
Mark Scalf retired following an NCAA tournament run in 2019, and his longtime righthand man
Randy Hood took over the reins of the program for the 2020 season. The Seahawks got off to a good start before the season was canceled, and the program looks positioned to continue its run of excellence under Hood’s steady leadership. Last year, we believed UNCW had the starting pitching to make a run at winning a regional, and though lefthander
Zarion Sharpe is gone, that pitching staff might be even better in 2021.
It starts with ace
Landen Roupp, our choice for CAA preseason pitcher of the year and the coaches’ choice for preseason player of the year in the league’s official balloting. A three-year starter with a 3.25 career ERA, Roupp worked hard in the offseason to add strength to his frame, causing his sinking fastball to tick up into the 91-94 range at times, along with a tight swing-and-miss breaking ball at 75-78 and a quality changeup. He’ll team with 5YR SR righty
Luke Gesell to form a rock-solid one-two punch atop the rotation. Gesell is a battle-tested workhorse with a 91-93 fastball and feel for two solid offspeed pitches. And expect two very talented freshmen to compete for the Sunday starter job: righthanders
Ryan Calvert and
Ethan Chenault. A lean and projectable 6-foot-5 righthander, Chenault was a blue-chip recruit out of Virginia, and he has lived up to his billing this fall, sitting at 90-93 and touching 95 mph along with a promising big-breaking curveball at 73-77 and the makings of a changeup. Calvert is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound ox who earned Maryland PBR player of the year honors as a junior. He showed off advanced feel for pitching in our fall look, attacking the zone at 88-92 with a very good sinking changeup at 81-84 and a decent 76 mph breaking ball. He works downhill with minimal effort, and it’s easy to envision him throwing considerably harder as he gets older.
Wilmington should also have the best bullpen in the CAA, with enviable depth and a variety of different looks. The anchor should be 3YR SO
Adam Smith (2.38 ERA, 3 SV, 14-3 K-BB in 11.1 IP), a former two-way player who really came into his own last spring after focusing on pitching. A loose and athletic righthander, Smith showed 90-95 mph heat this fall along with a good hard breaking ball and a functional changeup. Fifth-year senior righty
Breydan Gorham is a valuable strike-throwing swing man or setup guy with good life on his fastball and a quality slider. UNCW has had plenty of success over the years with sinkerballers, and righties
Gage Herring,
Jason Hudak and
Will Liverpool fit in that tradition. Wilmington’s strong recruiting class also brought a number of other reinforcements, including projectable freshman righties
Jacob Shafer and
Hunter Hodges, funky sidewinder
Nyk Crumrine (a transfer from Chicago State), plus lefties
Noah Overton and
Luke Craig.
The lineup also stands out for its depth, but the Seahawks need to figure out how all the pieces fit together. Fifth-year senior third baseman
Cole Weiss is the most accomplished returning hitter, a three-year mainstay in the lineup who has hit .305 each of the last two seasons, and he’ll help anchor the heart of the order. Beyond Weiss, UNCW’s lineup is brimming with breakout candidates. Two older players who looked poised to do bigger things in 2021 are fourth-year junior first baseman
Kip Brandenburg and fourth-year junior center fielder
Noah Bridges. The 6-foot-5 Brandenburg, who sat out 2019 after transferring from North Carolina, will be counted upon to provide righthanded power in the middle of the lineup, along with second-year freshman
Ronald Evans, a 6-foot-2, 258-pound tank with some of the best raw power on the roster. Evans figures to see plenty of action at DH or perhaps first base. Bridges has some of the best raw tools on the team but struggled to make consistent contact over his first two seasons, striking out 74 times as a freshman and 64 times as a sophomore. He was off to a solid start in 2020, hitting .290/.371/.387, though his strikeout rate was still high. Bridges has blazing speed that really plays in center field, where his arm is also a weapon. The key for him is simply to improve his plate discipline, and Hood thinks he’s making progress.
Also look for big breakout seasons from 3YR SO catcher
Matt Suggs and 2YR FR second baseman
Jac Croom. Suggs has a rifle arm behind the plate and an intriguing combination of speed and pop at the plate; if his receiving skills and offensive approach continue to mature, he could climb draft boards and become a star in this league. Croom is the quintessential “dirtbag” who always manages to impress in a variety of subtle ways. He’s an aggressive, instinctive baserunner and a playmaker at second base, and he’s added some strength to his frame since last year, giving him sneaky lefthanded pop. Also keep an eye on fellow 2YR FR
Trevor Marsh, an athletic lefthanded slasher with good speed, bat-handling skills, defensive ability and an accurate arm in the outfield.
