Hempstead, NY - Hofstra University senior catcher Vito Friscia was named to the 2019 Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association Baseball team it was announced today. In addition, Hofstra was picked to finish eighth in a poll of the league's nine coaches. Elon was picked to finish first in the league, followed by UNCW and Northeastern in a second-place tie.

Friscia was a First Team All-CAA pick and a Second Team ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region selection in 2018 after batting a team-high .353 (second in the CAA) with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. His home run total led the Pride and he was tied for the team lead in RBIs. The Valley Stream, New York, native also posted a team-leading 61 hits and 28 runs scored.

Hofstra earned 14 points in the preseason poll to rank eighth. The Pride was 23-23 a season ago and finished sixth in the CAA but lost several key members of the team including All-America pitcher John Rooney, All-CAA First Team selection Teddy Cillis, starting pitcher Matt Weissheier, closer Chris Weiss, second baseman Mikey Riesner, and centerfielder Steven Foster. Hofstra does return most of its starting position players, led by Friscia, including first baseman Rob Weissheier (4 HR, 31 RBIs) and shortstop Austin Gauthier (6 2B, 18 RBIs). Pitchers Michael James (1-0, 2.61), Brad Carmada (2-2, 4.30) and Seamus Brazill (2-3, 4.99) are the only returning hurlers to have logged more than 12 innings last season.  

The Phoenix received four first-place votes and finished atop the poll with 57 points. Following close behind in a tie for second with 54 points were defending CAA champion UNCW, which got one first-place vote, and back-to-back regular-season champion Northeastern, which picked up the other four first-place votes. Charleston was fourth with 47 points, followed by Delaware (34 points), James Madison (32 points), William & Mary (19 points), Hofstra (14 points) and Towson (13 points).

Elon's Kyle Brnovich, who was 8-2 with 147 strikeouts last season, was selected as the preseason Player of the Year and headlined the preseason All-CAA squad.

2019 CAA Baseball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish

1. Elon (4 first-place votes)	57
2. UNCW (1 first-place vote)	54
2. Northeastern (4 first-place votes)	54
4. Charleston	47
5. Delaware	34
6. James Madison	32
7. William & Mary	19
8. Hofstra	14
9. Towson	13

 
 
2019 PRESEASON ALL-CAA BASEBALL TEAM
 

Player, School	Pos.	Cl.	Hometown	2018 Stats
Vito Friscia, Hofstra	C	Sr.	Valley Stream, N.Y.	.353, 7 HR, 31 RBI
Jake Farrell, Northeastern	1B	Sr.	Westwood, Mass.	.342, 11 HR, 63 RBI
Dupree Hart, Charleston	2B	Sr.	Rock Hill, S.C.	.326, 2 HR, 21 RBI
Greg Jones, UNCW	SS	So.	Cary, N.C.	.278, 4 HR, 21 RBI
Cole Weiss, UNCW	3B	Jr.	Winston-Salem, N.C.	.264, 4 HR, 29 RBI
Kyle Baker, Delaware	OF	Sr.	Hockessin, Del.	.354, 2 HR, 39 RBI
Kep Brown, UNCW	OF	Jr.	Charleston, S.C.	.267, 7 HR, 30 RBI
Cam Walsh, Northeastern	OF	Sr.	Duxbury, Mass.	.265, 0 HR, 16 RBI
Jackson Meadows, UNCW	UT	Jr.	Lexington, N.C.	.252, 0 HR, 13 RBI
Logan McRae, Charleston	DH	Sr.	Florence, S.C.	.284, 7 HR, 37 RBI
Kyle Brnovich, Elon	SP	Jr.	Milton, Ga.	8-2, 1.71 ERA, 147 K's
Sean Mellen, Northeastern	SP	Jr.	Norwood, Mass.	10-3, 2.28 ERA, 81 K's
Andrew Misiaszek, Northeastern	RP	Sr.	Oceanside, N.Y.	2-2, 12 saves, 2.70 ERA

 
CAA Preseason Player of the Year:  Kyle Brnovich, Elon
 
Honorable Mention:  Danny Wondrack, C, Charleston; Joe Satterfield, 1B, Elon; Fox Semones, 2B, James Madison; Ian Fair, SS, Northeastern; Ryan Solomon, 3B, Northeastern; DaVonn Griffin, OF, James Madison; Kevin Mohollen, OF, Delaware; Garrett Stonehouse, DH, Elon; George Kirby, SP, Elon; Billy Sullivan, SP, Delaware; Nathan Ocker, RP, Charleston