The Creighton baseball team was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST by the conference coaches. Along with the third place ranking Creighton's pitcher Rollie Lacy was selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason team.
The Bluejays return other key members of the pitching staff including Jeff Albrecht, Keith Rogalla, David Gerber and Ethan DeCaster. Creighton returns just one starter from the batting order last season, catcher Michael Emodi.
The entire preseason team is listed below:
2017 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )
T1. Xavier – 32 points (4)
T1. St. John’s – 32 pts. (3)
3. Creighton – 25 pts.
4. Seton Hall – 24 pts.
5. Georgetown – 17 pts.
6. Villanova – 9 pts.
7. Butler – 8 pts.
Preseason Player of the Year – Joe Gellenbeck, Xavier, Sr., 1B/OF
Preseason Pitcher of the Year – Hunter Schryver, Villanova, Sr., SP
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
Nate Soria, Xavier, Jr., C
Joe Gellenbeck, Xavier, Sr., 1B/OF ^
Josh Shaw, St. John’s, So., 2B
Chris Givin, Xavier, So., SS
Rylan Bannon, Xavier, Jr., 3B
Mike Alescio, Seton Hall, Jr., DH
Michael Donadio, St. John’s, Sr., OF
Tyler Houston, Butler, Jr., OF
Michael DeRenzi, Georgetown, Jr., OF ^
Will LaRue, Xavier, Jr., OF
Rollie Lacy, Creighton, Jr., SP
Zac Lowther, Xavier, Jr., SP
Shane McCarthy, Seton Hall, Jr., SP ^
Simon Mathews, Georgetown, Sr., SP
Hunter Schryver, Villanova, Sr., SP ^
Garrett Schilling, Xavier, Jr., RP
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* - due to ties in voting there are four outfielders and five starting pitchers on the 2017 Preseason All-BIG EAST team
