Collegiate Baseball Newspaper recognizes Ward, Bulldogs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Redshirt sophomore outfielder Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) has been tabbed as the preseason Northeast Conference Player of the Year by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

The publication, which released its January edition earlier this month, picked the Bulldogs to win their eighth-consecutive NEC Regular-Season title. It is the seventh-straight year that the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has picked Bryant as the preseason favorite.

In addition to Ward, junior James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.), redshirt sophomore Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.), senior Steve Theetge (Syracuse, N.Y.), junior Vito Morgese (Warwick, N.Y.) and senior Nathan Wrighter (Windsor, N.Y.) were listed as "other top players to watch."

Ward is coming off a magical 2018 season that saw him earn Co-National Freshman Player of the Year honors from the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and recently became just the second Preseason All-American in program history. He was recognized as an All-American or Freshman All-American by nine outlets and is the reigning NEC and New England Player and Rookie of the Year.

All this came after he hit .409 with a program-record 101 hits. Ward also posted a program-record 157 total bases thanks to 22 doubles, five triples and eight home runs. He also became just the third player in DI program history with 50+ RBI and 50+ runs scored, while striking out just 10 times in 272 plate appearances.

Ciliento enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2018, providing the Bulldogs with pop and grit. He slashed .377/.448/.518 and finished second on the team with 72 hits (1.53/g) despite missing nine games. Ciliento clubbed 14 doubles, scored 46 runs and finished with 99 total bases on his way to All-NEC First Team honors.

Titus will return to the Bryant lineup after missing all but two games with a torn ACL in 2018. When healthy, Titus has proven to be a big-time bat in the middle of the lineup. He earned Freshman All-American and NEC Rookie of the Year honors after hitting .296 with 16 doubles, eight home runs, 42 RBI and 42 runs scored in 2017. Titus hit .380 with 16 extra-base hits, 22 RBI and 25 runs scored in 25 NEC games that season.

Theetge enters his final season in Smithfield as one of the most accomplished pitchers in program history. In his first season as Bryant's Friday starter, Theetge went 6-7 with a 4.02 ERA in 15 starts. Despite the ERA, he walked fewer batters than he did the previous season and struck out a career-high 70 in a career-high 87 1/3 innings. Theetge is now 23-12 in his career, needing just seven wins to tie the program record. He's also 10th all-time in innings (241.2) and strikeouts (174) and is the DI program record-holder with 11 career pickoffs.

Morgese stepped up as a sophomore in 2018 and delivered a solid season in the Black and Gold. He finished 5-2 with a 3.82 ERA, 73 strikeouts and just 25 walks in 77 2/3 innings. One of his 13 starts included eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings over a nationally-ranked Auburn squad. Morgese is 9-8 in his two-year career and has been nearly impossible to run on, picking off seven runners.

Wrighter has been a mainstay in Bryant's bullpen the past two seasons, appearing in 47 games. He took over the closer's role in 2018, posting eight saves in a team-high 21 appearances. Wrighter surrendered just 26 hits in 32 2/3 innings before spending the summer as the most dominant reliever in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He won the Joe Nathan Top Relief Pitcher award after saving nine games and striking out 28 in 25 innings.

The Bryant baseball program is the winningest program in the Northeast since Steve Owens took over the program in 2011, posting 287 victories over the last eight seasons. Bryant is the only school in the country to win seven-straight regular-season titles and has reached the NCAA Tournament three times (2013, 2014, 2016). The Bulldogs have had 15 players drafted, produced six All-Americans, nine Freshman All-Americans, seven-straight NEC Rookies of the Year and 48 All-NEC players in the last eight seasons.

Bryant opens the 2019 season with a three-game series at Abilene Christian starting on Feb. 15.