D1Baseball.com tabs Bryant as preseason favorite in NEC

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team has been tabbed as the team to beat in the Northeast Conference by D1Baseball.com.

In addition to picking the Bulldogs win the NEC, D1Baseball.com also projected redshirt sophomore Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) to repeat as NEC Player of the Year and pegged Jake Gustin (Peabody, Mass.) as the NEC Freshman of the Year.

Bryant went 32-23-1 on its way to its seventh-straight NEC Regular-Season title in 2018. The Black and Gold went 21-7 in league play but were eliminated in three games in the NEC Tournament. Over the last eight years, the Bulldogs have more wins (287) than any other team in the Northeast.

Ward became the first player in league history to win NEC Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season in 2018. He hit .409 with 101 hits, 22 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 52 RBI and 51 runs scored. Ward set program records for hits and total bases (157) and also enjoyed the longest hitting streak in program history (30 games). He earned eight separate All-American citations following the season, including First Team Freshman All-American honors from D1Baseball.com.

Bryant has won each of the last seven NEC Rookie of the Year honors and D1Baseball.com feels Gustin will become the eighth. Gustin enjoyed a stellar career at Peabody Memorial, hitting .529 with six doubles, four triples and three home runs as a senior. He earned Rawlings/Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American honors and Perfect Game All-Northeast Region honors in his final season.

D1Baseball.com also listed its top prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft, the 2020 MLB Draft and its impact freshmen. Ward, Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.) and Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) were the top three prospects listed in the 2019 draft class. Vito Morgese (Warwick, N.Y.) (5), Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) (7) and Tyler Panno (Rivervale, N.J.) (8) were also among the top 10.

For 2020, Tyler Mattison (Fort Ann, N.Y.) and Will Treuel (Wolfeboro, N.H.) were listed as the top two prospects.

Titus returns to the Bryant lineup after tearing his ACL two games into the 2018 season. The 2017 NEC Rookie of the Year, Titus hit .296 with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 42 RBI as a true freshman.

Wright has been Bryant's primary first baseman the last two seasons but saw his stock rise last summer after dominating on the mound in the Cape Cod League. He hit .313 with five home runs and 36 RBI in the spring and then posted a 2-0 record, a 1.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in just 14 2/3 innings for Brewster in the Cape Cod League.

Morgese was a mainstay in Bryant's weekend rotation last spring, posting a 5-2 record and 73 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. He was lights out in NEC games, going 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings.

Angelini enters his final season in Smithfield as one of the most accomplished players in Bryant's DI program history. He was the 2016 NEC Rookie of the Year, is a two-time All-NEC First Team selection and ranks in the top 10 in hits (169), runs scored (133), walks (85) and stolen bases (43). Angelini has scored 40+ runs all three years and has a career slash line of .306/.416/.462.

Panno returned to the infield last spring and served as Bryant's everyday third baseman. He hit just .269 but slugged .442 with 12 doubles and six home runs on the year. Panno also played a good defensive third base, finishing with a .925 fielding percentage.

Mattison earned Freshman All-American and All-NEC Second Team honors after going 5-2 with a 3.40 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 53 innings as a true freshman. He posted quality starts in four of his seven starts on the year and finished 4-2 with a league-best 1.70 ERA in NEC-only games.

Treuel made just five relief appearances as a true freshman last spring. He was his best down the stretch, not allowing a run over his final 3 2/3 innings. That included a season-high 1 2/3 scoreless innings at Rhode Island.

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

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