Photo by: Glen Sisk
Bluejays Picked Second in BIG EAST Preseason Poll
12/22/2015 1:09:00 PM | Baseball
Fowler, Lacy & Warren Earn Preseason Honors
New York, N.Y. - The Creighton Baseball team was picked to finish second in the 2016 preseason poll, released on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
For the third-straight season, the voting for preseason favorite is split by just one vote, swinging in favor of St. John's, who was the BIG EAST coaches' decision for No. 1 with 34 total points, four first-place votes. Creighton, last year's tournament runner up was picked second with 33 points, with Seton Hall a close third with 26 points. These three top teams have finished in the top three of the standings for the past two years.
Xavier was picked to finish fourth with 18 points, while the Butler, Georgetown and Villanova tied for fifth with 12 points each.
Overall the Bluejays closed the 2015 season with a 32-19 record, including a 13-4 mark in BIG EAST action. Creighton, picked for the second year in a row as the No. 2 team in the conference had three players selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team.
Creighton returns All-BIG First Team selection and unanimous preseason honoree Reagan Fowler at first base who accounted for 14 RBI for the Bluejays in league action with 18 hits in 17 games. On the mound, unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection and unanimous preseason honoree Rollie Lacy returns for his sophomore season after accounting for a 4-0 BIG EAST record, 25 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA. Overall, Lacy had a 6-1 record for the season. Fellow starting pitcher Matt Warren, a senior, also returns. Warren had 1.80 ERA with 13 K's in 20 innings pitched in league play. Creighton also returns all of its infield with Ryan Fitzgerald at second, Nicky Lopez at short and Harrison Crawford at third base. The Bluejays' only key loss was senior catcher Kevin Lamb who accounted for .419 hitting, 14 hits, four runs and one RBI in BIG EAST action.
Creighton opens the 2015 season on Feb. 19 at Fresno State at 8:05 pm (CT), while the Bluejays open BIG EAST action on Friday, April 8 at home against Seton Hall.
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1.   St. John's – 34 pts. (4)
2.   Creighton – 33 pts. (3)
3.   Seton Hall – 26 pts.
4.   Xavier – 18 pts.
T5. Butler – 12 pts.
T5. Georgetown – 12 pts.
T5. Villanova – 12 pts.
2016 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year – Alex Caruso, St. John's, Sr., OF
Preseason Pitcher of the Year – Thomas Hackimer, St. John's Sr., RP
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Preseason All-BIG EAST *
^ Daniel Rizzie, Xavier, Sr., C
^ Reagan Fowler, Creighton, Sr. 1B
^ Todd Czinege, Villanova, Jr., 2B
Andre Jernigan, Xavier, Sr., SS
^ Robbie Knightes, St. John's, Jr., 3B
Troy Dixon, St. John's, Jr., DH
^ Alex Caruso, St. John's, Sr., OF
^ Michael Donadio, St. John's, Jr., OF
Tyler Houston, Butler, So., OF
^ Rollie Lacy, Creighton, So., SP
Shane McCarthy, Seton Hall, So., SP
Jeff Schank, Butler, Jr., SP
Matt Smith, Georgetown, Sr., SP
Matt Warren, Creighton, Sr., SP
^ Thomas Hackimer, St. John's, Sr., RP
^ - denotes unanimous selectionÂÂÂÂ
* - due to a tie in voting there are five starting pitchers on the 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST team
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For the third-straight season, the voting for preseason favorite is split by just one vote, swinging in favor of St. John's, who was the BIG EAST coaches' decision for No. 1 with 34 total points, four first-place votes. Creighton, last year's tournament runner up was picked second with 33 points, with Seton Hall a close third with 26 points. These three top teams have finished in the top three of the standings for the past two years.
Xavier was picked to finish fourth with 18 points, while the Butler, Georgetown and Villanova tied for fifth with 12 points each.
Overall the Bluejays closed the 2015 season with a 32-19 record, including a 13-4 mark in BIG EAST action. Creighton, picked for the second year in a row as the No. 2 team in the conference had three players selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team.
Creighton returns All-BIG First Team selection and unanimous preseason honoree Reagan Fowler at first base who accounted for 14 RBI for the Bluejays in league action with 18 hits in 17 games. On the mound, unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection and unanimous preseason honoree Rollie Lacy returns for his sophomore season after accounting for a 4-0 BIG EAST record, 25 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA. Overall, Lacy had a 6-1 record for the season. Fellow starting pitcher Matt Warren, a senior, also returns. Warren had 1.80 ERA with 13 K's in 20 innings pitched in league play. Creighton also returns all of its infield with Ryan Fitzgerald at second, Nicky Lopez at short and Harrison Crawford at third base. The Bluejays' only key loss was senior catcher Kevin Lamb who accounted for .419 hitting, 14 hits, four runs and one RBI in BIG EAST action.
Creighton opens the 2015 season on Feb. 19 at Fresno State at 8:05 pm (CT), while the Bluejays open BIG EAST action on Friday, April 8 at home against Seton Hall.
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1.   St. John's – 34 pts. (4)
2.   Creighton – 33 pts. (3)
3.   Seton Hall – 26 pts.
4.   Xavier – 18 pts.
T5. Butler – 12 pts.
T5. Georgetown – 12 pts.
T5. Villanova – 12 pts.
2016 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year – Alex Caruso, St. John's, Sr., OF
Preseason Pitcher of the Year – Thomas Hackimer, St. John's Sr., RP
Â
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
^ Daniel Rizzie, Xavier, Sr., C
^ Reagan Fowler, Creighton, Sr. 1B
^ Todd Czinege, Villanova, Jr., 2B
Andre Jernigan, Xavier, Sr., SS
^ Robbie Knightes, St. John's, Jr., 3B
Troy Dixon, St. John's, Jr., DH
^ Alex Caruso, St. John's, Sr., OF
^ Michael Donadio, St. John's, Jr., OF
Tyler Houston, Butler, So., OF
^ Rollie Lacy, Creighton, So., SP
Shane McCarthy, Seton Hall, So., SP
Jeff Schank, Butler, Jr., SP
Matt Smith, Georgetown, Sr., SP
Matt Warren, Creighton, Sr., SP
^ Thomas Hackimer, St. John's, Sr., RP
^ - denotes unanimous selectionÂÂÂÂ
* - due to a tie in voting there are five starting pitchers on the 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST team
Â
Players Mentioned
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