Feb. 5, 2010

Wagner was voted to the top spot in the 2010 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll in voting by the league’s head coaches and released by the conference office.

Wagner won its first regular-season title a season ago and received four first-place votes. Defending NEC Tournament champion Monmouth earned two first-place votes and finished second.

Central Connecticut State also garnered a pair of first-place votes and placed third. Sacred Heart received the final first-place vote to sit in fourth, followed by Bryant, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Fairleigh Dickinson and Long Island.

The Seahawks will be led by senior right-hander Matt Watson, who was the 2009 NEC Pitcher of the Year. He posted a 9-2 record with a 3.64 ERA. Watson was a perfect 7-0 in conference games with a league-best 3.02 ERA. Junior outfielder Jared Gruccio was second in the NEC a season ago with a .394 batting average.

The Hawks will be paced on offense by junior Nick Pulsonetti, who hit .355 in 2009 with 11 homers and 53 RBI.

The 32-game conference slate will determine the field for the 2010 Northeast Conference Championship at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J., from May 27-30.

2010 Predicted Order of Finish

(first-place votes, 2009 NEC/overall records)

1 Wagner (4) (17-9, 31-21)

2 Monmouth (2) (15-11, 32-25)

3 Central Connecticut State (2) (16-11, 26-22)

4 Sacred Heart (1) (16-10, 29-27-1)

5 Bryant (---, 32-22)

6 Mount St. Mary’s (15-11, 23-25)

7 Quinnipiac (11-17, 18-34)

8 Fairleigh Dickinson (11-17, 16-34)

9 Long Island (6-21, 10-40)