Jan. 4, 2012

click here for coaches' Big East preseason poll

Junior outfielder Jeremy Baltz of preseason favorite St. John’s was named Preseason Player of the Year and junior right-hander Justin Amlung of Louisville was tabbed Preseason Pitcher of the Year to headline the 2012 Big East Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted by the head coaches and released by the league office.

Baltz batted .311 a season ago with six home runs and 60 RBI. A Preseason All-American, Baltz was a First Team All-Big East selection in each of his first two seasons with the Red Storm.

Amlung was 10-2 in 2011 with a 2.31 ERA. A Preseason All-American, Amlung walked 27 and fanned 80 in 105 innings a season ago.

St. John’s (Baltz, P Kyle Hansen, SS Matt Wessinger) and Connecticut (C Joe Pavone, 2B L.J. Mazzilli, 3B Tim Martin) each had three preseason all-conference selections to lead all Big East teams.

The 2012 campaign commences on Friday, Feb. 17, as nine of the teams head to the Gulf Coast of Florida for the fourth annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge. The first weekend of conference action is March 23-25, with all 12 teams involved. The 2012 Big East Tournament returns to Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., on May 23-27. The championship game will televised on ESPNU.

2012 Big East Preseason All-Conference Team

Pos. Name, Class, School, 2011 Overall Stats

P Justin Amlung, Jr., Louisville, 10-2, 2.31 ERA, 105.0 IP, 80 K, 27 BB, .206 OBA

P Matt Iannazzo, Sr., Pittsburgh, 8-3, 2.73 ERA, 102.1 IP, 62 K, 22 BB, .242 OBA

P Kyle Hansen, Jr., St. John’s, 8-7, 3.09 ERA, 107.2 IP, 106 K, 41 BB, .223 OBA

P Jon Prosinksi, Jr., Seton Hall, 7-4, 1.91 ERA, 94.1 IP, 56 K, 30 BB, .228 OBA

C Joe Pavone, Sr., Connecticut, .273, 5 HR, 20 RBI

1B Trey Mancini, So., Notre Dame, .323, 9 HR, 34 RBI

2B L.J. Mazzilli, Jr., Connecticut, .338, 3 HR, 32 RBI

SS Matt Wessinger, Sr., St. John’s, .273, 6 HR, 42 RBI 

3B Tim Martin, Sr., Connecticut, .298, 4 HR, 29 RBI

OF Rand Ravnaas, Sr., Georgetown, .352, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 25 SB

OF Stewart Ijames, Sr., Louisville, .247, 11 HR, 45 RBI

OF Jeremy Baltz, Jr., St. John’s, .311, 6 HR, 60 RBI

DH Dan DiBartolomeo, Sr., West Virginia, .338, 6 HR, 28 RBI

Preseason Player of the Year – Jeremy Baltz, OF, St. John’s

Preseason Pitcher of the Year – Justin Amlung, RHP, Louisville