Jan. 30, 2015

Stony Brook Team to Beat in America East

CollegeBaseballInsider.com surveyed college coaches around the country to preview the 2015 college baseball season by sharing their thoughts on the teams and players to watch in their conferences. CBI compiled their answers to provide insight on the upcoming season.

Click here for CBI Conference Previews

Today, we take a look at America East (all seven coaches responded).

The team to beat: Stony Brook

The top starting pitchers: Tyler Honahan (Stony Brook); Scott Heath (Maine); Jeff Gelinas (Maine); Kyle Gauthier (Hartford)

The top closer: Cameron Stone (Stony Brook)*

The pitcher you least want to face: Tyler Honahan (Stony Brook)

The most underrated pitcher: Joe Vanderplas (UMBC); Christian Lavoie (UMass-Lowell) (tie)

The best defensive catcher: Jonathan Salcedo (Maine); Eddie Posavec (Binghamton)

The best catcher arm: Jonathan Salcedo (Maine)

The best defensive infielder: Cole Peragine (Stony Brook); Danny Mendick (UMass-Lowell) (tie)

The best infield arm: Johnny Caputo (Stony Brook)

The best defensive outfielder: Sam Balzano (Maine); Ian Strom (UMass-Lowell)

The best outfield arm: Brian Doran (Maine)

The best pure hitters: Scott Heath (Maine)*; Jake Thomas (Binghamton); Matthew Sanchez (UMass Lowell)

The biggest power threats: Scott Heath (Maine)*; Jake Thomas (Binghamton)*; Danny Mendick (UMass-Lowell)

The hitter you least want to face: Jake Thomas (Binghamton)

The toughest hitter to strike out: Jake Thomas (Binghamton)

The most underrated hitter: Danny Mendick (UMass-Lowell)

The best baserunner: Jack Parenty (Stony Brook)

The best game coach: Matt Senk (Stony Brook)

The assistant coach most ready for a head-coaching job: Ryan Hurba (Binghamton)

*unanimous selection