PROVIDENCE, R.I.—ECU has been tabbed as the favorite in the 2020 American Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Poll, as selected by the league’s head coaches.
 
ECU junior Jake Kuchmaner was picked as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while his Pirate teammate, junior Alec Burleson was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year. Burleson was selected as a first-team All-American by five publications, while Kuchmaner was named to last year’s American Athletic Conference All-Conference First Team.
 
Burleson was a finalist for the 2019 John Olerud National Player of the Year and hit .370 with 91 hits and 61 RBI while also going 6-2 on the mound with five saves and a 3.28 ERA. Kuchmaner went 7-2 with a 2.99 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 14 starts last season.
 
ECU earned 62 points and six first-place votes after making its fifth trip to an NCAA Super Regional in 2019. Head Coach Cliff Godwin was named The American’s Coach of the Year. The Pirates recorded a single-season conference-record 642 hits.
 
Houston was selected second with 54 points and earned the three remaining first-place votes. The Cougars went 32-24 overall and 12-12 in conference games last season. Houston is led by a pair of preseason all-conference pitchers in Clay Aguilar (6-4, 3.19 ERA and 73 strikeouts) and Lael Lockhart Jr (4-6, 3.58 ERA and 76 strikeouts).
 
UConn was picked third with 49 points after advancing to the final of the Oklahoma City regional. Caleb Wurster was selected to the preseason all-conference team as a relief pitcher after recording a 5-1 record with a 2.66 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 36 appearances out of the bullpen. The Huskies finished 39-25 overall and 12-12 in American play, earning their sixth NCAA appearance since 2010.
 
Tulane was tabbed fourth with 38 points and was 32-26 last season and 12-11 in conference action. The Green Wave have three on the preseason all-conference team, including Hudson Haskin, who was a 2019 Freshman All-American with a .372 batting average, 10 home runs and 52 RBI.
 
UCF was picked fifth with 37 points and went 36-22 in 2019. The Knights went 14-1 in midweek action, including wins over No. 3 Florida, No. 14 Florida State and No. 17 Miami (Fla.). Dalton Wingo was selected as a preseason all-conference outfielder after hitting .294 with seven home runs and 44 RBI.
 
Reigning American tournament champion Cincinnati was sixth in the preseason poll with 33 points. The Bearcats won four games in a row to win the conference championship and advanced to the Corvallis regional. Designated hitter Wyatt Stapp was named to the preseason all-conference team after hitting .294 with three home runs and 35 RBI.
 
USF was selected seventh with 20 points after going 26-27 last season. The Bulls’ leading returnees include pitcher Collin Sullivan (4-5, 3.86 ERA with 73 strikeouts) and catcher Jake Sullivan (.309, 4 home runs and 21 RBI).
 
Memphis was picked eighth and went 27-28 in 2019. Catcher Hunter Goodman and third baseman Alec Trela were selected the preseason all-conference team. Goodman hit .326 with 13 home runs and 67 RBI, while Trela recorded six home runs and 32 RBI, while hitting .276.
 
Wichita State was tabbed ninth and welcome a new head coach in Eric Wedge, who has 15 years of coaching experience including 10 years as a Major League manager with the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. Paxton Wallace was selected to the preseason all-conference team after hitting .256 with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 2019.
 
The 2020 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship will take place May 19-24 at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Fla.
 
2020 American Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Poll

1	ECU (6)	62
2	Houston (3)	54
3	UConn	49
4	Tulane	38
5	UCF	37
6	Cincinnati	33
7	USF	20
8	Memphis	19
9	Wichita State	12

First-place votes in parenthesis 
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Alec Burleson, Jr., ECU
 
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Jake Kuchmaner, Jr., ECU
 
Preseason All-Conference Team
P – Jake Kuchmaner, Jr., ECU*
P – Alec Burleson, Jr., ECU
P – Clay Aguilar, Jr., Houston
P – Lael Lockhart Jr, Sr., Houston
RP – Caleb Wurster, R-So., UConn
C – Hunter Goodman, So., Memphis
1B – Grant Mathews, R-Sr., Tulane
2B – Jonathon Artigues, R-Sr., Tulane
SS – Paxton Wallace, Jr., Wichita State
3B – Alec Trela, Sr., Memphis
OF – Dalton Wingo, Jr., UCF
OF – Alec Burleson, Jr., ECU
OF – Hudson Haskin, So., Tulane
DH – Wyatt Stapp, Jr., Cincinnati
 
* denotes unanimous decision