IRVING, Texas – East Carolina has been selected as the unanimous preseason favorite in the 2023 American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Pirate senior Carter Spivey has been picked as The American’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while Wichita State junior second baseman Brock Rodden was selected as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
The defending champion Pirates earned all seven possible first-place votes and a total of 49 points to be named The American’s preseason favorite. Houston was narrowly picked second with 39 points, followed by UCF with 38 points. Tulane was picked fourth with 26 points, followed by Wichita State (26), South Florida (21), Cincinnati (19) and Memphis (8). Coaches were not allowed to pick their own team or student-athletes in the voting.
East Carolina (46-21, 20-4 American) advanced to its third consecutive Super Regional in 2022, while winning The American’s regular season and tournament crowns. Spivey was the first relief pitcher to be named the league’s Pitcher of the Year after going 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA in conference play. Sophomore outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart was named the 2022 TicketSmarter American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship’s Most Outstanding Player and was a unanimous selection on the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Houston (37-24, 13-11) finished third in the conference, advanced to the Championship final in 2022 and has three selections on the Preseason All-Conference Team, including redshirt senior Ian McMillan, who was a unanimous pick at shortstop, junior catcher Anthony Tulimero and junior third baseman Zach Arnold. Tulimero hit .326, while McMillan batted .302 with 10 home runs and Arnold hit .283 with 10 homers.
UCF (35-25, 14-10) placed second in the regular season and advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 Championship. The Knights have two pitchers on the Preseason All-Conference Team, including junior Ben Vespi, who was 6-4 with a 3.56 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 65.2 innings, and redshirt senior reliever Kyle Kramer, who had six saves and a 3.69 ERA last season.
Tulane (33-26-1, 11-13) is led by head coach Jay Ulhman, who had the interim tag removed after the 2022 season. Junior pitcher Dylan Carmouche was selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team after going 5-5 with a 4.58 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 90.1 innings.
Wichita State (21-36, 9-15) has the most selections on the Preseason All-Conference Team with four, including Rodden, who was a unanimous selection at second base, junior pitcher Cameron Bye, junior outfielder Chuck Ingram and sophomore designated hitter Payton Tolle. Rodden hit .338 with 17 home runs and 48 RBI last season. His 17 home runs ranked third in The American in 2022.
South Florida (28-29, 8-16), which won the 2021 American Baseball Championship, has junior outfielder Drew Brutcher on the Preseason All-Conference Team. Brutcher hit .299 with 13 home runs and 40 RBI in 43 games last season.
Cincinnati (24-31, 12-12), which finished fourth in the regular season standings in 2022, is represented on the Preseason All-Conference Team by redshirt junior first baseman Ryan Nicholson, who hit .277 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI last year.
Memphis (26-29, 9-15) has a new leader in Kerrick Jackson, who was the head coach at Southern from 2018-20 and took a nine-win team in 2018 to 32 wins and a conference championship.
2023 American Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Honors
Preseason Coaches Poll
| East Carolina (7) |
49 |
| Houston |
39 |
| UCF |
38 |
| Tulane |
26 |
| Wichita State |
24 |
| South Florida (1) |
21 |
| Cincinnati |
19 |
| Memphis |
8 |
First-place votes in parenthesis
Preseason Player of the Year
Brock Rodden, Jr., 2B, Wichita State
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Carter Spivey, Sr., East Carolina*
Preseason All-Conference Team
P - Ben Vespi, Jr., UCF
P - Carter Spivey, Sr., East Carolina*
P - Dylan Carmouche, Jr., Tulane
P - Cameron Bye, Jr., Wichita State
RP - Kyle Kramer, R-Sr., UCF
C – Anthony Tulimero, Jr., Houston
1B – Ryan Nicholson, R-Jr., Cincinnati
2B – Brock Rodden, Jr., Wichita State*
SS – Ian McMillan, R-Sr., Houston*
3B – Zach Arnold, Jr., Houston
OF – Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, So., East Carolina*
OF - Drew Brutcher, Jr., South Florida
OF – Chuck Ingram, Jr., Wichita State
DH – Payton Tolle, So., Wichita State
* denotes unanimous selection