Liberty Named 2015 Big South Preseason Favorite; Close Tabbed Preseason Player of Year
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
For the second straight year, the Liberty Flames have been selected to win the Big South Conference baseball title, as the conference's annual preseason baseball poll was released this morning by the league's office. The poll is voted on by the conference's head coaches.
In addition, Liberty first baseman Alex Close was selected as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, while Longwood right-hander Aaron Myers was voted as the conference's Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Liberty received eight first-place votes and garnered 116 points in being tabbed to rest atop the Big South standings at year's end and claim the conference's title.
The Flames have been ranked in two 2015 preseason national polls. Liberty was listed as No. 23 in College Baseball Newspaper's Fabulous 40, while being ranked No. 25 by Baseball America in its preseason poll.
Liberty set a program high for Big South Conference victories with a 23-3 mark in conference play in 2014, while earning a top 25 ranking from all of the major national polls during the season. The Flames posted a 41-18 overall mark, recording the second most wins and posted the fourth 40-plus win season in program history.
Liberty earned the program's first ever at-large selection to an NCAA Regional in 2014. With their selection, the Flames appeared in a regional in back-to-back years for the first time in team history.
2014 Big South Coach of the Year Jim Toman, who enters his eighth season at Liberty, welcomes 21 players from last year's team, including first baseman Close and pitcher Ashton Perritt. Both players were named Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans by The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Both players were named Big South All-Conference in 2014. In addition, Close was named a Preseason All-American by Perfect Game, while Perritt was selected to the D1Baseball.com Preseason All-America team.
Also among the Flames' returnees are Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and Big South Freshman of the Year Parker Bean and all-conference shortstop Dalton Britt.
Close, a senior, was tabbed as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year by the conference's head coaches. Last year, the first baseman was named an All-Big South first team member and was one of only two juniors from across the country to be selected to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America first team. He also garnered inclusion on the VaSID All-State baseball and All-State Academics squads.
The Hoover, Ala., native hit .324 with 34 runs scored and a team-leading 45 RBI in 2014. He collected 14 doubles, belted eight home runs and posted a .505 slugging percentage.
In addition, Close led the Flames with a .408 batting average with runners in scoring position. The team captain finished the year third in the Big South in home runs and RBI, while ranking sixth in slugging percentage.
Close was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 27th round of the 2014 Major League Draft. However, he decided to return to Liberty for his senior year.
The Flames team captain will enter the 2015 season ninth in program history with 26 career home runs. In his three seasons at Liberty, he has hit .288 with 120 RBI.
High Point was selected to finish second in the preseason poll, collecting two first place votes and 98 points. Coastal Carolina followed in third with 95 and Campbell was voted in fourth with 89 points. Radford was tabbed fifth, garnering the final first place vote and 84 points. Winthrop was sixth with 69 votes, followed by Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb, who tied for seventh with 51 points. Longwood finished with 32 points, Presbyterian with 28 points and UNC Asheville with 13 points to round out the poll.
The Flames will begin their 24-game Big South Conference slate with a three-game series at Radford, March 20-22. The 2015 Big South Baseball Championship is slated for May 21-15 at John Henry Moss Stadium in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Liberty opens its 2015 campaign at 2014 Super Regional participant and No. 19 Kennesaw State on Feb. 13, as part of the Atlanta Challenge. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Flames are slated to open their home schedule at Liberty Baseball Stadium on Feb. 28 against the Bryant Bulldogs. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
2015 Big South Preseason Poll
| Rank | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Points |
| 1. | Liberty (8) | 88 | 20 | -- | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 116 |
| 2. | High Point (2) | 22 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 14 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 98 |
| 3. | Coastal Carolina | -- | 10 | 54 | 24 | 7 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 95 |
| 4. | Campbell | -- | 40 | -- | 16 | 28 | -- | 5 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 89 |
| 5. | Radford (1) | 11 | -- | 18 | 32 | -- | 18 | 5 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 84 |
| 6. | Winthrop | -- | 10 | -- | -- | 21 | 24 | 10 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | 69 |
| 7. | Charleston Southern | -- | -- | 9 | -- | 7 | -- | 10 | 16 | 9 | -- | -- | 51 |
|
| Gardner-Webb | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 12 | 20 | 16 | 3 | -- | -- | 51 |
| 9. | Longwood | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | -- | 32 |
| 10. | Presbyterian | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 6 | -- | -- | 9 | 12 | 1 | 28 |
| 11. | UNC Asheville | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | -- | 10 | 13 |
Note: Points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 11 points, followed by 10 points for second place, and so on.
Preseason Player of the Year: 1B Alex Close, Liberty
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: RHP Aaron Myers, Longwood
