Penn appears to be the region's strongest club with expectations to compete for an Ivy League title. La Salle has an influx of new talent, plus a returning All-American in Tatem Levins behind the plate. Saint Joseph's and Villanova each have some key pieces returning too, all this to say college baseball in the Philly region remains on the upswing.
Listed below is our Philadelphia Baseball Review All-Philadelphia Region NCAA D-1 Preseason Team. Like last year, we'll award weekly honors on Monday's to celebrate the best local efforts at the D-1 level.
Catcher: Tatem Levins, SO, La Salle: Earned Freshman All-American honors. Finished sixth in the Atlantic 10 in RBIs (50) and seventh in homers (nine). Reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.
First Base: Craig Larsen, SO, Penn: Posted a .322 batting average with 56 hits and was a Second-Team All-Ivy selection. Led the team with 44 RBIs, the most ever by a Penn freshman.
Second Base: Chris Adams, SR, Penn: A Second-Team All-Ivy honoree, finished third on the team with a .371 batting average (39-for-105).
Third Base: Nick Lorusso, SO, Villanova: Earned Big East Rookie of the Year accolades last season, he led the team in average (.302), OBP (.408), slugging (.425).
Shortstop: Josh Hood, SO, Penn: Led the Quakers with eight home runs and 25 extra-base hits. Named Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Finished fourth on the team with a .331 batting average (60-for-181).
Outfield: Eduardo Malinowski, JR, Penn: Finished last season with career-highs in batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.419), slugging percentage (.585), doubles (8), triples (5), home runs (4), and runs scored (32). Named an All-Ivy Honorable Mention.
Outfield: Peter Matt, SR, Penn: An All-Ivy selection a year ago and hit .328 with 14 stolen bases and also set the program record with six triples.
Outfield: Brendan Hueth, JR, Saint Joseph's: Led the Hawks a year ago in several categories including at-bats, hits, runs scored, stolen bases, and multi-hit games.
Designated Hitter: Andrew Cossetti, SO, Saint Joseph's: Named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team a year ago. Finished with eight homers and a .898 OPS last season.
Pitcher: Christian Scafidi, SR, Penn: Ivy League Pitcher of the Year last season, posted a 6-1 record with a 2.62 ERA. His 59 strikeouts were the fifth-most in the conference. Pitched seven or more innings in six of his ten appearances, including each of his last five appearances.
Pitcher: Jordan DiValerio, SR, Saint Joseph's: Made 12 starts and tossed 73.1 innings last season. Struck out 67 and allowed just 65 hits. Had a fantastic summer in the NECBL, finishing 3-2, 2.50 with 48 strikeouts and just seven walks in 39 2/3 innings.
Pitcher: Mitchell Holcomb, SR, Penn: Finished with a 6-1 record, tied for the best in the Ivy League. Posted a career-low 3.76 ERA after a career-high 64 2/3 innings pitched. Of his 66 hits allowed, just 17 were extra-base hits.
Pitcher: Jimmy Kingsbury, JR, Villanova: Led the Wildcats in wins (5) and ERA (4.13) while working a team-high 85 innings. Led the team in strikeouts with 66 and opponent batting average against at .239.
In case you missed them, here are our 2020 team previews: Penn | La Salle | Saint Joseph's | Villanova.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR
