Coastal Carolina roundup: Chants come in at No. 24 in preseason baseball poll

Following a 39-win campaign and another trip to the NCAA tournament, the Coastal Carolina baseball team will start the 2015 campaign in elite company.

The Chanticleers were ranked 24th according to the D1Baseball.com preseason poll, released Tuesday.

Such optimism reigns as a result of who returns.

Much of those responsible for last season’s success return, including preseason All-American shortstop Michael Paez. The junior batted .326 a season ago, hitting eight home runs while bringing in 42 base runners.

Paez certainly isn’t alone, however, with All-Big South performers Connor Owings and Anthony Marks also back. Much of the Chants’ infield remains intact as well, with the returning catcher David Parrett, first baseman Tyler Chadwick, second baseman Seth Lancaster and third baseman Zach Remillard.

Alex Cunningham, who was voted 2015 Big South Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American, is back following a 6-0 campaign a season ago. Helping bolster the staff are Andrew Beckwith, Tyler Poole, Mike Morrison and Patrick Corbet.

Coastal Carolina finished 39-21 a season ago, ousted in the regional round by Texas A&M. Never one to shy away from competition, the Chants have scheduled a host of opponents from power conferences, among them North Carolina State, North Carolina, in-state rival South Carolina and defending national champion Virginia.

The team will open the 2016 season against Appalachian State as part of the Caracelle Resort Tournament on Feb. 19.

Florida was given the nod at No. 1 in the initial edition of the poll, followed by Louisville, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Oregon State to round out the top five. Aside from Coastal Carolina, South Carolina was the only other Palmetto State school listed, coming in at No. 17.

CCU football team finished 16th in FCS poll

Despite being eliminated in the first round of the FCS playoffs, Coastal Carolina finished 16th in the final STATS FCS media poll, and 17th in the FCS Coaches’ Poll.

Spending much of the season at No. 1, this marks the 45th consecutive poll in which the Chanticleers were a part of, dating back to the final one of 2012. During that span, the program has spent 37 of 38 weeks ranked in the top 10.

Following its rout of Jacksonville State and earning a fifth consecutive national title, North Dakota State finished atop both polls.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina roundup: Chants come in at No. 24 in preseason baseball poll."