DALLAS – Louisiana Tech has been voted by the league’s head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2023 Conference USA regular season baseball championship, the league announced Thursday, along with the preseason all-conference team.
Florida Atlantic outfielder
Nolan Schanuel and Louisiana Tech starting pitcher
Jonathan Fincher highlighted the 2023 C-USA Preseason Baseball Awards. Schanuel was named Preseason Player of the Year, while Fincher was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Schanuel hit a team-best .369 and 1.135 OPS in 2022, earning All-C-USA First Team honors. He collected 83 hits and 56 RBI and placed second in the league during conference play with a .387 batting average.
Fincher returns to Ruston for his sixth-year and was named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team after starting 14 games for the Bulldogs in 2022. He finished the season with an 8-2 record, a 3.52 ERA and 73 strikeouts to just nine walks in 79.1 innings of work.
In its first year as a member of the league, DBU was voted the runner-up position falling just short of LA Tech with 90 points and four first-place votes. Florida Atlantic finished third with 74 points while Charlotte grabbed the remaining first-place vote in the fourth spot with 70 points, followed by UTSA in fifth with 66 points. Middle Tennessee and UAB tied for sixth at 39 points as Rice (32), FIU (28) and WKU (21) rounded out the poll.
The 2023 Conference USA season gets underway Friday, February 17, and the C-USA Baseball Championship will be May 24-28 in Houston, Texas, hosted by Rice.
2023 C-USA Baseball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
LA Tech (5) |
91 |
| 2. |
DBU (4) |
90 |
| 3. |
Florida Atlantic |
74 |
| 4. |
Charlotte (1) |
70 |
| 5. |
UTSA |
66 |
| T6. |
Middle Tennessee |
39 |
| T6. |
UAB |
39 |
| 8. |
Rice |
32 |
| 9. |
FIU |
28 |
| 10. |
WKU |
21 |
C-USA Baseball Preseason Player of the Year
Nolan Schanuel, Florida Atlantic
C-USA Baseball Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Jonathan Fincher, LA Tech
C-USA Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Jorge Corona, LA Tech |
Jr. |
C |
Miami, Fla. |
| Jack Dragum, Charlotte |
Sr. |
INF |
Mechanicsville, Va. |
| Austin Knight, Charlotte |
Sr. |
INF |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Leyton Barry, UTSA |
Sr. |
INF |
Houston, Texas |
| Tristin Garcia, WKU |
Sr. |
INF |
Louisville, Ky. |
| Nolan Schanuel, Florida Atlantic |
Jr. |
OF |
Boynton Beach, Fla. |
| Jake Cunningham, Charlotte |
Jr. |
OF |
Charlotte, N.C. |
| Cam Fisher, Charlotte |
So. |
OF |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Christian Hall, UAB |
Sr. |
DH |
Calera, Ala. |
| Jared Vetetoe, Middle Tennessee |
So. |
UTIL |
Gallatin, Tenn. |
| Luke Malone, UTSA |
Sr. |
SP |
Round Rock, Texas |
| Jonathan Fincher, LA Tech |
R-Sr. |
SP |
Shreveport, La. |
| Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee |
Jr. |
SP |
Culleoka, Tenn. |
| Hunter Cooley, Florida Atlantic |
Gr. |
SP |
Vero Beach, Fla. |
| Daniel Shafer, UTSA |
Jr. |
RP |
Willis, Texas |
| Simon Miller, UTSA |
Jr. |
RP |
Canton, Texas |