The University of La Verne Leopards have been tipped to claim back-to-back SCIAC regular season titles according to the 2024 Baseball Preseason Poll, as voted by the league’s coaches.
The Leopards enter the season ranked No. 23 in the nation after ending last spring 16th thanks to upsetting No. 7 Birmingham Southern University to survive the NCAA Championship Regional before falling 2-1 in the Super Regional series. Coaching Staff of the Year winner Scott Winterburn is fortunate to bring back all five All-SCIAC picks, led by SCIAC Pitcher of the Year Gerald Terry who racked up 63 strikeouts in 55 innings with a minuscule 0.76 WHIP and 2.13 ERA. The only first-year to make an All-Conference squad, catcher Nathan Perry joined him alongside multi-inning reliever Benny Vogel on the First Team while #2 starter Ethan Galindo and first baseman Noah Garcia earned Second Team honors.
However, it is Chapman University ranked highest in the d3baseball.com/NCBWA Preseason Top 25 to begin this season. Max Banks emerged as the staff’s next ace, earning First Team recognition alongside first baseman A.J. Anzai as the only pair of five total selections back this season. The Panthers recorded the conference’s best run differential last year by a single score at +84 in 24 games.
Tournament champion for the second year running despite entering as the #4 seed, RV California Lutheran University will have a different look under longtime assistant and now head coach Erik Scherer as the Kingsmen replace three of four All-Conference honorees, led by breakout star Luke Wechsler who struck out 10 against a single walk in an eight-inning quality start to send CLU to the tournament final.
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges came in just a single point ahead of Sixth Street rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Centerfielder JC Ng, reliever Eric Prough and starter Eamon Woods all return with Second Team honors to their names. The Stags will rely on 2023 SCIAC Athlete of the Year, Third Team All-America and European Championship silver medalist Julian Sanders at first base and fellow First Team classmate Tyler Shaw, the only shortstop to make the All-Conference list.
The University of Redlands received a major boost with Preseason All-America Third Team starter Tyler Reiter enrolling in graduate school to continue his Bulldog career. He struck out 69 batters with just 17 walks across 74 innings with the fourth-lowest ERA in the country (1.46) to earn Fifth Team All-America recognition from d3baseball.com last spring.
Occidental College will look for someone to step up in the absence of their lone All-Conference pick last year, with utilityman Lou Martineau and outfielder Miles Capobianco the early favorites to stand out from the pack. Newcomer of the Year Lew Rice and first baseman Teige Barrett return to keep some serious thump in the Whittier College lineup that scored at least eight runs in a third of its conference games. Caltech rounds out the poll as outfielder Thorsen Kristufek looks to shoulder the mantle left by program record-holders Will Dembski ’23 and Jack Warren ’23.
Several teams have already gotten their seasons underway this past weekend against NAIA and other competition, while Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands are ticketed for the opening Division III games of the spring on Friday, Feb. 9. Conference play will begin on Friday, Feb. 23 with Redlands hosting California Lutheran and Whittier welcoming Chapman.
2024 SCIAC Baseball Preseason Poll
1. La Verne, 75 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Chapman, 70 pts (1)
3. California Lutheran, 59 pts
4. Pomona-Pitzer, 51 pts
5. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 50 pts
6. Redlands, 38 pts
7. Occidental, 20 pts (1)
8. Whittier, 24 pts
9. Caltech, 9 pts
Follow the SCIAC on Threads (@theSCIAC), X - formerly Twitter (@theSCIAC) and Instagram (@thesciac) with hashtags #SCIACtion and #SoCalSoGood. Watch most SCIAC games, matches, and meets online via mobile devices and on OTT apps - Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android - search for 'SCIAC' and download the channel.