Baseball tops polls, Garcia honored to start 2020

ORANGE, Calif. – The voters believe the Panthers can do it again. The reigning NCAA Division III champions top the preseason NCAA Division III baseball polls while junior pitcher Nick Garcia has been selected as a First Team Preseason All-American.

Garcia garnered national attention after a standout sophomore season in the back end of the Panthers bullpen. He was a First Team All-American for both the ABCA and D3baseball.com after leading all of Division III with a 0.64 ERA last year. He also had 12 saves, ranking third in DIII, and went 9-0 with 82 strikeouts in 56 innings.

The Panthers received 19 first place votes in the D3baseball.com poll with three other teams receiving first place votes. Chapman's 555 points in the poll edged out Webster's 544 points in the No. 2 spot. The Panthers 286 points in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll was against ahead of Webster by a slim margin.

The champions of Division III will celebrate the opening of the 2020 season with a National Championship Ring Ceremony on Feb. 1 at 11:30 at Hart Park before the start of the alumni game. The season officially opens on Feb. 7 in Tucson, Ariz. when the Panthers take on UT-Dallas. Their first home game is on Feb. 21 at 2:30 p.m. in a SCIAC showdown with La Verne.

D3baseball.com poll | CBN poll | Preseason All-America

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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