NEW YORK (Dec. 18, 2024) – The Connecticut Huskies, the 2024 BIG EAST regular-season champion, were picked as the favorite in the BIG EAST Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced by the Conference on Wednesday.

UConn's senior right-handed pitcher Ian Cooke was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while UConn junior first baseman Maddix Dalena locked up Preseason Player of the Year accolades.

The Huskies enter the 2024 campaign fresh off a 17-4 league season, securing an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the Super Regionals. Overall, six Huskies land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

The reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Cooke appeared in 17 games and made 10 starts on the mound in his third season with Huskies. He went 5-2 with a 4.81 ERA and pitched 67.1 innings with 85 strikeouts in 2024. Cooke led the Huskies to a regional win over Duke with four strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work in a 4-1 victory.

An All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2024, Dalena played in 55 games and made 54 starts, primarily at first base. He hit .242 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs and drove in 43 RBI. Dalena ranked second on the team with 13 multi-RBI games, while also posting 13 multi-hit games.

Three players earned unanimous votes on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, including Seton Hall starting pitcher Ryan Reich, Creighton outfielder Nolan Sailors and Cooke.

The coaches' poll, all-conference team and major awards were voted on by the league's eight coaches, who could not cast votes for their team or their players.

2025 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards

Preseason Player of the Year

Maddix Dalena, 1B, Jr., UConn

Preseason Pitcher of the Year

Ian Cooke, RHP, Sr., UConn ^

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team*

C – Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown

1B – Maddix Dalena, UConn

2B – Kyle Hess, Creighton

3B – Tyler Minick, UConn

3B – Luke Hammond, Xavier

SS – Bryan Padilla, UConn

SS – Luke Orbon, St. John's

DH – Connor Misch, Xavier

OF – Jack Moroknek, Butler

OF – Caleb Shpur, UConn

OF – Nolan Sailors, Creighton ^

OF – Kavi Caster, Georgetown

OF – Jackson Tucker, St. John's

OF – Aedan Anderson, Xavier

SP – Ian Cooke, UConn ^

SP – Dominic Cancellieri, Creighton

SP – Andrew Williams, Georgetown

SP – Evan Chaffee, St. John's

SP – Ryan Reich, Seton Hall ^

RP – Brady Afthim, UConn

RP – Louis Marinaro, St. John's

^ - denotes unanimous selection

* due to a tie in voting, there are extra members on the preseason all-conference team.

BIG EAST Baseball Preseason Poll

First place votes in ( )

1.  UConn (7) – 49

2.  Xavier – 38

3.  St. John's (1) – 37

4.  Creighton – 30

5.  Georgetown – 25

6.  Seton Hall – 24

7.  Villanova – 12

8.  Butler – 9