UConn baseball picked to finish first in Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll

In its first season as a member of the Big East since 2013, UConn baseball has been picked to finish first in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll, besting Creighton by one point. The Huskies received five of the eight first-place votes.

Sophomore Kyler Fedko was named the Preseason Co-Player of the year alongside Seton Hall’s Tyler Shelder-McAvoy. Overall, four Huskies were named to the Preseason All-Big East Team — OF Kyler Fedko, 2B Christian Fedko, 1B Reggie Crawford and LHP Caleb Wurster.

The younger Fedko brother finished last season hitting .412 with a pair of homers and 12 RBIs through 13 games. He had the highest batting average on the roster among everyday players and struck out just four times on the year.

His older brother, Christian, has been one of the Huskies’ mainstays the past three seasons and will enter his third year as a starter. The second basemen slashed .275/.316/.353 in 57 plate appearances last season, starting all 13 games for UConn. He hit four doubles and drove in 12 runs in the COVID-19 shortened season.

Crawford, one of Jim Penders’ most highly-touted recruits, delivered one of the most impressive offensive performances of UConn’s short season. He slashed .365/.414/.558 with a homer and a team-leading 16 RBIs through 13 games.

The only reliever on the Preseason All-Big East team went to the final Husky on the list, Wurster. The Coventry, Rhode Island native found his name on this list and was also named to D1Baseball.com’s Preseason Second Team All-American team. In his two seasons at UConn, Wurster has posted a 2.48 ERA through 54.1 innings of work and struck out 48 batters as one of the Huskies’ top options in the bullpen.

Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. UConn Huskies (5)
2. Creighton Bluejays (2)
3. Seton Hall Pirates (1)
4. St. John’s Red Storm
5. Xavier Musketeers
6. Villanova Wildcats
7. Butler Bulldogs
8. Georgetown Hoyas