University of Mount Olive Picked to Win 2016 Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive Trojans were picked to win the 2016 Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship, the league announced today. The Trojans earned 70 points and seven first-place votes from coaches.
The Trojans will be looking to win their seventh straight regular season title in 2016 after going 19-7 in league play last season. Mount Olive posted a 39-16 overall record in 2015, which earned them a bid to the NCAA tournament.
North Greenville University and Erskine College both earned 59 points to land second in the preseason poll.
The Crusaders, who received one first-place vote from coaches, earned a bid to the NCAA tournament in 2015 after winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament title. North Greenville turned in a 29-25 overall record and 14-12 league mark.
Erskine finished the 2015 campaign 35-17 with a conference record of 17-9.
Placing fourth was Belmont Abbey College with 51 points, followed by Pfeiffer University at fifth with 46 points and King University at sixth with 45 points.
The Belmont Abbey Crusaders posted an even 25-25 record in 2015 with a 16-11 Conference Carolinas mark. Pfeiffer finished the season 29-22 and 16-10 in conference, while King finished with an identical 16-10 league mark and 24-26 overall record.
Limestone College and Barton College close out the poll at seventh and eighth, respectively.
The Saints earned 32 points after going 15-27 overall and 10-14 in conference play. The Bulldogs, who went 18-27 overall in 2015 and 12-14 in conference, received 30 points.
The 2016 Conference Carolinas baseball season begins on Friday, Jan. 29.
2016 Baseball Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Mount Olive (7) |
70 |
| T2. North Greenville (1) |
59 |
| T2. Erskine |
59 |
| 4. Belmont Abbey |
51 |
| 5. Pfeiffer |
46 |
| 6. King |
45 |
| 7. Limestone |
32 |
| 8. Barton |
30 |
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-Mcrae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.