CAA RELEASE AND PRESEASON ALL-CAA TEAMS

RICHMOND, Va. - Northeastern has been selected as the first-ever favorite in the newly-formed Colonial Athletic Association North Division in baseball, announced by the league office on Friday. The Huskies were an unanimous selection to win the north, while UNCW was picked to win the south division which was voted on by the league's head coaches.

Northeastern, which captured CAA regular-season titles in 2017 and '18, returns a veteran lineup led by preseason all-conference honorees Ian Fair, Scott Holzwasser and Jared Dupere. On the mound, the Huskies welcome back starters Kyle Murphy and Sebastian Keane as well as closer Brandon Dufault. The Huskies won 10 of their final 12 games in 2020, including series wins at South Florida and Florida Atlantic, before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Northeastern stood at No. 11 in the RPI rankings before the season was halted.

The CAA will split into divisions for the first time since 2003 with the goal of reducing travel and limiting exposure associated with COVID-19. Each team will play a 24-game divisional conference schedule in the regular season. The top two teams in each division plus two at-large teams will make up the field for the 2021 CAA Baseball Championship, which will be held May 26-30 at Brooks Field on the campus of UNCW.

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