ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University baseball team has been picked eighth in the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Coaches' Poll announced league officials.

The Pioneers also had three representatives on the Preseason All-SAC Baseball Team including first team shortstop Ben Scartz, second team pitcher Luke Absher and third team outfielder Zane Keener.

Tusculum received 66 total points in a vote of the league's 13 head baseball coaches.

Newberry is the favorite to win this year's conference crown as the Wolves received 136 points including nine first place votes. Wingate is second with 124 points and one first place nod, while Lenoir-Rhyne gathered the final three first place votes to give the Bears 123 points for third in the rankings.

Catawba is fourth with 115 points, followed by Lincoln Memorial (99), Carson-Newman (93), Anderson (81), Tusculum, Coker (46), Limestone (44), Mars Hill (43), Emory & Henry (22) and UVA Wise (22).

Scartz, a senior from Tarpon Springs, Florida, earned All-SAC third team honors at shortstop in his first Tusculum season a year ago. He was selected as the team's most valuable player and finished second on the club with a .357 batting average which was 13^th in the conference. He totaled 60 hits including 11 doubles, 34 RBI and scored 38 runs. He struck out only 12 times in his 195 plate appearances which was the third-best ratio in the SAC and 39^th in NCAA Division II.

Scartz accounted for 19 multiple-hit games and reached base safely in his last 13 games including a seven-game hitting streak to end the season. He was also honored for his skills with the glove where he earned spots on the ABCA All-Southeast Defensive Team and the SAC All-Defensive Team. He made only three errors in his 186 total chances for a .984 fielding percentage which was tops amongst SAC shortstops. He opened his TU career by going errorless in his first 141 fielding chances.

Absher, a senior right-handed pitcher from Lenoir, North Carolina, emerged as the ace of the TU starting weekend rotation. He went 4-3 with a 4.52 earned run average. He pitched a team-best 81.2 innings while notching 57 strikeouts. He tallied wins against Shorter, Davis & Elkins, Limestone and Anderson and finished the year with a WHIP of 1.40 and recorded a complete game.

Keener, a graduate student from Knoxville, Tennessee, finished fourth on the team last year with a .311 batting average. The 2022 All-SAC third team honoree totaled 46 hits including 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs. He posted 29 RBI and led the team with 28 walks and nine times hit by pitch. He also scored 40 runs and went 5-of-7 in stolen bases. His .449 on-base percentage was second on the team and accounted for 13 multiple-hit games. His 43 straight games, spanning the 2022 and 2023 seasons was the fifth-longest in recorded school history.

During his 117-game career, Keener has a .309 batting average while totaling 123 hits including 27 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs, 85 RBI and 70 walks.

The Preseason All-Conference Team is selected by a vote of the league's media relations directors.

Tusculum is coming off a 25-24 campaign as the Pioneers finished eighth in the final SAC standings.

TU will open its season with a three-game Florida road swing beginning with the Feb. 2 opener at Nova Southeastern.

2024 SAC Baseball Coaches' Poll

2024 Preseason All-SAC Baseball Team
First Team
OF – Blake Bean, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF –Dylan Driver, Catawba
OF – Donovan Ford, Newberry
1B – Tyler McPeak, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B – Cole Laskowski, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS – Ben Scartz, Tusculum
3B – Jonathan Velez, Newberry
C – Rhett Jolly, Newberry
DH – Sal Carricato, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Tyler Chinpire, Newberry
SP – Bennett Roemer, Newberry
SP – Austin Fine, Catawba
RP – Jake Wright, Carson-Newman

Second Team
OF – Sean Barnett, Wingate
OF – Jermie Greene Jr., Emory & Henry
OF – Luke Poole, Anderson
1B – Cole Harness, UVA Wise
2B – Jomar Lugo, Newberry
SS – Levi Perrell, Catawba
3B – Andrew McKay, Wingate
C – Carlos Hernandez, Anderson
DH – Kody Hanna, Coker
SP – Joshua Lanham, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Luke Absher, Tusculum
SP – Marty Neal, Limestone
RP – David Brian Ellison, Lincoln Memorial

Third Team
OF – Kade Faircloth, Newberry
OF – Zane Keener, Tusculum
OF – Jacob Lebron, Newberry
1B – Brett Adams, Wingate
2B – Mitch Petzelt, Lincoln Memorial
SS – Peter Adams, Limestone
3B – Kasten Harvey, Lincoln Memorial
C – Bryce Stober, Lenoir-Rhyne
DH – Carson Boles, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Ethan Bobo, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Josh Dotson, Wingate
SP - Mason Gwyn, Catawba
RP – Jake Contino, Limestone