Connecticut Huskies
Overall Rank: #34
Conference Rank: #2 American
Connecticut has turned into a very consistent program under Coach Jim Penders. The Huskies have reached the NCAA Tournament six times in the last ten years and have finished third or fourth in the American Athletic Conference each of the last four seasons. This team has some holes to fill and key players to replace, but Coach Penders continues to bring in the talent needed to compete for a conference title.
2019: 39-25, 12-12
2019 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Jim Penders
Key Departed Players:
John Toppa, OF, .326 BA, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 15 SB
Michael Woodworth, IF/OF, .325 BA, 5 HR, 42 RBI, 16 SB
Anthony Prato, IF, .324 BA, 3 HR, 35 RBI, 14 SB
Jeff Kersten, P, 4.78 ERA, 5-4 W/L, 84.2 IP, 69 SO
Mason Feole, P, 4.09 ERA, 3-4 W/L, 77.0 IP, 83 SO
Jacob Wallace, P, 0.64 ERA, 3-1 W/L, 42.0 IP, 68 SO, 16 SV
Key Returning Players:
Pat Winkel, C, .318 BA, 7 HR, 38 RBI
Christian Fedko, IF, .271 BA, 3 HR, 43 RBI
Chris Winkel, OF/IF, .264 BA, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 13 SB
Kyler Fedko, IF, .247 BA, 5 HR, 24 RBI
Caleb Wurster, P, 2.66 ERA, 5-1 W/L, 47.1 IP, 40 SO
Colby Dunlop, P, 4.31 ERA, 7-4 W/L, 56.1 IP, 36 SO
Projection:
Colby Dunlop and Jimmy Wang were both decent starting pitchers last season. Dunlop went 7-4 with a 4.31 ERA. He is not overpowering, but Dunlop walked just 14 batters in 56.1 innings of work. Wang had some issues keeping the ball over the plate at times during his freshman season, but with a year of experience under his belt, Wang should develop into a more consistent pitcher. However, last season it was the bullpen that propelled Connecticut to the NCAA Tournament. Jacob Wallace and CJ Dandeneau are gone, but Caleb Wurster returns after tallying a program record 36 appearances in 2019. Christian Fedko and Chris Winkel were the top two RBI earners last season. If those two can boost their batting averages, they could be in the All-Conference conversation. Pat Winkel may be the best hitter on the team though. He hit .318 as a freshman with seven homeruns and 38 RBIs. With transfers like Eric Stock from Old Dominion and Justin Willis from Vanderbilt, Connecticut has all the pieces they need to continue to be a very dangerous team in the AAC.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
