BUIES CREEK - The Big South conference office has announced that Campbell baseball has been picked to finish first in the preseason coaches poll. Additionally, Campbell redshirt senior infielder Collin Wolf was tabbed as the preseason player of the year. 

The Puyallup, Wash. native was picked as the Big South preseason player of the year after a hot start to 2020 and a strong 2019 campaign. Wolf has been a staple in the lineup since arriving on campus after transferring from Tacoma CC, having started all 74 games in the infield over the last two seasons. 

Wolf hit .270 with 17 hits and 13 RBI through just 16 games of the shortened 2020 campaign. In 2019, he hit .327 in conference play to help him earn second-team all-Big South honors. That season, Wolf led the team in led the team in RBI (48) and walks (33), was second in OBP (.411) and HR (7), was third in slugging (.466) and fourth in average (.293). 

"This is a nice honor for Collin, as I think it really represents what he brings to our club beyond just offensive numbers," Coach Haire said. "He is the consummate baseball rat, he loves the game, he thinks about it all the time, and he works hard to get the most of his ability.  His versatility, competitiveness, and experience will go a long way for us this year."

Wolf is the fourth Camel to earn a preseason nod from the Big South. He joins Matthew Barefoot who was named preseason player of the year in 2019 and Michael Felton in 2013. Ryan Thompson was named preseason pitcher of the year in 2014. 

This is the third consecutive year the Camels have been picked by the league's 10 coaches to finish first. Campbell did go on to win the league in 2019, but wasn't given the opportunity to do so a year ago with the season being cut short. The Camels also won the league in 2018 after being picked fifth that season. With this designation, the team will look for its third straight conference championship.   

"We appreciate the expectation to be at or near the top of the league, and embrace that challenge as one of the standards of our program," Coach Haire said. "The major key for us will be to be able to block out all the noise, both good and bad, and focus on becoming the best team we are capable of becoming, and finding a way to leave the program better than how we found it."

Campbell received 6 first-place votes and 89 points overall to claim the top spot for the third consecutive year. Winthrop, USC Upstate (2) and High Point also each received a first-place vote.

In the other preseason award, RJ Petit, a sophomore right-hander from Charleston Southern was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. 

Campbell finished the 2020 season with a 7-9 record, but had not yet begun conference play. The Camels went 37-21 during the last completed season in 2019 that ended with a trip to the Greenville Regional at ECU.

Campbell's 2021 schedule will be announced at a later date. 

The full poll results are listed below:

 Rk   Team (first-place votes)    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 Points
1.  Campbell (6)                        6   2   1   -    -    -    -    1   -   -     89
2.  Winthrop (1)                        1    6   1   1   -    -    -    1   -   -     82             
3.  USC Upstate (2)                  2   1   2   1   3   1    -    -   -   -     75
4.  Radford                                -   1   3   4   2   -     -    -    -  -     73
5.  High Point (1)                      1   -   3    2   -    3   1    -   -   -     67
6. Gardner-Webb                     -    -   -    1   2    3   4    -   -   -     50
7.  Charleston Southern           -   -    -    1   1    1   2   2   2  1    37
8.  Presbyterian College           -   -   -    -    2   1   2    1  4   -     36
9.  UNC Asheville                     -   -   -    -    -    -   1    4   3  2     24
10.  Longwood                         -   -   -    -    -    1   -    1   1   7      17