ATLANTA - Fresh off a strong first season under Head Coach Andrew Gipson that saw them come in 2nd in the CCS regular season with a 12-5 record, the Belhaven Baseball team has been tabbed to finish atop the CCS in a close preseason coach's poll.

The Blazers finished 2024 with a 25-17 overall record, the best year under a first-year head coach, and took another step towards cementing their status as contenders in the Collegiate Conference of the South. Now, their internal expectations have been echoed by coaches around the league with a projected first place finish.

Belhaven will return a large portion of their core from a season ago. All-American pitcher Brett Sanchez departs with the conclusion of his illustrious Blazers' career, but much of the lineup is back for another campaign and the pitching staff is looking for improved depth with plenty of new faces anchoring the rotation and the bullpen.

CCS Player of the Year Owen Abney will headline a Blazers' offense that is looking for more consistency and Abney is looking to build on a 2024 campaign that saw him hit .350 and drive in a league-leading 60 runs. First-team All-CCS selection Tristan Pearson also returns for his second campaign in Jackson following a year where he hit .320 with an .894 OPS. Outfielder Josh Neutze and infielder Hunter Harrell round out a quarter of Blazers' returning who hit over .300 in 2024 and will be looking to form the core of the lineup.

In the rotation, Colton Sylvester will be tasked with a bigger workload this season after carving out a space for himself last season along Sanchez at the top of the Blazers' rotation. Sylvester finished last year 7-1 with a 2.15 ERA and limited opposition to just a .247 batting average against. 

Along with the returners, the Belhaven coaching staff is excited about a large crop of incoming talent from both the junior college ranks and high school signing class. Plenty of new faces are expected to get their shot in the rotation and bullpen while in the field, there's an expectation that new arrivals can push for starting spots in the lineup early in the season.

2025 CCS BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
 

1.         Belhaven	31 (2)
2.         Piedmont	29 (2)
3.         LaGrange	28 (1)
4.         Maryville	26 (2)
5.         Huntingdon	16
6.         Covenant	10
7.         Asbury	7

Belhaven opens their season next weekend when they host Mt. Saint Mary's for a three game slate at Trustmark Park.

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