Baseball | 3/21/2023 12:01:00 PM
New York, New York – The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) has announced its annual preseason poll for the 2023 community college baseball season. The Panthers are coming in tied at No. 3 in the poll as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
The returning 2022 CUNYAC CC Baseball Championship Kingsborough Community College Wave were picked as the favorite, awarded nine points and grabbing three of the four first-place votes. The Wave went 12-14 last season, sweeping the 2022 CUNYAC CC Baseball All-Team Awards returning the Conference Player of the Year Benjamin Luciano, Francesco Maria Bonvini, and Rookie of the Year Justin Ramsey. The Wave are also currently #13 in NJCAA Division III Baseball Poll.
Bronx Community College, the 2021 CUNYAC Champion and a 2022 CC Baseball Championship finalist came, picked up six points as No. 2 in the preseason poll and returns two of their three CUNYAC CC Baseball All-Stars from last season in Steven Correa and Alex Messon with Correa leading the Broncos in batting average (.419), hits (26), runs (23) while Messon has produced a team-best 17 RBIs.
The Panthers are tied for third in the preseason polls with five points and picked up one first-place vote. BMCC will return their two 2022 CUNYAC CC Baseball All-Stars in sophomores Frank Reyes (Brooklyn, New York) and Abdel Raheem Dolah (Brooklyn, New York) with Reyes, a CUNYAC CC All-Star, spearheading the offensive attack for BMCC, leading the squad in four offensive categories, and tying in another. The Brooklyn native was tops on the Panthers in batting average (.364), hits (16), runs scored (11), and doubles (4), and tying for first in multi-hit games with four for the season. The Brooklyn native also ranked second in slugging percentage (.455) and steals (9).
Dolah led BMCC in three offensive categories and struck out a team-best 19 batters during the 2022 season. In addition, the Brooklyn native was tops on the Panthers this season in slugging percentage (.578), RBIs (9), home runs (2), and triples (2) while tying for another with 10 steals. During the 2022 season, Dolah also led the team with three multi-RBI games, recorded three RBIs a season-high two times, and tied for a team-best with four multi-hit games while ending the season on a two-game hitting streak.
The Panthers have also added an outstanding freshman who already made an impact in their first doubleheader of the season last Sunday in Nicholas Mattera (Moorpark, California), who went 3-for-6 overall with a .500 batting average to go along with a team-leading four runs scored and recorded three hits en route to CUNYAC CC Rookie of the Week accolades.
Mattera also blasted a 400-foot shot in the second game for the Panther's only home run of the season.
The Tigers, who tied for third in the preseason poll with five points, will compete for the first time since the 2020 season for the first time since it was cut short after only six games due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will be their first full-time season since 2019.
2022 CUNYAC Community College Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Kingsborough – 9 Points (3 First-Place Votes)
2. Bronx – 6 Points
T3. BMCC – 5 Points (1)
T3. Queensborough – 5 Points
The 2023 CUNYAC Baseball Championship will be played on Tuesday, May 9th, at the iconic Maimonides Park, the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of seven varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - The official site of BMCC Athletics. Follow the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and Like Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).
