NWF Baseball Ranked No. 3 in Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll
NICEVILLE, Fla. – Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ranked Northwest Florida State College baseball third in its annual NJCAA Division I Preseason Poll.
Coming off an 18-5 record in a shortened 2020 season, the Raiders fall in behind Wabash Valley (No. 1) and 2019 NJCAA runner-up Iowa Western (No. 2). Chipola, the only other Panhandle Conference program on the list, came in at No. 4.
Northwest Florida returns nine players from last year's squad, including pitcher Dylan DeLucia, who posted a 6-0 record with a 0.67 ERA and a save in seven appearances. Trace Willhoite looks to lead the offence after turning in a .303 average with a home run and 14 RBIs in 23 games.
The Raiders are scheduled to face three teams ranked in the poll. NWF opens the season against No. 19 Miami Dade on Jan. 22 in Fort Myers, Fla., then hosts No. 12 San Jacinto in a doubleheader on Feb. 13. Chipola and Northwest Florida State are set to square off six times in Panhandle Conference play.
For more information on Northwest Florida State Athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow us on Twitter at @NWFRaiders.