Westfield, Mass.— 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions Bridgewater State are tabbed by the coaches from around the league to win their third straight championship during the 2024 season.

The Bears took home seven first place votes for 49 points in this year’s poll. They ended the season 15-6 in MASCAC play to earn co-regular season champion and the tournament crown. 2023 All-Conference honoree Scot Emerson returns after batting .338 (51-151) with a pair of triples, six doubles, 17 walks, 29 stolen bases, 26 RBI and a school record 56 runs scored over 41 games. 

Earning the final first place votes for 39 points in second place is Westfield State. The Owls were 13-8 during last season’s MASCAC action. Dan Burnett earned a spot on the MASCAC first team, piling up a .360 batting average with nine home runs and 33 RBI. He was second in the MASCAC with 15 doubles and 25 extra base hits and led the Owls with 54 hits overall. 

Coming in third is Massachusetts Maritime with 34 points. The Buccaneers had a 10-11 record in league play in 2023 and earned a spot in the tournament championship. Brett Velzis made his second straight appearance on the MASCAC All-Conference team in 2023 and batted .385 with a .480 on-base percentage. Velzis had 55 hits this season with 10 doubles, three triples and a career-high nine home runs and drove in 37 runs, scoring 42 times.

Sitting in fourth is Framingham State with 33 points. The Rams were co-regular season champs with the Bears at 15-6. After earning All-Conference last season, Ryan Boyle returns after hitting .384 on the year with 53 hits on the year and a .652 slugging percentage. Boyle recorded 10 doubles and nine home runs with 52 RBI and added a .983 fielding percentage. 

Worcester State lands in fifth with 27 points in this year’s poll. The Lancers collected an 11-10 mark in the conference schedule in 2023. Returning to the mound is Ben Smith who over 44 innings pitched, registered a 3.07 ERA, 48 strikeouts a win and complete game. 

Landing is sixth is Fitchburg State with 20 points. The Falcons had nine wins last season in MASCAC competition. Jacob Hurrell notched his first All-Conference accolade last season, batting .362 with 47 hits, nine doubles, four triples, six home runs, 31 runs scored, 23 RBI, 15 walks and a team-leading 18 stolen bases.

Closing out the 2024 preseason poll is Salem State and MCLA in seventh and eighth, respectively. The Vikings had 15 points while the Trailblazers received seven. Back in 2024 for Salem State is Jake Boucher who netted second team honors for the second year in a row. He led Salem State with a .336 batting average and tied for the team-lead in hits (41) while driving in 19 runs and had 20 walks. He also made 11 appearances on the mound, drawing a 2-1 record while posting a pair of saves. For MCLA, Clarence Givhans is back after batting .315 with a .524 slugging percentage, 39 hits, including nine doubles, four triples and three home runs plus 23 RBI. 

 

While non-conference play begins the end of February and beginning of March for the MASCAC schools, conference competition will get underway the weekend of March 28-30.