Baseball | 2/1/2024 9:51:00 AM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- The Barry Buccaneers are tabbed 15th in the inaugural D2 Baseball Insider national poll, presented by Freylitics, released this week.

Barry went 35-19 last season, 16-14 in the always-tough Sunshine State Conference. They got into the NCAA Regional as an at-large sixth seed, but proceeded to breeze through the South Region II tournament, beating third seed Montevallo 10-3 and second-seeded and host West Florida 6-1 and 11-6 to advance to the Super Regional.

The staff at D2 Baseball Insider are high on the Buccaneers as they return 71 percent of their offense, including seven of nine position starters, and 61 percent of their pitching staff.

Barry returns 24 lettermen, including 2024 First-Team All-Conference outfielder Braden Forchic, and Second-Team selection outfielder Keven Noriega. Forchic led the team with a .356 average and 10 homers. He scored 41 runs and drove in 26. Noriega led the squad with 21 doubles, while batting .345 and driving in 46 runs. The Bucs also return starters in centerfield in Christian Maceda (.259, 47 runs, 26 SB, Gold Glove), first base in Evan Wickeri (.325, 54 runs, 29 SB), second base Brandon Sanchez (.330, 4 HR, 31 RBI), shortstop Savi Delgado (.273, 6 HR, 32 RBI) and catching combo of Steven Nitch (.333, 3 HR, 25 RBI) and Matthew Menendez (.277, 4 HR, 24 RBI). On the mound, the Bucs return seven-game winner Angel Cespedes (5.22 ERA, 65 K, 58.2 IP) and Frank II Gonzalez (4-2, 4.84 ERA, 46 K, 61.1 IP) as starters and top reliever Federico Zapata (9 Sv, 2-2, 4.31 ERA, 33 K, 56.1 IP).

The Bucs have a challenging schedule that begins on Feb. 1. Barry takes on 2021 national champions Wingate on Thursday, Feb. 1 and 2022 national champs North Greenville on Friday, Feb. 2, with both games slated for 6:00 pm, before closing the weekend with Catawba (1:00 pm) and Washburn (5:00 pm) on Saturday, Feb. 3.

The schedule also features three-game conference sets against second-ranked Rollins and eighth-ranked Tampa. Mount Olive, who received votes, is also on the schedule. Additionally, Frostburg State (7th-Atlantic), Post (8th-East), Wilmington (Del.) (10th-East), Florida Southern (5th-South), and Saint Leo (8th-South) are all regionally ranked.

Buccaneers Also Ranked 15th By PerfectGame

See the analysis from PG below:

Brett Young became Barry's head coach following the season in which the Bucs had a spectacular turnarounds. After only winning only 18 games in 2022, Barry finished with a 35-19 record and swept their way to the Super Regionals where they were felled by conference-rival Rollins. It was the deepest postseason run in school history. Young, who previously helped Rowan to the DIII CWS, unquestionably had a big part in the newfound success as the school's recruiting coordinator.  

Had it not been for two players transferring to DI schools (Joe Stella and Jake Ogden), almost the entire offense would have been back this season. Braden Forchic, who led the team with a .356 batting average and 10 homeruns, will lead the everyday lineup along with the versatile Kevin Noriega who is comfortable in the outfield, first base or behind the plate. He batted .345 with a team high 21 doubles. Evan Wickeri led the team with 29 stolen bases and batted .325. The team has excellent defense up the middle with shortstop Savi Delgado and Christian Maceda. Delgado's arm and glove helped Mercer County CC to the NJCAA DII World Series in 2022. Maceda, who Young recruited out of County College of Morris back up in New Jersey, utilizes his speed and glove to hold down centerfield. Transfer Felix Diaz is expected to provide a power bat in the middle of the lineup. As another transfer out of the Garden State, he was an NJCAA All-American at Rowan-Gloucester where he batted .439 last season.

The Bucs pitching is on the precipice of being freakishly good. Joe Morrisey missed last season as he rehabbed from injury, but he set the Washington College (DIII) school record for strikeouts in 2022 with 95 in only 69 innings and was the Centennial Pitcher of the Year.  Chase Muir will be pitching for this fourth college team after previously throwing for the New Orleans Privateers, Bryan & Stratton and Fort Lauderdale. He was a First Team Christian College Athletic Association hurler last year for the Eagles where he once struck out 20 batters in a game. Angel Cespedes will be playing his sixth year of college baseball. He had 65 strikeouts in 58 ⅔ innings last season for the Bucs over 14 appearances which included 13 starts.  Senior Anthony Bennetti has had mixed success over his career and coaches think he has the ability and moxie to continue playing once he graduates. Benito Valle-Jhanda, a transfer from Skyline CC on the other opposite side of the county, could be a difference maker on the mound.