DALLAS – The reigning Conference USA Tournament champions were picked to finish third, and six baseball Monarchs featured on the C-USA Preseason All-Conference Team, the conference announced on Wednesday. ODU landed behind only Southern Miss and LA Tech on the preseason poll, and Brock Gagliardi, Tommy Bell, Andy Garriola, Carter Trice, Jason Hartline and Noah Dean were named preseason all-conference.
The Monarchs received one first-place vote in the poll and were the highest-ranked team out of the East Division, edging out fourth-place Charlotte. ODU went 44-16 last season and won its first ever C-USA Tournament title. In a season of firsts, the Monarchs were seeded 11th in the NCAA Tournament field and were the No. 1 seed of a regional. Old Dominion finished the year ranked 16th nationally, the highest final ranking in program history.
ODU's six selections on the preseason all-conference team were the most by any team. Only Southern Miss (four) and LA Tech (three) landed multiple players on the team.
Charlotte's Austin Knight was selected as Preseason Player of the Year. Jonathan Fincher of LA Tech is the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
The Monarchs kick off their season this week with three home games against Iona on Friday (3 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.)
Tommy Bell | Sr. | INF | Kettering, Ohio
Bell received Second Team All-Conference USA and Second Team ACBA/Rawlings All-Region Team honors last year after starting all 60 games at shortstop. He was the only Monarch to start all 60 games and finished second on the team with a .343 batting average. Bell notched eight homers, nine doubles, five triples, scored 47 runs and drove in 49 and tied the program record with 18 hit by pitches. The senior from Kettering, Ohio went 8-for-13 with three home runs and eight RBIs at the Conference USA Tournament and was named its MVP. His three-run blast in the top of the sixth in the championship game erased a 3-1 deficit and put the Monarchs ahead 4-3.
Noah Dean | So. | RP | Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
Dean was a member of the C-USA All-Freshman Team last season after tying the conference lead with nine saves, which was good for 27th nationally. Dean struck out 44 batters in 21.1 innings – the second-most strikeouts by an ODU reliever last season. The left-hander logged a strikeout in 17 of his 19 appearances, had at least two strikeouts 15 times and fanned four batters four times.
Brock Gagliardi | Sr. | C | Tacoma, Wash.
Gagliardi played 51 games last season, starting 40 at catcher and six as a designated hitter. He batted .316 with nine home runs, 11 doubles and 35 RBIs. The senior from Tacoma, Washington logged 13 multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit outings. He went 3-for-5 in the C-USA Championship game, helping the Monarchs to their first ever C-USA crown and earning a place on the all-tournament team. Gagliardi also knocked in a pair of runners in the NCAA Regional Final against Virginia.
Andy Garriola | Sr. | OF | Sierra Madre, Calif.
Garriola led the nation in RBIs a season ago with 72 and reaped First Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region and Second Team All-C-USA honors. He batted .318 with 14 homers, 16 doubles and 53 runs scored. Garriola was also top-50 in the country with 133 total bases. He had 24 multi-hit games, including a three-homer outing against Florida Atlantic in the C-USA Tournament to tie the program record, and received all-tournament honors at the conference tournament.
Jason Hartline | Sr. | RP | Chesapeake, Va.
Hartline was a second team all-conference reliever in 2021 after going 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA out of the bullpen. He led ODU with 27 appearances in relief and struck out 60 batters. Opponents hit just .241 against Hartline, and the senior from Chesapeake, Virginia allowed just one home run all season. Twenty of his 27 appearances were scoreless, and he struck out multiple batters 18 times. Hartline went 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit in ODU's NCAA Regional win over Jacksonville.
Carter Trice | So. | OF | Mechanicsville, Va.
Trice enjoyed an honor-laden debut season last year. He received Second Team All-American recognition from Collegiate Baseball and was named a freshman all-American by Collegiate Baseball (first team), Perfect Game Baseball (first team) and the NCBWA (second team). Trice was also a Second Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honoree. Trice earned Freshman of the Year honors from Conference USA after leading ODU in batting average (.355), hits (83), doubles (17) and total bases (148). Among all freshman nationally, he was fourth in total bases, sixth in hits and seventh in runs scored (57) and was top-20 in homers (11), doubles (12th), RBIs (54) and batting average. He recorded multiple hits in 24 of his 58 games, including six three-hit games and a five-hit game against Marshall on April 4. Trice had two hitting streaks of over 10 games, including a 14-game streak from March 12 through April 4. The sophomore from Mechanicsville, Virginia hit .294 in the NCAA Tournament to lead the Monarchs and had a pair of two-hit games against South Carolina and Virginia.
Conference USA Preseason Poll (first place votes in parentheses)
1. Southern Miss (6)
2. LA Tech (2)
3. Old Dominion (1)
4. Charlotte (2)
5. Florida Atlantic
6. UTSA
7. FIU (1)
8. Rice
9. WKU
10. Middle Tennessee
11. UAB
12. Marshall
Preseason Player of the Year
Austin Knight, Charlotte (Junior, INF)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Jonathan Fincher, LA Tech (RS Junior, LHP)
Preseason All-Conference
C: Brock Gagliardi, Old Dominion
INF: Austin Knight, Charlotte
INF: Tommy Bell, Old Dominion
INF: Taylor Young, LA Tech
INF: Danny Lynch, Southern Miss
OF: Andy Garriola, Old Dominion
OF: Carter Trice, Old Dominion
OF: Gabe Montenegro, Southern Miss
DH: Charlie Fischer, Southern Miss
UTIL: Jonathan Tapia, UTSA
P: Ben Ethridge, Southern Miss
P: Jonathan Fincher, LA Tech
P: Hunter Cooley, Florida Atlantic
P: Jarrett Whorf, LA Tech
RP: Jason Hartline, Old Dominion
RP: Noah Dean, Old Dominion
Voucher Books!
The 2021-22 Old Dominion voucher book is available for sale on ynottix.com. Each voucher book contains 25 tickets and is priced at $50, which is a 60 percent savings off the single-game ticket price. Vouchers are good for any regular season home game played at the Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium. Vouchers can be presented at the gate for admission. Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
Click here to purchase the 2021-22 ODU voucher book.
Baseball Picked Third, Lands Six on C-USA Preseason Team
