Baseball

2026 #AEBASE Preseason All-Conference and Preseason Poll Announced

BOSTON – After capturing the 2025 championship, Binghamton was selected first in the 2026 #AEBASE Preseason Poll, while the Preseason All-Conference was also released on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Binghamton captured three first place votes for 32 total points, while 2025 regular season champion Bryan also had three first place votes and 30 total points. NJIT placed third with 26 points and UAlbany was picked fourth with 21 points. Maine was selected fifth (19), with UMass Lowell (11) and UMBC (8) rounding out the poll.
 
Maine had four players named Preseason All-Conference, while Bryant and NJIT each had three selections. Six Preseason All-Conference selections earned First-Team All-Conference honors in 2025.

The award winners were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The preseason poll was determined in a vote by the league’s head coaches who were not permitted for their own school.
 
2026 #AEBASE Preseason Poll
Pl. School Pts. (1st)
1. Binghamton 32 (3)
2. Bryant 30 (3)
3. NJIT 26
4. UAlbany 21 (1)
5. Maine 19
6. UMass Lowell 11
7. UMBC 8
 
 
2026 #AEBASE Preseason All-Conference
C Levi McAllister (UAlbany)
1B Dillon Can (NJIT)
2B Zac Zyons (Bryant)
SS Chris Bear (Maine)
3B Anthony Mascuilli (UMBC)
OF Matt Bolton (Binghamton)
OF Carlos Martinez (UMass Lowell)
OF Brody Rasmussen (Maine)
OF Ty Sallie (NJIT)
DH Brandyn Durand (Bryant)
UTIL Austin Francis (NJIT)
SP Dylan Banner (UAlbany)
SP Michael Belcher (Bryant)
SP Gianni Gambardella (Maine)
SP Hayden Tarsia (Binghamton)
RP Sebastian Holt (Maine)
 
 
Need to Know:
  • Binghamton went 28-26 last year and 13-11 in conference play, but exploded in the conference tournament, winning its first three games 14-8, 15-10 and 21-6. The Bearcats fell 7-3 to Bryant, but captured the title 6-5 in 11 innings.
  • Bryant earned its second straight regular season title last year, going 18-6 in conference play and 36-18-1 overall. The Bulldogs were the 2024 tournament champions after going 17-7 in league play.
  • NJIT finished second in conference play last season with a 14-10 mark and 27-26 record overall.
  • Six Preseason All-Conference selections earned First-Team All-Conference honors last year, led by Rookie of the Year Michael Belcher. All three first-team outfielders from 2025 were selected this year in Matt Bolton, Brody Rasmussen and Ty Sallie.
  • UAlbany earned a first-place vote and was selected fourth in the preseason poll after going 10-14 in conference play and 22-32 last year.
The 2026 #AEBASE Season begins on Friday, Feb. 13 with five teams in action. Bryant faces Davidson, UMass Lowell is at Morehead State, Binghamton plays at Dallas Baptist, NJIT is at Longwood and Maine faces Duke. UAlbany, UMBC,
 
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEBASE conference contest this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
 
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
 
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -