East Carolina Tops Preseason Coaches Poll

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Coming off a fourth-place regular-season finish and its fourth American Conference Championship, East Carolina baseball was picked to finish first in the league's 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released Tuesday afternoon.

The Pirates earned the top spot for the eighth consecutive season and the ninth time overall since joining the American prior to the 2015 campaign. ECU totaled 75 points with four of the league's 10 first-place votes. Defending 2025 regular-season champion UTSA followed closely with 70 points and four first-place votes, while Charlotte and Tulane rounded out the top four with one first-place vote apiece, totaling 62 and 57 points, respectively.

East Carolina concluded the 2025 season with a 35–27 overall record and a 13–14 mark in conference play. After winning five consecutive American Athletic Conference regular-season titles from 2020–24, the Pirates finished fourth in the league standings. Despite that finish, ECU extended its postseason run by remaining undefeated throughout the American Conference Tournament, capturing its fifth tournament championship since joining the league in 2015.

Three Pirates were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, led by left-hander Ethan Norby, who was unanimously selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Austin Irby and Braden Burress were also recognized with preseason all-conference honors.

Norby continues to establish himself as one of the nation's premier arms, earning All-America honors from Baseball America, Perfect Game and the NCBWA during the 2025 season. The left-hander is making his second consecutive appearance on the Preseason All-Conference Team after posting an 8-5 record with a 3.80 ERA across 18 appearances, including 14 starts. He logged 90 innings, struck out 119 batters and limited opponents to a .215 batting average.

Irby emerged as a fixture in the Pirates' lineup as a freshman in 2025, starting 61 games and appearing in 62. He finished the season with a .303 batting average, 63 hits, 10 doubles and 12 home runs, while posting a .424 on-base percentage with 50 RBIs and 35 walks. Irby delivered a standout performance at the Conway Regional, going 10-for-17 with eight runs scored and seven RBIs. His season accolades included Freshman All-Conference Team, AAC All-Tournament Team and First Team Freshman All-America honors from Perfect Game.

Burress also made an immediate impact during his freshman campaign, starting 51 games and appearing in 61 while batting .389. He totaled 82 hits, 11 doubles, four home runs and 33 RBIs, adding 33 stolen bases and finishing the season with an on-base percentage just shy of .500. Burress recorded a 10-game hitting streak in March and produced four-hit performances on four occasions. He concluded the year earning Second Team All-Conference and AAC All-Tournament honors, along with Freshman All-America recognition three times, including First Team honors from the NCBWA and Second Team selections from Perfect Game and D1 Baseball.

Head Coach Cliff Godwin has guided East Carolina to nine NCAA Regional berths (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024 regional host, 2025), four Super Regional appearances (2022 host), five AAC regular season championships, now three American Conference Tournament crowns and a 432-214-1 (.678) overall record since assuming the post in 2015. Under his direction, 17 players have earned All-America status while 25 have been named to NCAA All-Regional Teams. Additionally, 50 student-athletes have garnered all-conference honors (28 first-team selections) and 30 players have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

East Carolina's 2026 season begins with a three-game home set versus Xavier February 13-15.

Preseason Coaches Poll

1.	East Carolina (4)	75
2.	UTSA (4)	70
3.	Charlotte (1)	62
4.	Tulane (1)	57
5.	South Florida	54
6.	Florida Atlantic	45
7.	Rice	28
8.	Wichita State	24
9.	Memphis	19
10.	UAB	16

Note: First-place votes in parenthesis

Preseason Player of the Year

Dawson Bryce, 3B, Charlotte

Preseason Pitcher of the Year

Ethan Norby, East Carolina*

Preseason All-Conference Team

P – Andrew Kribbs, Charlotte

P – Ethan Norby, East Carolina*

P – Robert Orloski, UTSA

RP – Joseph Taylor, Charlotte

RP – Brayden Sanders, Memphis

RP – Conner Kelley, UTSA

C – Andrew Stucky, UTSA

1B – Austin Irby, East Carolina

2B – Shane Cox, Memphis

SS – Brando Leroux, Florida Atlantic

3B – Dawson Bryce, Charlotte

OF – Braden Burress, East Carolina

OF – Marshall Lipsey, Florida Atlantic*

OF – Drew Detlefsen, UTSA

OF – Jason Wachs, Tulane

DH – Matthias Haas, Tulane

* denotes unanimous selection

Players Mentioned

Braden Burress

Austin Irby

Ethan Norby

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