BOSTON – The NJIT baseball team has been selected to finish third in the America East preseason coaches poll, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon. The league also unveiled the Preseason All-Conference Team, which featured NJIT junior pitcher Holden deJong.

The Highlanders received 21 points in the rankings, tying them for third with Maine. Bryant received 35 points and five first-place votes to be the preseason selection to repeat as conference champions. Binghamton comes in at No. 2 with 30 points and a pair of first-place votes.

The preseason rankings and all-conference selections are voted on by the league's head coaches who are unable to cast votes for their team's players.

deJong lands on the All-Conference team after a sophomore season which saw him make 17 appearances, 12 of which were starts as the team's No. 2 hurler in the rotation. He sat second on the team in innings pitched (62.0) and ranked in the top 10 in the conference in strikeouts (61) and fewest hits allowed (67).

The Highlanders as a team welcome back 19 players from last season's squad which went 26-28 (12-11), placing them third in America East. Cole Campbell is among the returning Highlanders, looking to build off his team-leading .341 batting average from a season ago.

NJIT opens its season on Feb. 14 to kick off a four-game series at High Point.