LANCASTER, Pa. – Defending champion Johns Hopkins has been selected as the 2020 Centennial Conference preseason favorite by the league's 10 head coaches. The Blue Jays collected six first-place votes and 78 points to earn the top spot in the preseason prognostication. 

Swarthmore received the four remaining first-place votes and tallied 70 points to finish second in the voting. Franklin & Marshall (62) and Haverford (57) were also projected as playoff teams, taking third and fourth, respectively. 

Dickinson was chosen fifth with 43 points, followed closely by Washington College (40), Ursinus (39), and Muhlenberg (34). Gettysburg (17) and McDaniel (10) rounded out the rankings. 

The 2020 season begins this week for most CC teams, with all 10 scheduled to open up their seasons by the first week in March. Conference play begins on Saturday, March 28 and continues through the end of April. The four-team Centennial Tournament will take place on April 30 and May 2-3, with the No. 1 seed hosting championship weekend. 

2020 Schedule | 2019 Results | 2019 Championship Results | 2019 Statistics | 2019 All-Centennial Team 

Johns Hopkins added more hardware to its impressive trophy case last spring, claiming its 15th Centennial Conference championship before collecting NCAA Regional and Super Regional titles en route to its third trip to the College World Series as members of the CC, and fourth overall. The Blue Jays posted a perfect 3-0 mark in the CC Tournament and steamrolled through both the Regional and Super Regional rounds with a combined 5-0 record. In the College World Series, JHU advanced to the final four of the eight-team bracket, but were eliminated by Birmingham-Southern, finishing the CWS with a 2-2 record. 

Hopkins' World Series trip marked the second-straight year and fourth time overall that a CC team reached the national tournament. Swarthmore also accomplished the feat in 2018, as did JHU teams in 2008 and 2010. 

The Centennial is the only conference in the nation to have a team advance to the College World Series each of the last two seasons. 

A strong contingent of talent is back in the conference this spring, with three returning All-Americans and 26 returning All-Centennial players, including both the reigning Player and Pitcher of the Year and nine players who have earned CC first team honors in their careers. Ursinus senior outfielder Alex Mumme, Franklin & Marshall senior pitcher Jonathan Cole and Swarthmore senior first baseman Cole Beeker headline the list as All-America selections in 2019. Mumme, the 2019 CC Player of the Year, was a D3baseball.com first team All-America pick and a second-team choice by the America Baseball Coaches Association last season. Cole, the 2019 CC Pitcher of the Year, earned second team honors from D3baseball, while Beeker picked up fourth team accolades. 

Nine Centennial teams welcome back at least one All-CC performer in 2020, led by Swarthmore with five returning all-stars. Along with Beeker, senior pitcher Jack Corkery, junior second baseman Michael Sepe, senior outfielder Holden Bridge, and senior pitcher Ryan Warm are back for the Garnet. 

F&M, Haverford and Ursinus each return a quartet of players will all-conference experience. For F&M, senior pitcher Jack Buckley joins Cole as a returning first-teamer, while junior designated hitteer Don DiLoreto and junior shortstop J.J. Freeman also made the all-conference list in 2019. Haverford senior shortstop Will Karp, the two-time defending Gold Glove of the Year winner, leads the Fords' all-star group that also includes junior pitchers Nathan Bass and Andrew Johnson along with senior pitcher Brandon Jenkins. For Ursinus, Mumme, 2019 Rookie of the Year Jon Moldoff, senior outfielder Dom Fiorentino and junior catcher Tom Jacobs return as All-CC players. 

Dickinson senior pitcher Tommy Koide, junior outfielder Alex Cohen, and senior infielder Max Matilsky will look to lead the Red Devils this year as returning conference all-stars. Other players with All-CC nods to their names that are back this spring include Johns Hopkins senior shortstop Mike Eberle and senior outfielder Chris Festa, Muhlenberg senior infielder John Serruto and senior pitcher Matt D'Ambrosia, Washington College senior catcher Ryan Zwier, and Gettysburg senior shortstop Joe Giovinco.  

2020 Centennial Conference Baseball Preseason Poll