Northeastern, UNCW Picked As Division Favorites In 2026 CAA Baseball Poll
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (February 4, 2026) – Northeastern and UNCW, who have combined to win six of the past seven CAA baseball championships, are the favorites to capture their respective divisions in 2026 according to a vote of the league’s head baseball coaches.
Northeastern senior outfielder Harrison Feinberg, who received NCBWA first-team All-America accolades in 2025 after batting .367 with 18 homers, 67 RBI’s and 37 stolen bases, was chosen as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year.
For the first time since 2021, the CAA will move to a divisional format this season. Northeastern received all four possible first-place votes (coaches were unable to vote for their own teams) and 16 points to finish atop the North Division poll. There was a three-way tie for second between Hofstra, Stony Brook and Towson with nine points, followed by Monmouth with seven.
UNCW picked up three first-place votes and earned the top spot in the South Division poll with 23 points. Charleston got a pair of first-place votes and was right behind with 22 points, and Campbell received one first-place vote and was third with 18 points. Elon and William & Mary were tied for fourth with 10 points and North Carolina A&T tallied seven points.
Northeastern is coming off a sensational 2025 season in which it set program and conference records for wins with a 49-11 record. The Huskies went 25-2 in CAA play and captured the regular-season and tournament titles. Joining Feinberg in the lineup are second baseman Carmelo Musacchia (.302, 6 HR, 35 RBI’s) and outfielder Ryan Gerety (.284, 5 HR, 34 RBI’s).
UNCW posted a 34-24 mark a year ago and reached the title game of the CAA Baseball Championship for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Returning for the Seahawks offensively are infielders Kevin Jones (.294, 32 RBI’s) and Trevor Lucas (.265, 9 HR, 49 RBI’s) and designated hitter Cole Nelson (11 HR, 30 RBI’s). Connor Marshburn (4-3, 3.51 ERA, 68 K’s) anchors the pitching staff.
The preseason All-CAA baseball team includes Towson catcher Brian Heckelman and infielders from five different schools – William & Mary’s Jamie Laskofski, Campbell’s Joey Morton, NU’s Musacchia, Charleston’s Landon Penfield and North Carolina A&T’s JT Taylor. Feinberg is joined in the outfield by Towson’s Max D’Alessandro, Campbell’s Joe Simpson and N.C. A&T’s Bruce Wyche. Campbell outfielder/pitcher Jett Music is the utility player and UNCW’s Nelson is the DH. The pitching staff features UNCW’s Marshburn, Hofstra’s Carlos Martinez and Monmouth’s Ryan Mealy as starters and N.C. A&T’s Diego Barrett and Charleston’s Alex Lyon as relievers.
The 2026 CAA Baseball Championship will be held May 20-23 at UNCW’s Brooks Field. The six-team, double-elimination tournament will include the top two teams in each division and the two squads with the highest RPI that didn’t finish in the top two in their division.
2026 CAA BASEBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
North Division
Northeastern (4 first-place votes) 16
Hofstra 9
Stony Brook 9
Towson (1 first-place vote) 9
Monmouth 7
South Division
UNCW (3 first-place votes) 23
Charleston (2 first-place votes) 22
Campbell (1 first-place vote) 18
Elon 10
William & Mary 10
North Carolina A&T 7
2026 CAA BASEBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Brian Heckelman, Towson C Sr. Mineola, N.Y.
Jamie Laskofski, William & Mary IF So. Burke, Va.
Joey Morton, Campbell IF Sr. Oxford, Pa.
Carmelo Musacchia, Northeastern IF Sr. New York, N.Y.
Landon Penfield, Charleston IF So. Blythewood, S.C.
JT Taylor, North Carolina A&T IF So. Salisbury, N.C.
Max D’Alessandro, Towson OF Sr. Mount Laurel, N.J.
Harrison Feinberg, Northeastern OF Sr. Greenwich, Conn.
Joe Simpson, Campbell OF Sr. Clinton, Iowa
Bruce Wyche, North Carolina A&T OF So. McDonough, Ga.
Jett Music, Campbell UT So. Clayton, N.C.
Cole Nelson, UNCW DH Jr. Charlotte, N.C.
Connor Marshburn, UNCW SP Jr. Cary, N.C.
Carlos Martinez, Hofstra SP Sr. College Point, N.Y.
Ryan Mealy, Monmouth SP So. Wappingers, N.Y.
Diego Barrett, North Carolina A&T RP Gr. Woodbridge, Va.
Alex Lyon, Charleston RP Sr. Columbia, S.C.
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Harrison Feinberg, Northeastern
Honorable Mention: Dylan Johnson, C, Charleston; Jackson Alford, IF, Elon; Brent Gibbs, IF, Charleston; Kevin Jones, IF, UNCW; Trevor Lucas, IF, UNCW; Ethan Plyler, IF, Charleston; Chris Walsh, IF, Monmouth; Ryan Gerety, OF, Northeastern; Matthew Jackson, OF, Stony Brook; Tyler Smith, UT, North Carolina A&T; Lleyton Grubich, SP, Campbell; Hayden Thomas, SP, Charleston; Davis Aiken, RP, Charleston