Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Troy Trojans baseball squad has landed at No. 25 nationally in the D1Baseball Preseason Poll. 

Troy earned a No. 21 national ranking during the 2024 season, its highest ranking since 2013, and finished third in the Sn Belt. The Trojans went 37-22 last season and have gone an impressive 109-68 during head coach Skylar Meade’s three seasons at the helm.

The Trojans return a number of veterans from last year’s team, including All-Sun Belt selections like junior catcher Brooks Bryan, who also earned All-Southeast honors last season along with being named to the USA Collegiate National Team alongside Meade. 

During the offseason, Bryan was named as the No.16 overall hitter in the nation by Prep Baseball Report and is considered one of the top MLB prospects in the country. He broke Troy’s single season RBI record last season with 85 to go along with .279 batting average, 18 home runs, 10 doubles, two triples and 52 runs. 

Troy also returns senior outfielder Shane Lewis, who was the Sun Belt Player of the Year and an All-American in 2023 after breaking the single season Troy home run record with 32 dingers. While Lewis’ stats dipped in 2024 with a .176 batting average, four doubles, one triple, five homers, 13 RBIs and 28 runs, he’s still considered one of the most feared hitters in the conference and will look to rebound in his final year of eligibility. 

While Troy must replace All-Sun Belt athletes like first baseman Will Butcher, second baseman Ethan Kavanagh, outfielder Kole Myers and designated hitter Kyle Mock, the Trojans brought in one of the top transfer classes in the conference. 

Among those incoming transfers are former Old Dominion outfielder Steven Meier, who was second in the Sun Belt last season in hit by pitches and stolen bases. Troy also brought in former Western Kentucky infielder Blake Cavill and Niagara infielder Gavin Schrader. Both players boasted a batting average over .300 and Cavill tallied 19 doubles, eight right home runs, 47 RBIs and 48 runs, while Schrader tallied nine homers, 47 RBIs and a .413 on-base percentage. 

Troy also brought in some hometown flavor from the transfer portal in former Auburn pitcher Drew Nelson and former Georgia Southern infielder Cason Eubanks. Nelson is a Troy native and was one of the most sought after high school pitchers in the country during his high school career at Pike Lib. Nelson led the Patriots to two AISA State Championships and was the 2022 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year and the AISA Player and Pitcher of the Year. During his senior campaign he boasted a 1.00 ERA with 106 strikeouts. At Auburn, Nelson held a 3-3 record as a starter and held a 5.97 ERA with 36 strikeouts. 

Eubanks was also an all-state athlete at Pike Lib and while he started his college career at Georgia Southern, he transferred to Wallace Community College last season, becoming one of the most decorated junior college (JUCO) players in the state. Eubanks not only won AAAC Player of the Year honors but was also named the AlaBCA (Alabama) JUCO Player of the Year after hitting .378 with 28 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 41 RBIs and 65 runs. 

Joining Nelson on the mound are veteran arms like Garrett Gainous and Grayson Stewart, who both are ranked in the Top 10 in school history in strikeouts, along with All-Sun Belt pitcher Luke Lyon. Other transfer pitchers include former Eastern Michigan pitcher Adam Falinsky, Bradley pitcher Noah Edders and former Kentucky pitcher Colby Frieda. 

Troy is the lone Sun Belt school ranked in D1Baseball’s Top 25 and the only team in the State of Alabama to be ranked in the Top 25.