From Emory University Athletics

With three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division III College World Series under its belt, the Emory University Baseball program enters the 2017 season as the sixth-ranked team in the country in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's pre-season national top-40 poll which was announced last week.

The Eagles, led by Head Coach Mike Twardoski who will begin his 18th season with the team, received 264 points and sit behind Cortland (274 points), Keystone (272), Wisconsin-La Crosse (270), La Roche (267) and Birmingham-Southern (265). For the full preseason poll, click here.

Emory finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 34-12 and were ranked fifth in the final edition of the organization's national poll of the year. The Eagles are set to return 25 players from last year's World Series squad, a group that includes D3Baseball.com All-America Honorable Mention RHP Kyle Monk, ABCA/D3Baseball.com All-South Region selections LHP Jackson Weeg and DH Brian Hernandez and D3Baseball.com All-South Region Rookie of the Year RHP Billy Dimlow from a season ago.

The Eagles will face three programs that make an appearance in the preseason poll beginning with the aforementioned fifth-ranked Birmingham-Southern College. Emory travels to BSC on March 15^th before hosting the Panthers on April 18^th. The Eagles welcome UAA foe Case Western Reserve University (RV) to Chappell Park for a four-game series starting on March 24^th which will be followed by another four-game set in St. Louis against 12^th-ranked Washington University beginning on March 31^st.