Liberty Named Preseason ASUN Favorite
2/2/2022 3:13:40 PM | Baseball
For the third consecutive season, the Liberty Flames have been selected to win the ASUN Conference, as the 2022 ASUN Preseason Baseball Poll was released this afternoon by the conference office.
Flames senior outfielder Aaron Anderson was voted as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, sophomore right-hander Trey Gibson named ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year and center fielder Jaylen Guy was voted the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Anderson and Gibson were joined by junior catcher Gray Betts and senior designated hitter Brady Gulakowski on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team. The poll and team are selected by the ASUN Conference head coaches.
Liberty garnered the top spot in the poll. The Flames received 140 points and nine out of the 12 first-place votes. FGCU was picked to finish second with 128 points and received the final three first-place votes. Stetson was selected third with 107 points.
The Flames, posted a 41-16 mark and received an at-large selection to the NCAA Regionals in 2021. Last season’s campaign was one of the most successful in Liberty Baseball history, as the Flames made their second straight NCAA postseason appearance (2019, 2021) and secured an NCAA at-large bid for the second time in the program’s history.
Anderson had quite a season in his first year at Liberty in 2021. The outfielder picked up ASUN All-Conference first team honors while becoming only the sixth player in Liberty history to be selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Baseball Team.
Last season, Anderson led the ASUN with a .375 batting average, 84 hits, 25 doubles and 127 total bases. The 2022 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason All-American finished the year fourth in the nation in doubles and his season total is second on Liberty’s all-time list.
In addition, the outfielder had 42 RBI and scored 43 runs. He added three triples, four home runs and posted a .460 on base percentage and a .567 slugging percentage.
Besides leading the ASUN in four offensive categories, Anderson also was among the conference leaders in runs scored (tied-5th), RBI (tied-5th), triples (tied-3rd) and walks (4th). He was selected as the ASUN Player of the Week for March 22.
One of two Flames to start all 57 games, the now senior led the Flames with 25 multi-hit games and collected 13 multi-RBI games, the second-most by a Flame in 2021.
Gibson was a 2021 Freshman All-American and the 2021 ASUN Freshman Pitcher of the Year. The right-hander posted a 7-4 record with a 3.32 ERA over 65 innings. He struck out 70 and walked 21.
Gibson, who also was selected to the 2021 ASUN All-Conference second team, pitched five or more innings in eight of 13 starts. The right-hander pitched his first career complete game in a 4-1 victory over Kennesaw State on May 9.
Guy, who is considered one of the top defensive outfielders in college baseball, made three errors in 154 chances in 2021. The center fielder had a team-high seven assists and made several outstanding defensive plays during the year. Three of the junior’s plays earned national attention by being part of ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Plays, including a sliding catch and throwing out a runner at home in win over Lipscomb on April 1 and the robbing of a home run during Liberty’s win over Duke at the NCAA Knoxville Regional on June 6.
For the third consecutive year, Betts, a junior, has been named to the preseason all-conference team. Betts, who was selected to the 2021 ASUN All-Conference first team, hit .327 with 24 RBI and 56 runs scored in 2021. He also was named to the 2021 ASUN All-Tournament and NCAA Knoxville, Tenn. Regional teams.
The catcher led the ASUN Conference with four triples and 36 walks. He also finished the year second in the conference in runs scored, hits (71) and doubles (17) while ending the season among the top 10 in the ASUN in batting average and on base percentage (.434).
Betts, the Flames’ leadoff hitter, had at least one hit in 21 straight games and reached base safely in 45 consecutive games, the longest such streaks by any Liberty player last season. Playing in all 57 contests in 2021, he also had 20 games with two or more hits.
Gulakowski was named to the 2021 ASUN All-Conference second team and the 2021 NCAA Knoxville, Tenn. Regional team as the designated hitter. In 48 games, he hit .284 with 39 RBI and 29 runs scored. He had 11 doubles and 10 home runs. He hit .318 in 36 games at designated hitter.
Gulakowski finished the year fourth in home runs and sixth with a .561 slugging percentage in the ASUN, last season. The now senior was named ASUN Player of the Week for May 10.
This season, the 12-team ASUN Conference will feature divisional play during its regular season. Liberty joins FGCU, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, North Florida and Stetson in the East Division. The West Division will consist of Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Lipscomb and North Alabama. Each team will play 30 conference games, playing two three-game series against each team in their division.
The 2022 ASUN Baseball Championship will be played May 25-28 at Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. The ASUN Champion claims the conference’s automatic bid to a 2022 NCAA Regional.
2022 ASUN Baseball Preseason Poll
Pl. Team (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Liberty (9), 140
2. FGCU (3), 128
3. Stetson, 107
4. Jacksonville State, 102
5. Kennesaw State, 94
6. North Florida, 84
7. Jacksonville, 78
8 .Eastern Kentucky, 57
8. Central Arkansas, 57
9. Lipscomb, 49
10. Bellarmine, 21
11. North Alabama, 19
Preseason Player of the Year: Aaron Anderson, Liberty
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Trey Gibson, Liberty
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Jaylen Guy, Liberty
ASUN Preseason Baseball All-Conference Team
Pos.    Name, School, Cl.
SPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Tyler Cleveland, Central Arkansas, So.
SPÂ Â Â Â Trey Gibson, Liberty, So.
SPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Nick Durgin, Stetson, So.
RPÂ Â Â Â Will Brian, Eastern Kentucky, Jr.
CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gray Betts, Liberty, Jr.
1BÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Joe Kinker, FGCU, Jr.
2BÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Bobby Head, FGCU, Sr.
3BÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Cash Young, Kennesaw State, Sr.
SSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Tyler Simon, Kennesaw State, Sr.
OFÂ Â Â Â Matt Higgins, Bellarmine, Sr.
OFÂ Â Â Â Brian Ellis, FGCU, Jr.
OFÂ Â Â Â Aaron Anderson, Liberty, Sr.
DHÂ Â Â Â Â Â Brady Gulakowski, Liberty, Sr.
