The University of Southern Maine baseball team doesn't play its first game until this Saturday but the Huskies are already ranked #8 in the nation in Division III. How's that for respect.

Ed Flaherty begins his 34th year at USM with 1,004 wins. Later this year, he'll be inducted into the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Hall of Fame.

The team just ahead of the Huskies in the D3baseball.com national poll is UMass-Boston, another team from the Little East Conference.

The USM roster includes former Bangor High School players Andrew Hillier and Tyler Parke.

Other players from the North Region of high school baseball include Jake Dexter (Messalonskee HS), Gage Feeney (Washington Academy), Dylan Hapworth (Winslow) and Devin Warren (Messalonskee HS).

The Huskies are coming off a 30-15 season that ended in the championship round of the NCAA New York Regional.

2019 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25, Week 2