Ed Flaherty begins his 32nd season as coach of the University of Southern Maine baseball team today as the Huskies start an 11 game trip through Florida.

Flaherty has 940 career wins at USM and two Division III national championships.

His team is coming off a 29-13 season and returns 22 players from last year's squad.

USM is picked to finish 3rd in Little East Conference preseason poll. The Huskies were picked 25th in the national preseason poll conducted the the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

This year's roster includes former North Region high school players such as Andrew Hillier (Bangor HS), Jake Dexter, Devin Warren (Messalonskee HS), Dylan Hapworth (Winslow HS), Dalton Rice (Oxford Hills HS) and Gage Feeney (Washington Academy).

UPDATE: The Huskies opened with a 4-2 loss to #7 ranked UWisconsin-LaCrosse.

2017 Little East Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll

Rk.Institution (1st-Place Votes)Points
1.University of Massachusetts Boston (6)55
2.Eastern Connecticut State University (2)48
3.University of Southern Maine45
4.University of Massachusetts Dartmouth36
5.Plymouth State University35
6.Western Connecticut State University25
7.Keene State College15
8.Rhode Island College11

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