BOONE, N.C. - App State opens the 2022 campaign this weekend with a three-game road series against Campbell starting Friday through Sunday.
Only Friday and Sunday's matchups will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Friday's first pitch is at 5 p.m., Saturday's official start time is 3 p.m. and Sunday's game begins at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS:
App State trails in the all-time series meeting record against Campbell 4-9-1 dating back to 1980. Campbell won the last meeting 9-4 back in 2016 in Boone.
App State finished 11-10 in Sun Belt Conference regular-season games last season. It was the program's first winning record and the best Sun Belt finish since joining the league in 2015.
The Mountaineers also earned their first-ever Sun Belt tourney win in 2021 with a 1-0 victory against Texas State, shortly after they closed the regular season with a series win against league-champion South Alabama.
Only four of the defensive starting nine from the final pool-play game against Louisiana returned. Of the returnees, the Black and Gold welcomed back all-conference honorees Tyler Tuthill and Luke Drumheller.
Both Tuthill (RHP) and Drumheller (2B) were named Preseason All-Sun Belt for the upcoming 2022 season. App State was one of only four Sun Belt squads with at least two preseason all-conference honorees to be named. Tuthill was also named to the Perfect Game USA's All-Conference Team for the Sun Belt.
Andrew Greckel (No. 25/2022), Austin St. Laurent (No. 15/2023) and RJ Johnson (No. 5/2024) each earned top Sun Belt prospect recognition from D1Baseball.
App State was picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt's Preseason Coaches Poll. The Black and Gold reload for 2022 with a total of 14 newcomers, consisting of three freshmen, 10 transfers and a walk-on.
Tuthill, Xander Hamilton (VT transfer) and Jason Cornatzer project to be the Mountaineers' starting rotation for the opening weekend.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING CAMELS:
Campbell won its third-straight Big South regular season crown in 2021. Despite falling in the Big South conference championship to Presbyterian, the Fighting Camels earned their first-ever at-large bid into an NCAA Regional.
As a No. 3 seed, Campbell advanced to its second-consecutive regional final, the Starkville Regional, with a 19-10 win over VCU, but its season ultimately came to an end following a 6-5 loss to No. 7 and eventual College World Series Champion Mississippi State.
The full weekend rotation from last season (Thomas Harrington (RHP), Ryan Chasse (LHP), Cade Kuehler (RHP) along with 2021 Big South Player of the Year Zach Neto (SS) have all returned to the 2022 roster for Campbell.
Kuehler ranks at No. 90 in the 2023 MLB Draft Prospects by Prospects Live.
Thomas Harrington was tabbed as the 2022 Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Zach Neto (SS) was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year. Neto is ranked as the third-best shortstop in D1Baseball's Top 50 SS rankings and was named second team All-American by Perfect Game USA.
Zach Neto and Connor Denning (OF) were also tabbed as Third-Team Preseason All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball. Bryce Arnold (3B) was named as a top 50 third baseman by D1Baseball, coming in at No. 42.
Campbell is also reloading with 16 newcomers (seven freshmen, nine transfers) of their own, but has been picked to win the Big South for the fourth-straight preseason poll as voted on by the league's coaches.
The Fighting Camels checked in at No. 29 in the first 2022 preseason poll, the Fabulous 50 released by Collegiate Baseball. Campbell's second preseason top 30 ranking came by the way of Perfect Game USA at No. 28.
The 2022 App State baseball season is brought to you by Chick-fil-A.
