NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Playing under the direction of head coach John Harvell in his 26th season, the Christopher Newport baseball team has been picked second in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll released on Tuesday afternoon. The Captains collected 13 points and one first-place vote to finish second in the poll behind preseason favorite Salisbury (16 pts - 4 1st place votes). 

Following CNU was Mary Washington (10 pts) along with two first-year members of the conference in Johnson & Wales (N.C.) with seven points and Regent with four points. The 2026 season starts in early February and concludes with the C2C Baseball Championship taking place May 8-9. 

The poll was decided after a vote of the league's head coaches, in which they could not vote for their own team. Salisbury was a unanimous pick for the top spot just ahead of the 2024 conference runner-ups from Christopher Newport. 

CNU finished out the 2025 season with a 21-18 overall record and reached the conference championship game. 

The Captains return a significant bulk of its roster from last season including preseason All-American outfielder Jake Benedict. The Glastonbury, Conn. native started all 39 games in center field for the Captains and ranked in the top-150 of Division III hitters with a .395 average. The only player in the league that registered a higher average in 2025 was his teammate, Aaron Maxie, who also returns to the field for the Captains this season. Maxie, an All-State selection at first base, hit .411 in his sophomore season with one of the finest single season performances by a first baseman in program history. The second-year player logged the eighth-best average in CNU history while reaching base at a .530 clip, ranking fourth all-time. He drove in a team-high 44 runs and scored 29 times while also adding standout defense with just one error in 296 total chances. 

Beyond the top two offensive weapons from 2025, the Captains also return Jake's twin brother, Sam Benedict, for his final season at third base, and the returning starter at shortstop in senior Josh Reinhold. The left side of the infield have had record-breaking careers for the Captains as Benedict has established himself as one of the top bunters in program history while Reinhold has been an on-base machine since his first game with the Captains. He has reached base in 113 of his 118 career games played over his first three seasons with Christopher Newport. 

The rotation, which includes returning starters Jackson Baird, Chase Hustead, Ryan Morrison, and Cooper Newell, does not lose a single starting pitcher from 2025. All 39 game starters from last season are back on the roster in 2026 including Morrison, who finished with a team-best 6-1 record, and Baird, who logged a team-best 3.88 ERA.  Newell was the team leader in strikeouts with 59 and Hustead, a Division I transfer from James Madison, picked up a pair of wins with six starts and 13 appearances a year ago. 

CNU will open the season on February 10 against Eastern Mennonite University at 2:00 p.m. 

 

2026 C2C Baseball Preseason Poll
Rank	Team	Points (1st)
1	Salisbury	16 (4)
2	Christopher Newport	13 (1)
3	Mary Washington	10
4	JWU Charlotte	7
5	Regent	4