RICHMOND, Va. - The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) released its 2013 preseason baseball poll on Wednesday, and George Mason was picked to finish fifth in the 10-member conference.

UNCW, which captured its third CAA baseball championship in the past nine years last season, was picked to win the conference title again in 2013 according to a vote of the league's head baseball coaches. The Seahawks received five first-place votes and finished atop the poll with 75 points. Hofstra picked up three first-place votes and was second with 69 points. James Madison was chosen third with 62 points and Delaware got two first-place votes and was fourth with 57 points. George Mason placed fifth in the voting, followed by Old Dominion, William & Mary, Towson, Northeastern and Georgia State.

Additionally, junior third baseman Blaise Fernandez earned preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention accolades. Last season Fernandez started 54 games, playing in both the outfield and third base. He finished his sophomore campaign batting .269 with 56 hits, 33 RBI's and 30 runs scored. His hit and runs scored totals were both single-season career highs.

Mason finished its 2012 campaign with an overall record of 33-24 while posting a 16-14 conference record en route to earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, its first tournament appearance since the 2009 season.

The Patriots take to the field for the first time on February 15, facing host Citadel in their first game of The Citadel Memorial Challenge at 4:00 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.

2013 CAA BASEBALL PRESEASON PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

2013 PRESEASON ALL-CAA BASEBALL TEAM

John Puttress, Senior, Northeastern - C (.323, 0 HR, 29 RBI)
Jared Hammer, Senior, Hofstra - 1B (.376, 4 HR, 66 RBI)
Jimmy Yezzo, Junior, Delaware - 1B (.358, 8 HR, 46 RBI)
Michael Bass, Senior, UNCW - 2B (.326, 33 RBI, 20 SB)
Dalton Rouleau, Senior, Hofstra - SS (.328, 31 RBI, 26 SB)
Ryan Lindemuth, Junior, William & Mary - 3B (.376, 5 HR, 48 RBI)
Aaron Barbosa, Junior, Northeastern - OF (.352, 20 RBI, 14 SB)
Tyler Molinaro, Senior, UNCW - OF (.273, 16 HR, 48 RBI)
Hunter Ridge, Senior, UNCW - OF (.340, 4 HR, 41 RBI)
Brendan Butler, Sophomore, Towson - UT (.308, 34 RBI, 14 SB)
Conner Brown, Junior, James Madison - DH (.338, 3 HR, 33 RBI)
Mat Batts, Junior, UNCW - SP (6-5, 3.04 ERA, 90 K's)
Michael Trionfo, Senior, Towson - SP (11-3, 3.35 ERA, 52 K's)
Kelly Secrest, Junior, UNCW - RP (5-2, 1 sv., 2.12 ERA, 45 K's)

CAA Preseason Co-Players of the Year:  Jared Hammer, Hofstra and Jimmy Yezzo, Delaware

Honorable Mention (players receiving multiple votes):  Matt Reistetter, C, Hofstra; Ty Warrington, C, Delaware; D.J. Long, 2B, Delaware; Caden Bailey, So., SS, Georgia State; Jason Vosler, 3B, Northeastern; Blaise Fernandez, 3B, George Mason; Ty McFarland, 3B, James Madison; Kenny Jackson, OF, Hofstra; ColeMcInturff, OF, James Madison; Corey Dick, DH, UNCW; Chad Kuhl, SP, Delaware; John Tiedemann, SP, Hofstra; John Farrell, RP, William & Mary; Brandon Smith, RP, Old Dominion