FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The early love continues to roll in for defending national champion Nova Southeastern as the Sharks checked in at No. 1 in the recently announced National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) preseason poll. The Sharks garnered 14 of a possible 17 first-place votes, edging out second-ranked Central Missouri for the nation's top spot.
 
Along with the team's aforementioned recognition, senior Brandon Gomez captured First Team All-American honors at the designated hitter position – the lone representative from the Sunshine State Conference to be selected.
 
A NCBWA First Team All-America pick at the end of his junior campaign in 2016, the Sharks' offensive machine returns after leading the club in nearly every major offensive category a year ago including home runs (21), RBI's (75) and runs scored (58).

Following its latest No. 1 ranking, Nova Southeastern has now claimed Top-2 spots in each poll thus far (No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 2 in Perfect Game), aside from the D2 Baseball News poll that is set to be released this Friday.
 
The Sharks are one of two SSC programs among the Top-25, joined by No. 5 Tampa, while fellow SSC member Florida Southern is currently receiving votes.  

Tampa (March 17-18) and Florida Southern (April 28-29) will each make trips to the NSU Baseball Complex this spring. In addition, the Sharks will host third-ranked Southern New Hampshire on March 15.
 
The Sharks finished 2016 on a remarkable 33-6 tear en route to the program's first-ever national title. After losing four players to the pros, NSU bolstered its squad by adding nine newcomers including University of Florida transfer Jeremy Vasquez along with former University of Miami members Ryan Alvarez, Derik Beauprez and Devin Meyer.
 
NSU is set to make its regular season debut at home this Friday against Tusculum. To stay up-to-date with the Sharks throughout the season, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow them on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.