BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey baseball team earned a preseason national ranking as the Crusaders were ranked No. 22 in the D2 Baseball Preseason Top 25 Rankings released on Sunday night.

The Crusaders are coming off of one of their best seasons in recent history which included a 41-17 overall record, a Conference Carolinas Tournament title and hosting a regional for the first time in program history.

Belmont Abbey is one of four Southeast region schools ranked in the Top 25 and five others from the region are receiving votes. The full rankings can be found here.

Belmont Abbey opens the season with a three-game series against Coker starting on January 30. After a single game in Hartsville, the Crusaders will play their first games at Abbey Yard on Saturday, January 31 in a doubleheader against the Cobras starting at noon.