Franklin Pierce High on 
Baseball America Radar
Ravens picked to finish in top ten
Olson tabbed to preseason All-America, 
rated No. 2 prospect in Division II  

RINDGE, N.H. (January 30, 2006) – Baseball America magazine’s 2006 small college preview has been released and Franklin Pierce is well represented as it nears opening day.

            Baseball America has picked Franklin Pierce to finish seventh in its preseason Top 10 poll, so could a second trip to the College World Series in four years be in the waiting for Head Coach Jayson King, who enters his eighth year at the helm?

            “It is an honor for our program to be recognized in this fashion,” said King. “Being picked seventh is derived more from being one of the better teams in our region, not necessarily the country. We look forward to getting the opportunity to hold up our end of the bargain on the field”

Earlier this month, Franklin Pierce was ranked No. 21 in Collegiate Baseball magazine’s NCAA Division II Preseason Coaches poll – the highest preseason rank in program history. The Ravens have received preseason top 25 billing for the second-straight year after being ranked No. 23 last year. The Ravens highest national rank came in the final poll of 2003 when they were ranked No. 7 after reaching the semifinals of the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Ala.            

Also drawing attention from Baseball America is 2005 consensus All-American Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills), who returns for his junior year. BA lists Olson as a preseason All-American and No. 2 on its preseason list of Top Prospects at the NCAA Division II level. Olson, the only underclassman to earn All-America honors last spring, started all 46 of the Ravens games last season and was second on the team with a .375 (75-200) batting average (4^th NE-10), a Conference-high 57 runs scored, 13 doubles (10^th), two triples, a Conference-best 11 home runs and 42 RBI (3^rd) to go with 14 stolen bases (10^th). He also committed just seven errors in 155 chances at third base.

            Olson is expected to move over to shortstop for Franklin Pierce, after beginning the transition last summer with the Keene Swamp Bats, regular season champions of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). He was a first team All-League performer at the position, finishing third on the Swamp Bats with a .322 (48-149) batting average (9^th NECBL), a League-high 37 runs scored, 12 doubles (3^rd), five homers (5^th) and 13 RBI in 39 regular season games.

Olson is the top position player in Division II for this year's draft, bringing five-tool credentials with power and a 90-92 mph arm across the diamond.

            “Garrett has proven himself over the past two college seasons and in the summer to be one of the top infielders in the country at any level,” said King. “He has worked hard over the years to achieve such preseason recognition, and to be recognized as the preseason player of the year coming from the Northeast says a lot about the talent Garrett possesses as well as the level of play throughout the Northeast region.”

            Olson is the second player in program history to receive a preseason Top Prospect rank from Baseball America, joining former All-America pitcher Matt Weagle, a sixth round draft pick by the Saint Louis Cardinals in 2003, who was rated at No. 4 in 2003. The Ravens top ten pick by Baseball America is a first in program history, as is Olson’s selection as a preseason All-American.

            Franklin Pierce returns eight of nine position players and three starting pitchers from last year’s team that captured its first Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship, posting a 32-14 overall mark (21-9 in the NE-10). The Ravens earned their second NCAA Tournament berth and hosted the Northeast Regional for the first time in program history, advancing to the regional title game before falling to Southern Connecticut State University, 1-0.

Franklin Pierce opens its season the weekend of February 17-19 with a four-game series at the University of South Carolina-Upstate. The Ravens open their NE-10 schedule when they host No. 26 Southern Connecticut State on Tuesday, March 28, at 3 p.m.