Army Black Knights, Navy Midshipmen Star in Patriot League Baseball Poll

The Army West Point Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen finished in the top two spots in the Patriot League preseason baseball poll, released on Thursday.
In addition, Army placed one player on the superlative list and three players on the all-Patriot League preseason team, while Navy played three players on the preseason team.
The Black Knights are favored to win the league, as they finished with 50 points, including 10 of the 12 first-place votes. Even though the Midshipmen didn’t get a first-place vote, they finished in second with 34 points, just ahead of Holy Cross with 32. The Crusaders received the other two first-place votes.
Army pitcher Justin Lehman was named the preseason pitcher of the year. The right-hander was the Patriot League pitcher of the year and a first-team all-league selection after he went 5-2 with a 1.44 ERA, the latter of which was second in Division I baseball. He also batted .256 last season.
His 2.52 career ERA leads active Division I players.
Lehman was also selected to the all-Patriot League preseason team, along with teammates Chris Barr and William Parker.
Barr, a second baseman and shortstop, led the Black Knights with a .341 batting average. Parker started every game, the majority of which were in left field. He batted .318, second best on the team, and improved that average to .400 in Patriot League games.
Navy had three players selected to the preseason team — pitcher Tyler Grenn, relief pitcher Landon Kruer and infielder Brock Murtha.
Grenn, a starting pitcher, had a league-high six wins a season ago and finished with a 4.48 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 14 appearances. He threw two complete games and improved in Patriot League action, going 4-2 with a 3.04 ERA in seven starts. He had 20 strikeouts and led the league with 47.1 innings.
Kruer will likely make history this season. He has 25 career saves and is three shy of matching the Patriot League record. He has led the league in saves each of the last three seasons.
In 2024 he had a 3.75 ERA with nine saves and a career-best 36 innings. He also struck out 33 and limited opposing hitters to a .190 batting average.
Murtha led the Midshipmen in batting average (.345), doubles (16), slugging percentage (.508), walks (31), hit-by-pitches (14) and on-base percentage (.473) last season as he was named second-team all-Patriot League. He also pitched in seven games, including two starts.