BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University baseball received its second position player recognition of ’22, with sophomore Nolan Schanuel being ranked No. 8 on the DI Baseball Preseason Player Power rankings on Monday.
Schanuel played first base as a freshman, but he is expected to hold down the hot corner in 2022 and may return to first on occasion.
The lefty also is a 2022 Perfect Game Preseason All-American after making an Owl impact both offensively and defensive in his first collegiate campaign. He led the FAU everyday starters in batting average, .OPS, hits, on-base percentage, RBIs and most importantly, runs scored. In his first season, he committed just two errors in 454 chances while making his fellow infielders look better in the process. He ended his true freshman campaign at the top of the C-USA leaderboard in nearly every hitting category while being named Freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game (for the latter, he was one of just 13 players who earned First Team honors) ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region, and Second Team All-C-USA.
Schanuel came to FAU as an outfielder, made the move to first in 2021 and spent his entire summer, with the Bethesda Big Train, as well as FAU’s fall season working towards a move to third base.
Schanuel and the Owls will open their 2022 campaign on Friday, Feb. 18 versus Minnesota.
MAC MENTIONSHead Coach John McCormack on Nolan Schanue’s move to third base in a recent Mac’s Musings
“Nolan had a good fall. We [FAU baseball’s staff] talked about this last year and during practice, he would take some ground balls at third. He played summer ball at third. I would say he played 95% of his innings this past fall at third. One thing that he is, besides being a tremendous hitter and a good guy, is a really good baseball player. So, these transitions don’t mean much to him. It’s like ‘ok it’s a ground ball. I will just field it and throw it to first base.’ He has a great ability to boil everything down to its simplest terms.”
WHAT’S NEXTParadise and Diamond Club members are invited to the first pregame tailgate party prior to the season opener on February 18. For mor information please call Alvin Hines at 205-789-3594.
FOR SEASON TICKETSTo purchase tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE. FAU will open the 2022 season at home on Friday, Feb. 18 versus Minnesota. Stay tuned here at FAUSports.com, and on baseball’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUBaseball.
