The 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 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.
