HAVERFORD, Pa. — The Haverford College baseball team has been selected third in the annual preseason Centennial Conference baseball poll, the league office announced Monday afternoon. Haverford received 64 total points and two first-place votes in the overall balloting.
The 2025 season was a monumental one for Haverford, as the Fords secured their 16th Centennial Conference playoff appearance and advanced to the Centennial Conference Championship for the first time since 2019. The season was further highlighted by the program earning both the Centennial Conference Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. After graduating a large senior class from 2025, head coach Dave Beccaria will look to guide the Fords back to the conference championship in his 26th season at the helm.
Reigning champion Johns Hopkins was tabbed first with 76 points and six first-place votes. Swarthmore followed in second with 71 points and two first-place votes, with Haverford close behind in third with 64 points and two first-place votes. McDaniel was selected fourth with 58 points, followed by Franklin & Marshall in fifth with 54 points.
Dickinson was picked sixth with 38 points, while Gettysburg claimed seventh with 32 points. Ursinus was chosen eighth with 23 points, Muhlenberg placed ninth with 22 points, and Washington College rounded out the 2026 preseason poll with 12 points.
Sophomore Jackson Sgro will be one to watch in 2026 after earning D3Baseball.com National Rookie of the Year and Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year honors, among several other accolades. Sgro established himself as one of the conference's most dangerous hitters in 2025, leading the Centennial Conference with a .442 batting average while recording 50 hits, 30 runs, 11 doubles, 11 home runs, and 43 RBI. He also posted a .504 on-base percentage and an .832 slugging percentage, ranking 13th nationally in batting average, 17th in home runs per game (0.37), and 20th in RBI per game (1.43).
Another key returner for the Fords is pitcher Sam Cohen. The right-hander went 5-1 in 2025, leading Haverford in wins, innings pitched (55.2), ERA (3.40), and strikeouts (57). His strikeout total ranked third in the Centennial Conference, earning him a spot on the Centennial Conference Second Team.
Baseball opens the 2026 campaign on Saturday, February 28, in Camden, N.J., as the Scarlet and Black take on Rutgers-Camden in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
