AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of North Georgia baseball team was picked to finish second in the Peach Belt Preseason Coaches Poll released Friday by the conference office. Additionally, Tim Conway and Crews Taylor were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team as outfielders, while Cade Heil was named a starting pitcher and Nik Levensteins was named the designated hitter.

Columbus State received six first-place votes and 78 total points to take the top spot in the coaches poll, edging out North Georgia by four. Georgia College and Young Harris were tied for third with 60 each while USC Aiken was fifth and Georgia Southwestern sixth. Flagler, Lander, Augusta and Claflin rounded out the voting. North Georgia finished second in the PBC standings in 2021, winning 30 or more games for the sixth year in a row. The Nighthawks also advanced to the championship round of the PBC Tournament for the first time since 2009. Eight seniors return for 2022 with five position players and two weekend starters on the mound.

Conway, a junior from Decatur, Georgia, hit .324 with 13 doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBI, tying for eighth in the PBC in doubles and ranking 10th in base hits. He had nine multi-RBI games, including four against Francis Marion along with 17 multi-hit games with a 4-for-4 effort against Catawba. Conway was named a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Bronze Scholar.

Heil, asenior from Suwanee, Georgia, was a first-team All-Conference selection who was named a PBC Pitcher of the Week and a NCBWA Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week a year ago. Heil made 14 starts last season with an 8-1 record in 80.2 innings pitched, recording 54 strikeouts, two complete games and one shutout. He was tied for the PBC lead in victories and ranked fourth in the league in innings pitched. Heil earned the recognition of being a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar as well.

Levensteins, a junior from Arvada, Colorado, was named All-American by the ABCA, NCBWA and D2CCA and a first-team All-Conference selection after hitting .338 with 11 doubles, 19 home runs and 62 RBI. He tied for the PBC lead and tied for seventh in NCAA Division II with 62 RBI and also ranked third in the PBC in slugging percentage, seventh in on-base percentage and tied for ninth in runs scored. Levensteins was the winner of the Elite 16 Award in 2021 as well as a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Silver Scholar, PBC Team of Academic Distinction and the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award.

Taylor, a senior from Lawrenceville, Georgia, was a PBC second-team All-Conference selection last season and was also named All-Region by the ABCA and NCBWA as well as an All-Tournament selection. Taylor hit .303 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBI, leading the PBC with 42 walks drawn and was tied for third in doubles, tied for sixth in home runs and ranked 10th in RBI and home runs. Taylor was also named a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Presidential Scholar.

The Nighthawks will open the season one week from today as they play host to No. 16 Lee Friday, February 4, at 4 p.m