DALLAS (Jan. 29, 2020) – To polish off the preseason award's season, Logan Allen was named Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year by the league office on Wednesday. The FIU ace was also named to the preseason All-Conference team.  
 
It is the first time a Panther has been named Preseason Pitcher of the Year since FIU joined Conference USA prior to the 2014 season.
 
Allen, who was named to the All-CUSA First Team in 2019, built on his Freshman All-American campaign in 2018 by leading all of C-USA with 120 Ks in 84 innings pitched for a 12.86 Ks-per-9 innings ratio to place top 15 in the nation in that category. His pitching prowess was on display when the Deltona, Florida native went 32.2 innings without surrendering an earned run to start league play.
 
The lefty went 4-6 on the mound with a 3.11 ERA and held opposing batters to a .231 average, while winning three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors. Allen's three weekly honors as a pitcher were tied for the most in the league this past season. 
 
Over the summer, Allen dominated the Cape Cod Baseball League by striking out 24 batters over 15 scoreless innings for the Harwich Mariners before donning the Stars and Stripes to pitch for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in July.
 
The right-handed hitting Allen averaged .276 in 76 at-bats with 21 hits in 2019. He also slugged three home runs and drove in five in his limited ABs.
 
The 2019 C-USA tournament champ Southern Miss Golden Eagles were selected by the coaches to win the conference with FAU, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, Rice and FIU rounding out the top half of the league. Rice's Trei Cruz was named C-USA Preseason Player of the Year.

FIU opens the season on Friday, Feb. 14 at home as the Panthers host Fordham. First pitch between the Panthers and Rams is slated for 7:00 p.m.

Season tickets for the 2020 season can be purchased by clicking here. The Panthers return a veteran core of talented players in 2020, supplemented with another highly-touted recruiting class. FIU will seek a return to postseason action for the first time since 2015 once the baseball season rolls around in February. 
 
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2020 PRESEASON BASEBALL AWARDS

(as selected by C-USA's head coaches)
 

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1.         Southern Miss (6)               
2.         Florida Atlantic (4)
3.         Louisiana Tech
4.         Old Dominion
5.         Rice (1)
6.         FIU (1)
7.         WKU
8.         UAB
9.         UTSA
10.      Marshall
11.      Charlotte
12.      Middle Tennessee
   (first place votes in parentheses)
 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Trei Cruz, Rice (Junior, IF)
 

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Logan Allen, FIU (Junior, LHP)
 

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

SP          Logan Allen                     So.        FIU
SP          Hunter Gregory              Jr.         Old Dominion
SP          Walker Powell                 Jr.         Southern Miss
RP         Colby Bruce                    Sr.         Charlotte
C            Nick Thornquist              Sr.         UTSA
IF           Trei Cruz                          Jr.         Rice
IF           Matt Guidry                     Sr.         Southern Miss
IF           Andru Summerall           R-Jr.     Florida Atlantic
IF           Francisco Urbaez           Sr.         Florida Atlantic
IF           Taylor Young                  Jr.         Louisiana Tech
OF         Zach Davis                      R-Sr.    UAB
OF         Bobby Morgensen         Sr.         Florida Atlantic
OF         Gabe Montenegro          Jr.         Southern Miss
DH/UT   Richard Constantine      Sr.         WKU