BOSTON -- The Bryant baseball team has been picked second in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll, while three Bulldogs earned Preseason All-America East honors, the league announced on Tuesday.

Bryant, the defending America East Regular Season champions, and Binghamton, the defending America East Tournament champions, each received three first-place votes but the Bearcats edged out the Bulldogs in total points, 32-30. NJIT was picked third, while UAlbany received the final first-place vote and was selected fourth. Maine, UMass Lowell and UMBC rounded out the preseason field.

The Preseason All-America East Team was also announced, with Zac Zyons, Brandyn Durand and Michael Belcher representing the Black and Gold. Maine led the way with four on the preseason team.

Bulldogs Picked Second

• Bryant is picked second after claiming its second-straight America East Regular Season title in 2025. The Bulldogs have now won 12 regular season titles in 16 full seasons at the DI level.
• The Black and Gold went 18-6 in league play a season ago to claim the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. 
• Bryant lost its opening game of the tournament before battling back to force a winner-take-all final with Binghamton. The Bearcats prevailed, 6-5, in 11 innings.

Zac Zyons | Preseason All-AE Second Base

• A two-time All-America East First Team selection, Zyons is now a two-time preseason selection at second base.
• Returns to Bryant for his fifth year as one of the premier second basemen in college baseball.
• Owns a career slash of .316/.441/.561 with 32 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs and a program-record 54 hit by pitches.
• Posted a 1.014 OPS in conference play last year, with 13 (6 2B, 7 HR) of his 26 hits going for extra-bases.

Brandyn Durand | Preseason All-AE Designated Hitter

• Durand was an All-America East Second Team DH in 2024 and appears on the preseason all-conference team for the first time.
• He is coming off a 2025 season in which he hit .278 with 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 46 RBI and 44 runs scored.
• Durand is the only player in DI program history to hit 10+ home runs in back-to-back seasons, entering 2026 with 23.
• Will also play a vital role behind the plate for Bryant, entering this year with a career .994 fielding percentage.

Michael Belcher | Preseason All-AE Starting Pitcher

• Belcher returns to headline the weekend rotation after earning America East Rookie of the Year honors in 2025. He was the first pitcher to earn rookie of the year honors since James Karinchak (2015).
• He finished 3-1 with a 4.52 ERA, 60 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 65.2 innings. He shifted to the Friday night role in Bryant's series at Binghamton and the Bulldogs responded by winning each of his last six starts of the regular season.
• Belcher produced one of the best collegiate debuts in program history as he struck out seven over 4.0 perfect innings in his first start at Davidson.