FORT MYERS, Fla.- After sending 11 players onto the NCAA Division I level a season ago, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers got their 2019-2020 class of to a good start this week with Mason Adams signing at Jacksonville University, Connor Bagnieski inking with Radford, and Warnner Rincones making it official at Eckerd College.
Adams is the Bucs top returning arm from a season ago. As a freshman he logged 42 1/3 innings, posting a 5-1 record and a 4.04 ERA. He struck out 35 and allowed just over a hit per inning on the year. Adams saw time in 19 contests which ranked second on the team, starting a pair. His season long in innings came late in the year when he went 4 2/3 in a win over St. Petersburg.
He will join a Jacksonville squad that won 32 games in 2019, advancing all the way to the ASUN Semifinals where they were upended by eventual tournament champions Liberty to end their season.
Bagnieski returns to Fort Myers this season after hitting .269 with a team best 10 doubles as a freshman in 2019. He led the Bucs with 46 hits and 47 runs scored last season while finishing second on the club in RBIs with 32 and stolen bases with 26.
Bagnieski will head to Virginia to play for the Highlanders who will be under the direction of first year Head Coach Karl Kuhn this season. A year ago Radford won 30 games and finished second in the Big South with a 19-8 mark.
Rincones was the Bucs most consistent hitter last season, finishing the year with a .309 average and a team best 33 RBIs despite missing 11 games due to injury. He tied Bagnieski for the team lead with 46 hits on the year and also finished tied with him for second on the team with 26 stolen bases.
He will join Eckerd next season after the Tritons went 31-19 and advanced to the NCAA South Regional in 2019.
FSW opens their 2020 campaign on January 28th when they take on State College of Florida in a non-conference battle in North Port at CoolToday Parkt , the new Spring Training home of the Atlanta Braves.