WILMINGTON, North Carolina - One day after UNCW was picked second in the 11-team Colonial Athletic Association preseason Coaches Poll, Hunter Ridge and Thomas Pope were voted to the preseason all-conference squad while Andrew Cain received honorable mention honors.

Pope returns for his senior season as the leading hitter in the circuit after posting a .396 average as a junior and becoming the first Seahawk since 1989 to lead the Colonial. Pope also topped the league with a career-best .488 on base average.

Ridge, meanwhile, was a second-team selection as a sophomore after hitting .354 with nine home runs and 60 runs batted in. Ridge has earned All-CAA honors in both of his seasons with the Seahawks. In his first two seasons, Ridge owns UNCW's freshman and sophomore records for RBI.

Cain was also a second-team All-CAA honoree in 2011 after belting a career-high and team-leading 10 home runs, and finished second on the squad with 18 stolen bases, also a career-high.

The Seahawks open their season hosting Ohio on Feb. 17-19.

Preseason ALL-CAA

C: Andrew Parker (Towson); 1B: Hunter Ridge (UNCW); 2B: Chris Cook (GMU); SS: Josh Wright* (ODU); 3B: Brandon Williams (GSU); OF: Aaron Barbosa (NU), Danny Poma (Hofstra), Thomas Pope (UNCW); UT: Johnny Bladel (JMU); DH: Drew Shields (GSU); SP: Sean Tierney (JMU), Ben Tomchick (ODU); RP: Brett Koehler (W&M)

* Preseason Player-of-the-Year

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention (players receiving multiple votes):  Taylor Perkins, C, VCU; Chris Baker, 1B, Old Dominion; Ty McFarland, 1B, James Madison; D.J. Long, 2B, Delaware; Andrew Cain, OF, UNCW; Bill Cullen, OF, VCU; Dan Schafferman, OF, George Mason; Brig Tison, UT, George Mason;  Joey Burney, DH, Old Dominion; Zack Helgeson, DH, George Mason; Andrew Leenhouts, SP, Northeastern; Justin Malone, SP, Georgia State; Jake Dyer, RP, Georgia State