DAHLONEGA – The Peach Belt Conference announced the 2025 baseball Preseason Coaches Poll and Preseason All-Conference Teams Friday morning. 

The University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team was picked fourth behind PBC Tournament champion Georgia College, regular season champion Lander and Columbus State.

The Bobcats topped all teams with 78 voting points and eight first place votes. Lander followed with 69 points and one first palace nod. CSU earned 62 points while the Nighthawks followed closely behind with 60 points and one first place vote. GCSU, Lander and UNG were the only teams to receive first place votes in the poll.

Junior outfielder Andrews Opata was the lone Nighthawk player to be recognized on the PBC Preseason All-Conference Team.

Last season, Opata hit for a .308 average with five home runs and 35 RBI. He tied for third in the PBC with 24 stolen bases and ranked in the top 10 in the league in runs scored (57), doubles (14) and triples (4). 

In the classroom, the Lawrenceville, Ga. native was named a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar at year's end. This year marks Opata's second consecutive season as a PBC Preseason All-Conference selection.

UNG is just seven days away from beginning the year at home against Lincoln Memorial. The Nighthawks and Railsplitters begin 2025 with a four-game series that starts on Friday, Jan. 31 at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park at 3 p.m. The two teams will play a double header on Saturday (12 p.m. and 4 p.m.) followed by a fourth game on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.