PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball RHP Christian Coppola, INF Josh Kuroda-Grauer and INF Tony Santa Maria were all named Big Ten Players to Watch, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, the Scarlet Knights were picked to finish fourth in the annual Big Ten preseason coaches poll.

Coppola is coming off a season where he was named All-Big Ten First Team and Freshman All-America but multiple outlets. He emerged as the team's Friday night starter midway through the season and led all Big Ten starting pitchers with a 3.68 ERA, while finishing with a 5-5 record, 66.0 innings, 71 strikeouts, 27 walks and a .240 batting average against. He spent his summer with Team USA's Collegiate National Team, where he earned a spot on the team after starring at training camp and went on to compete against Chinese Taipei and Japan. 

Kuroda-Grauer moved to shortstop last season and was named as a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is awarded to the top shortstop in the country. In 2023, he hit .298 with 6 home runs, 32 RBIs, 15 doubles and five triples. His 26 extra-base hits were twice as many as his freshman season and his .880 OPS was a 100 point improvement as well. Over the summer, he received an invitation to Team USA's Collegiate National Team training camp, but was unable to compete due to injury.

Santa Maria returns this season after missing the majority of the 2023 season with an injury sustained in the opening weekend. In 2022, Santa Maria had a huge year for RU, hitting .303 with 10 home runs and 69 RBIs, which were the third-most in a season in program history. 

The Scarlet Knights open the 2024 season this weekend at Winthrop, with game one of the three-game series set for 4 p.m. on Friday. 
 

-RU-