FAIRFIELD, Conn.  - Fairfield University senior Rob Gariano (Nutley, N.J.) was named Preseason All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) as the Stags were picked to finish sixth in the league according to today's Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Gariano, a righthander, earned his second-straight selection to the All-MAAC First Team last season. The co-captain was named MAAC Pitcher of the Week four times in 2009 and went 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 84 innings of work. He notched a career-best 88 strikeouts which is good for second all-time and threw four complete games. Against Saint Peter's, he threw a one-hit, complete game shutout and fanned a career-best 15 batters. He also tossed a one-hit, complete game shutout with nine strikeouts in a rain-shortened win against Iona. Gariano enters his final season as a Stag just 21 strikeouts away from breaking Fairfield's career record and is poised to break into the top-ten in several other categories. Gariano spent the summer pitching for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League where he earned Pitcher of the Week honors.

Gariano's selection to the MAAC Preseason Team is the first for a Fairfield pitcher since 2001 when Dan Krines was named the MAAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Fairfield is coming off its best season in more than five years, as the Stags went 20-27 overall and 10-14 in the MAAC in 2009. Fairfield lost just five Stags from that squad and boasts a 10-man senior class.

Manhattan received 79 points in the poll and was picked as the league favorite. Marist, the defending MAAC Champions, was picked second with 71 points. Canisius rounded out the top three with 65 points and followed by Rider (43), Siena (42), Fairfield (40), Niagara (29), Saint Peter's (20), and Iona (16).

The Stags kick off their 2010 campaign February 26 as they begin a four-game tilt at Virginia Commonwealth.