CHICAGO -- UIC faces it's third consecutive 2019 NCAA Tournament Team on the road this weekend, as the Flames travel west to take on UC Santa Barbara in a three-game series, beginning Friday (Feb. 28).

FIRST PITCH
• UIC was picked to finish atop the Horizon League this upcoming season, as the league office announced the preseason poll Wednesday (Feb. 12). The Flames received three of the six first-place votes (33 total points), just beating out second-place Wright State (three first-place votes, 32 total points).
• The Flames made their sixth NCAA regional appearance last year after winning the conference title. UIC entered as the No. 2 seed and defeated third-seeded Milwaukee, 6-5, in the championship game. The Flames received the league's automatic postseason berth and competed in the Louisville regional.
• Senior Jacob Key was the preseason selection for Horizon League Pitcher of the Year by D1Basebal, Baseball America and Perfect Game USA while newcomer Nick Lopez was the pick for Freshman of the Year by all three outlets.

DEFEND YOUR POSITION
• The Flames currently rank first in the Horizon League and 52nd nationally in fielding percentage, fielding at a .979 clip.
• UIC has committed five fielding errors through seven games, while Oakland leads the league with 13 errors in six games played.

KEY TO SUCCESS
• Rising senior Jacob Key became the third different UIC hurler to be named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Year in as many seasons on May 21, 2019.
• The right-hander boasted a 3.12 ERA during the regular season, 11th-best in the conference and tops among all throwers with at least four starts.
• Key tossed a league-best 105.2 innings and ranked third with 90 strikeouts. Opponents hit .246 against the then-junior in 16 starts.
• The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native tied for the League lead with 64 Ks in conference play, including 23 that went down looking.
• He won the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week Award twice (March 12 and May 6).
• Key made nine quality starts and six have come against conference foes.
• Key was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team for the second consecutive year while also being named the spring Horizon League co-Scholar Athlete of the Season.