CHICAGO -- The UIC baseball team opens up its 74th season of baseball and ushers in a new era Friday afternoon as the Flames begin a three-game series at New Mexico.

FIRST PITCH
• Friday's game will be the first with Sean McDermott at the helm of the program. McDermott, who spent the past 23 years on the bench alongside long-time skipper Mike Dee, was elevated to head coach this past summer.
• This weekend's series starts a stretch of 13 consecutive road games to start the season. UIC will return home for the first time on March 18 to start a three-game Horizon League series against Northern Kentucky.

FIGUEROA NAMED PRESEASON THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
• UIC graduate student Joshua Figueroa was recognized by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Feb. 1, as the designated hitter was tabbed a Preseason Third Team All-American. 
• Appearing in 47 of 48 games a year ago and making 45 starts, Figueroa hit a blistering .351 and led the team in RBIs (54) and doubles (14) while ranking third on the team in home runs (7). The Chicago native set a career-high with five RBIs on a pair of occasions last year, against Youngstown State on May 2 and again against Milwaukee on May 28.
• A Second Team All-League honoree a year ago, Figueroa was also named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team last season. Figueroa, who split time between catching and being the designated hitter, had a career-high five hits in UIC's third game of the year at Florida International and recorded one hit in 33 contests. The De La Salle Institute prep standout had a 13-game hitting streak spanning almost the entire month of April (April 2-24).
• Figueroa was the only Horizon League player named to any of the NCBWA's three preseason All-American teams.

CONN NAMED TOP-50 CATCHER BY D1BASEBALL
• UIC's Cole Conn was recognized as one of the top-50 catchers in the country according to D1Baseball, as the outlet announced its preseason positional power rankings on Feb. 2.
• Conn, the 2021 Horizon League Freshman of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America a season ago, returns behind the plate for his sophomore season in 2022. The switch-hitting Conn appeared in 42 of UIC's 48 games last year, starting in 41 contests. Conn shared the team lead with nine home runs while ranking fourth on the team with 34 RBIs.
 • As a freshman, Conn had a career day against Youngstown State on May 2, setting a season-high in home runs (2), RBIs (4) and matching his season high with three hits in an 18-7 thrashing of the Penguins. Conn had an eight-game hitting streak during the season which was part of a 17-game on-base streak for the catcher. Conn was one of two catchers from the Horizon League named to the list, along with Wright State's Sammy Sass.
 
ROSARIO RECOGNIZED BY D1BASEBALL
• Bryan Rosario became the second member of the UIC baseball team to be recognized by D1Baseball, as the outfielder was ranked as one of the top 150 outfielders in the outlet's preseason power rankings.
• Rosario, a native of Hayward, California, was dominant at the plate last year for the Flames, leading the league and ranking 14th nationally with a .399 batting average. The speedy outfielder ranked second in the second in the Horizon League in hits per game (1.46) and was tied for second in hits during Horizon League play with 56.
• A member of the Horizon League All-Tournament Team a year ago, Rosario also collected All-League First Team honors as well. Rosario led the team on the basepaths with a team-leading 12 steals on 14 attempts.