• 2017 All-OVC Baseball Team and Award Winners (PDF)
OXFORD, Ala. - For the second year in a row there were Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Co-Players of the Year as Eastern Kentucky senior first baseman
Ben Fisher and Morehead State sophomore outfielder
Niko Hulsizer shared the honor in a vote of league head coaches and sports information directors. In additional voting Jacksonville State senior
Joe McGuire was named 2017 OVC Pitcher of the Year, Murray State third baseman
Davis Sims was tabbed OVC Rookie of the Year and Tennessee Tech head coach
Matt Bragga was honored as OVC Coach of the Year.
The honors, along with first and second-team All-OVC and All-Freshman honors were announced ahead of the 2017 OVC Baseball Championship which begins on Tuesday night at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama. Tennessee Tech had the most selections across the three teams with eight, while Jacksonville State, Morehead State and Southeast Missouri had six selections apiece.
The duo of Fisher and Hulsizer, who enter this week ranked No. 1 and 2 nationally in home runs after combining for 49 this season, were recently named two of the 25 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to the National Player of the Year, by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Only two players in OVC history have ever hit more home runs in a season than Fisher, who finished the regular season with 25 round trippers, which ranks first among all Division I players this season and was just one off the OVC single-season record. Nationally he ranks third in runs/game (1.27), slugging (.767) and total bases (170), fourth in total RBI (72) and 27th in hits (81). The senior started all 56 team games and hit a team-high .363 (eighth in the OVC) while committing just three errors in 421 chances at first base. Fisher led the OVC with 20 multi-RBI games and was second with 26 multi-hit games; he also had a 19-game hitting streak during the season, which was tied for the longest in the OVC. Sixteen (16) of his 25 home runs came in OVC play, as he hit .356 with 38 RBI in those 30 games. In back-to-back weeks in March he was named National Player of the Week, as he had a stretch where he homered in seven-straight contests, the second-longest streak in NCAA history. In addition to being named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, Fisher was also named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List. He is the 10th overall Eastern Kentucky player to be named OVC Player of the Year, and second-straight, joining Mandy Alvarez who shared the honor a season ago.
Hulsizer enters the postseason with 24 home runs, second nationally only to Fisher and just two away from equaling the OVC single-season record. The sophomore also ranks second nationally in RBI (74), slugging (.767) and total bases (178), 13th in runs/game (1.16) and 19th in hits (82). Hulsizer ranked second in the OVC in multi-hit games (26) during the season and third with 16 multi-RBI contests. He became the first player in school history to register 20 doubles and 20 home runs in the same season, established a new school record for total bases and is closing in on the school mark for RBI. Hulsizer drove in a season-high seven runs in a win over West Virginia Tech and added six RBI in a game on three different occasions. Overall his play helped Morehead State to its third-straight 30-plus win season, the first time that has happened in school history. Hulsizer is the ninth Morehead State player to be named OVC Player of the Year and first since 2015 (catcher Chris Robinson).
In the year of the long ball and huge offensive numbers in the OVC, McGuire was the most consistent hurler, leading the OVC in E.R.A. (3.20) while compiling an 8-1 record (the eight wins were tied for the most in the OVC) in 15 games (12 starts). The senior pitched 64.2 innings, striking out 48 batters and combining with his bullpen for two shutouts while limiting opponents to just a .209 batting average. In 10 OVC games, McGuire had a 5-1 record and 3.35 E.R.A. in 51 innings of work. In his 12 starts he allowed more than five hits just once and allowed more than three runs only twice. In a win over Morehead State, the league's top offensive team, McGuire struck out a season-high six in seven innings, allowing four hits and just one run. McGuire is the first Jacksonville State player to be named OVC Pitcher of the Year since the Gamecocks joined the league in 2004.
Sims led Murray State with 17 doubles this season while ranking second on the Racers team with 49 RBI. In total he played in 54 games (starting 52) and hit .317 with 10 home runs, a .543 slugging percentage and .376 on-base percentage. Sims had 16 multi-hit games and 11 games where he drove in two or more RBI. During OVC play he increased his batting average to .363, adding 11 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI. He drove in four runs in back-to-back games in March, going 3-for-5 against each Austin Peay and Southern Illinois. Near the end of the regular season Sims had pair of five RBI contests at Morehead State, including going 4-for-4 with two home runs on May 12. Davis is the first Murray State player to be named OVC Rookie of the Year since the award was first handed out in 2000.
Now in his 14th season at Tennessee Tech, Bragga earned his third OVC Coach of the Year award, joining the honors he won in 2010 and 2013, when he also led the Golden Eagles to OVC regular season championships. He is one of just two TTU coaches to earn the honor, the other being OVC Hall of Famer David Mays who took home the honor five times during his career (the last coming in 1997). A season ago the Golden Eagles tied for fourth place in the League and this season returned eight positional starters and 19 total letterwinners. That experience enabled the team to get off to a 5-0 start which would eventually become 8-2 after 10 games. Between March 9 and April 18 Bragga helped the Golden Eagles to a 22-4 record, as Tech improved to 30-9 and were ranked 26th in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll (the first OVC team to be nationally-ranked since 2013). His team finished the regular season 37-19 overall and 23-7 in OVC play (just one win away from the Conference record for league wins in a season). Entering the postseason his team ranks second nationally in home runs (1.55/game), third in hits (654) and slugging (.519) and fifth in runs (457), doubles/game (2.39).
Fisher, Hulsizer and McGuire were three of the 14 total first-team selections that included five seniors, four juniors and five sophomores. No player repeated as a first-team selection from last season, although Austin Peay senior utility player
Alex Robles was a first-team selection in 2015 and returned to the team this season. Robles earned second-team honors in 2014 and 2016 and was the 2014 OVC Rookie of the Year. This season he played in every APSU game, starting 10 on the mound and making 21 total pitching appearances while also seeing starting assignments at third base, all three outfield spots and designated hitter. He hit .337 with 70 hits, 10 home runs and 45 RBI and on the mound won six games and saved two more in 71.2 innings of work. The first-team also included Morehead State junior third baseman
Eli Boggess, who currently leads all Division I players with a .434 batting average, nearly 20 points higher than second place. Other infield selection included SIUE sophomore catcher
Brock Weimer, who tied the Cougars single-season record with 15 home runs this season while hitting .329 with 50 RBI and a .685 slugging percentage, Eastern Illinois sophomore second baseman
Jimmy Govern and Tennessee Tech junior shortstop
David Garza. Govern was the top hitter on a team that ranked fourth nationally in home runs/game while Garza hit .293, stole 10 bases and fielded .978. Other outfield picks included Murray State junior
Brandon Gutzler and Southeast Missouri senior
Dan Holst. Gutzler returned from an injury last season to rank sixth nationally in RBI/game (1.30) and 12th in total bases (143). Holst enters the postseason ranked third nationally in on-base percentage (.520) and 25th in batting average (.383). Belmont senior
Nick Egli was the designated hitter pick after hitting .360 with 68 hits, 17 doubles, 16 home runs and a .725 slugging percentage (a mark that is eighth nationally). The other starting pitcher picks were Belmont sophomore
Dylan King and Morehead State junior
Aaron Leasher. King led the OVC and ranked 12th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (11.94), striking out 103 batters in 77.2 innings over 13 appearances. A season after striking out 107, Leasher is just four knockouts away from reaching triple digits again, as he has fanned 96 in 85.1 innings of work. Leasher tied for the league-high with eight wins and recorded the third-best E.R.A. (4.22) in the OVC despite playing in a hitter-friendly park. The team was rounded out by Tennessee Tech sophomore closer
Ethan Roberts who established a new school record with 13 saves, a mark that currently ranks sixth in OVC single-season history. Roberts struck out 70 in 42 innings of relief this season.
The second-team included 17 players due to three ties in voting. The team included 10 players who had previously earned some type of All-OVC honor (first-team, second-team, or All-Rookie team) in Tennessee Tech junior first baseman
Chase Chambers (.320, 70 hits, 56 runs, 16 home runs, 59 RBI), Jacksonville State junior second baseman
Clayton Daniel (.336, 80 hits, 45 runs, 12 doubles, 27 RBI), Morehead State sophomore shortstop
Reid Leonard (.339, 80 hits, 48 runs, 21 doubles, 46 RBI), Tennessee Tech sophomore outfielder
Kevin Strohschein (.274, 66 hits, 49 runs, 13 home runs, 56 RBI) who was last year's OVC Player and Freshman of the Year, Eastern Illinois junior outfielder
Joseph Duncan (.331, 84 hits, 57 runs, 14 doubles, 47 RBI, 18 stolen bases), Southeast Missouri senior outfielder
Chris Osborne (.352, 76 hits, 55 runs, 9 home runs, 48 RBI), Morehead State senior outfielder
Will Schneider (.385, 85 hits, 56 runs, 14 doubles, 43 RBI), Tennessee Tech junior designated hitter
Ryan Flick (.380, 78 hits, 54 runs, 23 doubles, 13 home runs, 54 RBI), Southeast Missouri senior pitcher
Clay Chandler (8-3, 4.67 ERA, 63 strikeouts) and Jacksonville State junior relief pitcher
Justin Hoyt (4-1, 2.72 ERA, 9 saves, 49 strikeouts). The squad also included Southeast Missouri catcher
Brian Lees (.320, 56 hits, 34 runs, 16 doubles, 34 RBI), SIUE senior second baseman
Alec Skender (.386, 83 hits, 53 runs, 15 doubles, 13 stolen bases), Tennessee Tech junior third baseman
Trevor Putzig (.388, 81 hits, 49 runs, 21 doubles, 50 RBI), Eastern Kentucky sophomore utility player
Alex Holderbach (.355, 66 hits, 39 runs, 12 doubles, 49 RBI), Tennessee Tech senior pitcher
Michael Wood (8-4, 4.71 ERA, 77 strikeouts), Jacksonville State sophomore pitcher
Derrick Adams (7-2, 4.90 ERA, 84 strikeouts) and Southeast Missouri senior pitcher
Justin Murphy (7-3, 4.40 ERA, 45 strikeouts).
Ten of the 11 OVC baseball squads had at least one representative on the All-Freshman Team, which was awarded for the 12th time in 2017. The 13-member team was highlighted by Davis, the League's Rookie of the Year. He was joined by outfielder teammate
Ryan Perkins. Two other teams had multiple selections including Austin Peay with catcher
Parker Phillips and utility player
Malcolm Tipler, and Jacksonville State with first baseman
Andrew Naismith and outfielder
Chase Robinson. Other selections included Southeast Missouri second baseman
Danny Wright, Eastern Kentucky outfielder
Nick Howie, Belmont outfielder
Matt Cogen, Morehead State pitcher
Jake Ziegelmeyer, SIUE outfielder
Eric Giltz, UT Martin outfielder
Connor Aube and Tennessee Tech pitcher
Devin Lancaster.
2017 All-OVC Baseball Teams and Award Winners
OVC Co-Player of the Year: Ben Fisher (1B), Eastern Kentucky
OVC Co-Player of the Year: Niko Hulsizer (OF), Morehead State
OVC Pitcher of the Year: Joe McGuire (RHP), Jacksonville State
OVC Rookie of the Year: Davis Sims (3B), Murray State
OVC Coach of the Year: Matt Bragga, Tennessee Tech
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
C - Brock Weimer, SIUE
1B - Ben Fisher, Eastern Kentucky
2B - Jimmy Govern, Eastern Illinois
SS - David Garza, Tennessee Tech
3B - Eli Boggess, Morehead State
OF - Niko Hulsizer, Morehead State
OF - Brandon Gutzler, Murray State
OF - Dan Holst, Southeast Missouri
DH - Nick Egli, Belmont
UT - Alex Robles, Austin Peay
SP - Joe McGuire, Jacksonville State
SP - Aaron Leasher, Morehead State
SP - Dylan King, Belmont
RP - Ethan Roberts, Tennessee Tech
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
C - Brian Lees, Southeast Missouri
1B - Chase Chambers, Tennessee Tech
2B - Alec Skender, SIUE
2B - Clayton Daniel, Jacksonville State
SS - Reid Leonard, Morehead State
3B - Trevor Putzig, Tennessee Tech
OF - Kevin Strohschein, Tennessee Tech
OF - Joseph Duncan, Eastern Illinois
OF - Chris Osborne, Southeast Missouri
OF - Will Schneider, Morehead State
DH - Ryan Flick, Tennessee Tech
UT - Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky
SP - Michael Wood, Tennessee Tech
SP - Derrick Adams, Jacksonville State
SP - Justin Murphy, Southeast Missouri
SP - Clay Chandler, Southeast Missouri
RP - Justin Hoyt, Jacksonville State
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
3B - Davis Sims, Murray State
2B - Danny Wright, Southeast Missouri
OF - Nick Howie, Eastern Kentucky
C/UT - Parker Phillips, Austin Peay
OF - Matt Cogen, Belmont
1B - Andrew Naismith, Jacksonville State
OF - Ryan Perkins, Murray State
RHP - Jake Ziegelmeyer, Morehead State
OF - Chase Robinson, Jacksonville State
OF - Eric Giltz, SIUE
OF - Connor Aube, UT Martin
RHP - Devin Lancaster, Tennessee Tech
IF/OF - Malcolm Tipler, Austin Peay
***Note: There are 2 SS's, 2 OF's and 4 SP's on the second-team due to ties in voting.