• 2020 Preseason All-OVC Team and Predicted Order of Finish (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -
Jacksonville State has been picked as the 2020 Ohio Valley Conference preseason baseball favorite. The defending tournament champions were picked first in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors.
In additional voting, Eastern Kentucky outfielder
Nick Howie was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year while Belmont sophomore pitcher
Joshua South was tabbed OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
The voting saw three different teams pick up first-place votes with Jacksonville State picking up 19 of the 22 total first-place votes,
Eastern Kentucky receiving two votes and
Morehead State picking up the final first-place vote. JSU tallied 199 points, which was 45 more than second-place Eastern Kentucky (154). EKU edged past
Austin Peay (153) who was tabbed third.
Belmont (136) received one more point than fifth-place
Morehead State (135).
Murray State was picked sixth (114) and followed by
Southeast Missouri (94),
Eastern Illinois (79),
Tennessee Tech (54),
UT Martin (52) and
SIUE (40).
In all 17 players were selected to the Preseason All-OVC team. The 17 players represented all 11 teams who will compete for the OVC championship this season. Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State led the way with three selections apiece.
A year ago Jacksonville State claimed its fifth OVC Tournament title and first since 2014 by sweeping three opponents by a combined score of 24-12. The Gamecocks would go on to eliminate Illinois and Clemson at the NCAA Oxford Regional before falling to the host Rebels in the Championship Round. Head coach
Jim Case begins his 18th year with the Gamecocks; a year ago he moved into fifth place on the OVC’s all-time wins list (531). This season he returns 24 letterwinners and eight starters from the regional squad. Among the returning players are three Preseason All-OVC selections in senior C/DH
Alex Webb, junior utility player
Cole Frederick and sophomore starting pitcher
Isaiah Magwood. Webb was also named a Preseason Collegiate Baseball All-American after he posted a .304 batting average, hit nine home runs and drove in 57 runs a year ago and was named MVP of the OVC Tournament. Frederick started 61 games a season ago and batted .287 with 75 hits and 49 runs scored. Magwood started eight games, tallying a 3-0 record and 4.12 E.R.A. while striking out 63 batters in his rookie year. He pitched 6.2 innings and picked up the victory over Austin Peay during the OVC Tournament.
Eastern Kentucky is coming off back-to-back 30-win seasons and head coach
Edwin Thompson returns 23 players from last year’s team that finished tied for fifth-place in the OVC standings. Among those players is senior outfielder
Nick Howie who was voted the OVC Preseason Player of the Year. A year ago Howie, who was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American for his work in the classroom, ranked third in the OVC with a .474 on-base percentage, third with 46 walks, fifth with a .353 average and tied for fifth with 16 stolen bases and led the Colonels in batting average (.353). Also back is senior catcher
A.J. Lewis and junior second baseman
Daniel Harris IV, both of whom were named Preseason All-OVC. Among the team’s returning pitchers is sophomore
Jacob Ferris who won six games in his debut season with the program.
A year after winning 19 OVC games, Austin Peay and head coach
Travis Janssen return 16 letterwinners and were selected third in the preseason poll. Among the team’s returning players is sophomore outfielder
Garrett Spain who was named OVC Freshman of the Year and also earned second-team All-OVC honors a season ago. Spain, a Preseason All-OVC selection this year, hit .333 with 73 hits, 53 runs, eight doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 52 home runs in 56 games. Spain added a .502 on-base percentage and committed just one error on the season. Also back is sophomore
Matt Joslin who earned OVC All-Freshman Team honors after hitting .289 with five home runs and 36 RBI in 2019. Among Austin Peay’s returning pitchers are senior
Ryan Kouba and redshirt sophomore
Harley Gollert. Kouba returns after posting five wins a year ago while Gollert, a 2018 OVC All-Freshman pick, returns after seeing his 2019 campaign cut short due to injury.
Belmont finished 18-12 in OVC play a season ago (which placed them fourth in the standings) and lost in extra innings to eventual champion Jacksonville State during the OVC Tournament. This season head coach
Dave Jarvis, who enters his 23rd season with the program, returns 23 total players, including seven starters. Among the returning players is sophomore pitcher
Joshua South who was tabbed the OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. South shared the OVC lead with two complete games in 2019 as he logged 90.1 innings of work in 14 starts. South had a 3.89 E.R.A. (seventh in the OVC) and struck out 77 batters while walking just 22. Also returning is junior closer
Kyle Brennan who enters the year with 11 career saves (9 of which came last season), eighth-most in the program’s Division I era. Among the team’s returning positional players is sophomore outfielder
John Behrends who hit .277 a year ago.
Morehead State, one of the top offensive teams in the country a season ago, begins its first season under head coach
Mik Aoki, who was previously the head coach at Notre Dame, Boston College and Columbia and who has more than 450 collegiate victories. The Eagles had one selection on the Preseason All-OVC team in fifth-year senior pitcher
Jason Goe. Goe returned to the rotation in 2019 after missing most of the previous season with an injury and compiled a 7-2 record and 4.48 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 68 innings. Also back is senior
Jake Ziegelmeyer who had a 3-1 record, 3.69 E.R.A. and team-best eight saves a season ago.
Murray State is under the direction of second-year coach
Dan Skirka, who led the Racers to 24 wins in his first season. Among MSU’s returning players is senior outfielder
Brock Anderson who led the team with a .289 batting average last season. Anderson hit 13 home runs and drove in 44 runs in 51 starts. Another senior outfielder back in the lineup this season is
Ryan Perkins who also hit double-digit round trippers with 10 a year ago. Senior
Jordan Cozart hit .324 and drove in 34 runs last season and also appeared in eight games as a pitcher. Redshirt junior closer
Braydon Cook returns after netting seven saves last season.
Last season Southeast Missouri saw a streak of 24-straight appearances in the OVC Tournament come to an end, as they finished two games out of eighth place in the standings. The Redhawks will look to get back in the tournament field this season with junior shortstop
Tyler Wilber who earned Preseason All-OVC honors. Wilber led the OVC and ranked 23rd nationally with a .383 batting average in his debut season with the team; he was even better in Conference games, hitting .416 in 30 OVC contests. Wilber also added 19 doubles and drove in 40 runs in 2019. Sophomore pitcher
Noah Niznik also earned Preseason All-OVC honors after ranking fourth in the OVC with a 3.63 earned run average. Niznik started 13 games and struck out 49 batters in 62 innings.
Eastern Illinois was represented on the Preseason All-OVC Team by senior third baseman
Christian Pena who led the team and ranked third in the OVC with a .381 batting average last season. In 51 total games, Pena had 74 hits and scored 43 runs while compiling a .457 on-base percentage. Also returning for the Panthers this season is sophomore outfielder
Grant Emme and senior catcher
Ryan Knernschield, who ranked second and third on the team in batting average. Emme hit .349 in 51 games and led the team with 14 stolen bases while Knernschield hit .335 with 67 hits and 36 runs scored. A year ago senior
Alex Stevenson netted five saves in 14 appearances and compiled a 1.61 E.R.A. in 22.1 innings of work. Stevenson struck out 32 batters and walked only eight while holding opponents to a .114 batting average.
After making the NCAA Super Regionals in 2018 and losing most of its team to graduation and the MLB Draft, Tennessee Tech finished last season with a 22-32 overall record and failed to make the OVC Tournament field despite ranking second nationally in home runs per game (1.61) and 17th in slugging (.472). The Golden Eagles welcome a new head coach this season in
Steve Smith who won 743 games in 21 seasons at Baylor (1995-2015) and who was most recently the pitching coach at Auburn. Smith inherits a pair of players who were named to the Preseason All-OVC team in junior first baseman
Jason Hinchman and sophomore DH
John Dyer. Hinchman led all Division I players in home runs/game (0.44), smashing 24 round trippers in 54 games; he also added 55 hits, 54 runs, 11 doubles and 55 RBI while slugging .538. Dyer added 11 home runs and 54 RBI while hitting .330 in 53 games in his rookie season.
A season ago UT Martin tied its program record at the Division I level with 25 wins. The Skyhawks finished the season 12-18 in OVC play, earned the No. 8 seed in the OVC Tournament and won its opening game at the event. That team graduated 15 seniors that were replaced in part by 22 freshmen and junior college transfers. Among the team’s returning players is junior closer
Nick Wohlbold who was a Preseason All-OVC pick. A year ago he led the OVC with 13 saves (seventh-most in league history) and finished the season with a 3.09 E.R.A. Also returning is junior infielder
Casey Harford, who leads all returning UTM players with a .312 batting average from a year ago.
SIUE redshirt junior pitcher
Kenny Serwa earned second-team All-OVC honors last year despite an injury that limited him to just seven starts. In those games he struck out 33 and walked only six while picking up three wins and netting a 3.19 E.R.A. He is joined in the rotation by junior
Colin Baumgartner who made a team-high 15 starts last year, pitching 74.1 innings and compiling a team-high 82 strikeouts. Senior
Raul Elguezabal returns after hitting .265 with 12 doubles and 34 RBI in 51 starts. Fourth year head coach
Sean Lyons had 15 total newcomers on his roster this year.
The 72nd season of OVC baseball will get underway on Friday, Feb. 14 with the first weekend of league play being held March 6-8. The season will culminate with the 2020 OVC Championship which will be held for the second-straight year at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois; the venue is home of the Southern Illinois Miners of the Frontier League. The tournament runs May 19-24.
2020 OVC Baseball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Jacksonville State (19 first-place votes) – 199 points
2. Eastern Kentucky (2) - 154
3. Austin Peay - 153
4. Belmont - 136
5. Morehead State (1) - 135
6. Murray State - 114
7. Southeast Missouri - 94
8. Eastern Illinois - 79
9. Tennessee Tech - 54
10. UT Martin - 52
11. SIUE - 40
2020 Preseason All-OVC Baseball Team
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Nick Howie (OF), Eastern Kentucky
Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year: Joshua South (RHP), Belmont
C - A.J. Lewis, Eastern Kentucky
1B - Jason Hinchman, Tennessee Tech
2B - Daniel Harris IV, Eastern Kentucky
SS - Tyler Wilber, Southeast Missouri
3B - Christian Pena, Eastern Illinois
OF - Garrett Spain, Austin Peay
OF - Brock Anderson, Murray State
OF - Nick Howie, Eastern Kentucky
DH - John Dyer, Tennessee Tech
DH - Alex Webb, Jacksonville State
UT - Cole Frederick, Jacksonville State
SP - Kenny Serwa, SIUE
SP - Joshua South, Belmont
SP - Isaiah Magwood, Jacksonville State
SP - Jason Goe, Morehead State
SP - Noah Niznik, Southeast Missouri
RP - Nick Wohlbold, UT Martin