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2022 All-OVC Teams and Award Winners (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Belmont sophomore outfielder
Guy Lipscomb was named OVC Player of the Year, sophomore pitcher
Andy Bean was tabbed Pitcher of the Year, while their coach
Dave Jarvis was named OVC Coach of the Year in a vote of league head coaches and communication directors. Additionally, Eastern Illinois shortstop
Chris Worcester was named OVC Freshman of the Year.
The honors, along with first and second-team All-OVC and All-Freshman honors were announced ahead of the 2022 OVC Baseball Championship which begins on Wednesday at Wild Health Field in Lexington, Kentucky.
Belmont had the most selections across the three teams with nine, followed by six from Southeast Missouri and five apiece from Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Tennessee Tech. SIUE had the most first-team picks with three.
In helping Belmont win its first OVC Championship, Lipscomb hit .400 and stole 40 bases during the regular season, the first NCAA Division I player to accomplish that feat since 2011 (Stephen F. Austin's Bryson Myles). His 40 stolen bases are the most by an OVC player since 2003, when Eastern Kentucky's Josh Anderson set the OVC record with 57 swipes. Three times during the year he stole three bases in a single game. Nationally, Lipscomb ranked fifth in stolen bases (40), 12th in batting average (.400), 25th in hits (82), 45th in hits/game (1.52) and 59th in on-base percentage (.477), as well as being the 31st toughest player to strike out nationally (one strikeout every 12.1 at-bats). Among OVC players he was first in batting average, stolen bases, on-base percentage, third in hits, seventh in runs scored (1.0/game) and eighth in triples (0.06/game). He added 24 multi-hit games, including a season-high four hits on three occasions. Lipscomb is the first Belmont player to win the award.
Jarvis guided Belmont to an 18-6 OVC record and its first league regular season championship this season. It marked the fourth conference title Jarvis has won as the head coach of the Bruins program. This year marked the 25th of his career as Belmont's head coach and his 39th as a head coach overall. On February 23 he earned his 1,000th career win (324 coming at Three Rivers College) and then on April 26 he notched his 700th victory at Belmont. Jarvis is one of just 16 active coaches with 700-plus victories at their current school. The Bruins finished the regular season with 37 wins, tied for the most regular season wins in program history (2013). Overall Belmont won seven of eight OVC series this season and rank first in the league in team E.R.A. (4.54).
Bean made 14 starts in 2022 and finished the year with a 9-1 record and 4.00 E.R.A. in 83.1 innings of work. The lefty struck out 84 and held opponents to a .215 batting average. For the year he had five games where he allowed either zero or run earned runs. In OVC play he made eight starts, going 5-1 with a complete game in those starts. Bean was named OVC Pitcher of the Week twice during the year and on May 9 was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball after he tossed a complete game with a career-high 13 strikeouts in a win over UT Martin. Nationally, he ranks 10th in victories (9) and 13th in games started (14) and among OVC players he was first in wins (9), innings pitched (83.1) and opponent batting average (.215), fourth in strikeouts (74) and fifth in E.R.A. (4.00). Bean is the first Belmont pitcher to win the award.
Overall it marks the ninth time in OVC history that one school has had the OVC Player and Pitcher of the Year in the same season; Tennessee Tech last accomplished the feat in 2018.
Worcester stepped into a position vacated by First Round Major League Draft Pick Trey Sweeney and helped the Panthers to its most wins since the 2002 season. He started 38 of 52 team games and hit .320 with 48 hits, 23 runs, seven doubles, two home runs, 28 RBI and 10 stolen bases while committing only two errors. His batting average ranked second on the EIU squad. In OVC play he was even better, hitting .342 in 19 games, a mark that was 19th in the league. Worcester had 15 multi-hit games, including a stretch in May where he had three hits in three-straight games. He is the second player from his team to be named OVC Freshman of the Year, joining Brant Valach in 2012.
Lipscomb and Bean were two of the 14 first-team All-OVC selections that included five seniors, four juniors and five sophomores from eight different teams. The duo was joined by Morehead State sophomore first baseman
Jackson Feltner (.390, 82 hits, 16 HR, 51 RBI), last year's OVC Freshman of the Year who was the only repeat first-team selection this year. The first-team infield also included Austin Peay senior
Jack Alexander (.348, 71 hits, 19 doubles, 13 HR, 54 RBI, .998 fielding percentage), Morehead State sophomore second baseman
Nick Gooden (.341, 63 hits, 33 RBI), Southeast Missouri senior shortstop
Tyler Wilber (.321, 69 hits, 14 doubles, 16 HR, 68 RBI) and Murray State third baseman
Bryson Bloomer (.286, 61 hits, 12 doubles, 66 RBI). Wilber was also a first-team selection in 2019 and a second-team pick last year, while Bloomer was a second-team pick a year ago. The outfield also included a pair of sluggers in SIUE junior
Brett Johnson (.352, 70 hits, 58 runs, 23 HR, 66 RBI) and Tennessee Tech senior
Jason Hinchman (.373, 79 hits, 51 runs, 22 HR, 66 RBI). The duo combined for 45 home runs this season and rank eighth and ninth in OVC single-season history for home runs. Also on the team was SIUE junior designated hitter
Brady Bunten (.307, 59 hits, 45 runs, 11 HR, 37 RBI) and Eastern Illinois utility player
Ryan Ignoffo (.398, 72 hits, 38 runs, 16 doubles, 14 HR, 57 RBI). Joining Bean as starting pitchers were Murray State junior lefty
Hayden Wynja (7-3, 3.47 E.R.A., 81 K's) and SIUE senior
Kaid Karnes (6-4, 2.64 E.R.A., 67 K's), while Eastern Illinois sophomore
Hayden Birdsong (5-3, 3.00 E.R.A., 63 K's) was the first-team relief pitcher.
The second-team included 17 players due to ties in voting and was made up of two graduate students, four seniors, five juniors and six sophomores. Included were three players who had previously earned All-Freshman honors in their careers in Belmont senior reliever
Kyle Brennan (14 saves which ranked second nationally, 28 appearances, 31 K's), Southeast Missouri sophomore reliever
Kyle Miller (8-4, 3.00 E.R.A., 45 K's, .216 opponent batting average) and Murray State utility player
Jacob Pennington (.290, 47 hits, 24 RBI; 3-1 record, 4.80 E.R.A., 44 K's). The infield included Southeast Missouri junior catcher
Andrew Keck (.335, 68 hits, 14 HR, 59 RBI, 11 SBs), Belmont sophomore first baseman
Brodey Heaton (.311, 71 hits, 16 doubles, 13 HR, 57 RBI), SIUE sophomore first baseman
Brennan Orf (.357, 45 hits, 43 runs, 10 HR, 39 RBI), Eastern Illinois senior second baseman
Lucas DiLuca (.317, 63 hits, 13 doubles, 35 RBI), Tennessee Tech junior shortstop
Ed Johnson (.366, 86 hits, 56 runs, 12 doubles, 11 HR, 49 RBI) and Tennessee Tech junior third baseman
Gabe Lacy (.327, 71 hits, 47 runs, 12 doubles, 11 HR). The second-team outfield included Southeast Missouri junior
Brett Graber (.342, 67 hits, 42 RBI, 11 SBs), Morehead State graduate student
Alex Jacobs (.364, 72 hits, 38 RBI, school record streak of 51 consecutive games reaching base) and Tennessee Tech junior
Ryan Guardino (.337, 56 hits, 34 runs, 15 HR, 41 RBI). Also included were Morehead State sophomore designated hitter
Roman Kuntz (.348, 54 HITS, 9 HR, 34 RBI) and Austin Peay senior utility player
Gino Avros (.308, 66 hits, 51 runs, 24 doubles, 32 RBI). In addition to Brennan and Miller, the second-team pitching staff included Morehead State graduate
John Bakke (4-3, 3.63 E.R.A., 8 saves, 67 K's in 57.0 IP), Southeast Missouri senior
Jason Rackers (5-3, 4.60 E.R.A., 68 K's), Belmont sophomore
Jalen Borders (5-2, 3.21 E.R.A., 57 K's).
Seven of the nine OVC baseball squads had at least one representative on the All-Freshman Team, which was awarded for the 16th time in 2022. The 14-member team was highlighted by Worcester, the OVC Freshman of the Year. The team also included Austin Peay pitcher
Jacob Weaver, outfielder
Nathan Barksdale and infielder
TJ Rogers; Belmont pitchers
Jordan Zuger,
Ethan Harden and
Caleb Guisewite and catcher
Blake Barton; Eastern Illinois pitcher
Tyler Conklin; Murray State outfielder
Carson Garner; Southeast Missouri pitchers
Ethan Osborne and
Anthony Klein; Tennessee Tech outfielder
Jackson Green; and UT Martin designated hitter
Blaze Bell.
2022 All-OVC Teams and Award Winners
OVC Player of the Year: Guy Lipscomb (OF), Belmont
OVC Pitcher of the Year: Andy Bean (LHP), Belmont
OVC Freshman of the Year: Chris Worcester (SS), Eastern Illinois
OVC Coach of the Year: Dave Jarvis, Belmont
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
C - Jack Alexander, Austin Peay
1B - Jackson Feltner, Morehead State
2B - Nick Gooden, Morehead State
SS - Tyler Wilber, Southeast Missouri
3B - Bryson Bloomer, Murray State
OF - Guy Lipscomb, Belmont
OF - Jason Hinchman, Tennessee Tech
OF - Brett Johnson, SIUE
DH - Brady Bunten, SIUE
UT - Ryan Ignoffo, Eastern Illinois
SP - Andy Bean, Belmont
SP - Hayden Wynja, Murray State
SP - Kaid Karnes, SIUE
RP - Hayden Birdsong, Eastern Illinois
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
C - Andrew Keck, Southeast Missouri
1B - Brodey Heaton, Belmont
1B - Brennan Orf, SIUE
2B - Lucas DiLuca, Eastern Illinois
SS - Ed Johnson, Tennessee Tech
3B - Gabe Lacy, Tennessee Tech
OF - Brett Graber, Southeast Missouri
OF - Alex Jacobs, Morehead State
OF - Ryan Guardino, Tennessee Tech
DH - Roman Kuntz, Morehead State
UT - Gino Avros, Austin Peay
UT - Jacob Pennington, Murray State
SP - John Bakke, Morehead State
SP Jason Rackers, Southeast Missouri
SP Jalen Borders, Belmont
RP Kyle Brennan, Belmont
RP Kyle Miller, Southeast Missouri
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
RHP - Jacob Weaver, Austin Peay
OF - Nathan Barksdale, Austin Peay
2B/SS - TJ Rogers, Austin Peay
RHP - Jordan Zuger, Belmont
LHP - Ethan Harden, Belmont
C - Blake Barton, Belmont
RHP - Caleb Guisewite, Belmont
SS - Chris Worcester, Eastern Illinois
RHP - Tyler Conklin, Eastern Illinois
OF - Carson Garner, Murray State
LHP - Ethan Osborne, Southeast Missouri
RHP - Anthony Klein, Southeast Missouri
OF - Jackson Green, Tennessee Tech
DH - Blaze Bell, UT Martin
***Note: There are 2 1B's, 2 UTIL and 2 RP's on the second-team and 14 All-Freshmen due to ties in voting.