• 2024 OVC Baseball Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason Team (PDF) | SERVPRO Named Presenting Sponsor of Baseball Championship

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Little Rock has been picked as the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors.
 
In additional voting, Morehead State senior outfielder Ryley Preece and Little Rock junior right-hander Jackson Wells were tabbed OVC Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year. Each earned their respective Player of the Year award at the end of the 2023 season.
 
This season the OVC has 10 teams with the addition of Western Illinois, who became official members on July 1. In additional to WIU head coach Terry Davis, the league has two other new skippers in Lindenwood’s P.J. Finigan and Morehead State’s Brady Ward, both of whom were assistants with their respective program’s last year before taking the head coaching job this season.
 
The Trojans picked up 12 of 20 first-place votes and 155 points in being picked first, just ahead of Morehead State who received the other eight first-place votes and 148 points. Southeast Missouri was predicted third (127) and followed by UT Martin (106), defending tournament champion Eastern Illinois (100), Tennessee Tech (93), SIUE (67), Southern Indiana (52), Lindenwood (31) and Western Illinois (20).
 
Last season, its first year in the OVC, Little Rock compiled a 14-8 Conference record to finish second in the league standings. Overall the team won 31 games, the most under head coach Chris Curry, who enters his 10th year with the team in 2024. Morehead State was 16-7 in OVC play last year, winning the regular season race by 1.5 games. The Eagles have now finished in the top three of the league’s regular season standings for six-straight seasons. Last year Eastern Illinois won its third OVC Tournament Championship and first since 2008. EIU won two elimination games on the first day, then after a loss in the double elimination of the bracket, won three more elimination games to capture the championship. The No. 5 seeded Panthers were the lowest seed to win the championship since it went to a neutral site in 2001.
 
In total 18 players were named to the Preseason All-OVC team, all of whom were either first or second-team selections last year and were automatic picks for this year’s team. The 18 players came from six OVC teams with Morehead State leading the way with five selections and Little Rock and UT Martin having four apiece.
 
Preece led Morehead State to its first OVC regular season championship since 1985 and its first outright title since 1979 a year ago. In 56 games he hit .335 with 73 hits, 15 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs, 53 RBI, 21 stolen bases and a .739 slugging percentage. Nationally he ranked 14th in runs/game (1.30), 21st in slugging, 26th in triples (5), 29th in home runs and 40th in total bases (161).
 
Wells led all Division I players with a 1.65 E.R.A. over 93 innings pitched (15 games). In his first year in the OVC he compiled a 7-4 record with two complete games and 80 strikeouts. One of those complete games came during the OVC Tournament, where he limited Tennessee Tech to three hits and one run while throwing 117 pitches; that earned him a spot on the OVC All-Tournament Team.
 
The 76th season of OVC baseball will get underway on Friday, February 16 with the first weekend of league play being held March 22-24.
 
The 2024 OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO will feature the top eight teams squaring off at Marion Stadium in Marion, Illinois from May 22-25. This marks the second-straight year and third overall time the event has been held at the venue. SERVPRO was announced as “The Official Restoration Services Partner of the OVC” in November 2023, marking its first collaboration with a collegiate athletic conference.

2024 OVC Baseball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
1. Little Rock (12 first-place votes) - 155 points
2. Morehead State (8) - 148
3. Southeast Missouri - 127
4. UT Martin - 106
5. Eastern Illinois - 100
6. Tennessee Tech - 93                    
7. SIUE - 67
8. Southern Indiana - 52
9. Lindenwood - 31
10. Western Illinois - 20
 
2024 OVC Preseason Baseball Team
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Ryley Preece (OF), Morehead State
Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year: Jackson Wells (RHP), Little Rock
 
C - Hayden Gilliland, Tennessee Tech
C - Grant Lashure, Eastern Illinois
1B - Blaze Bell, UT Martin
2B - Skyler Trevino, Little Rock
2B - Nick Gooden, Morehead State
SS - Andrew Fernandez, UT Martin
SS - Colton Becker, Morehead State
3B - Nico Baumbach, Little Rock
3B - Mac Danford, UT Martin
OF - Ryley Preece, Morehead State
OF - Tyler Williams, Little Rock
OF - Josh Cameron, Southeast Missouri
DH - Roman Kuntz, Morehead State
SP - Jackson Wells, Little Rock
SP - Luke Helton, Morehead State
SP - Haden Dow, Southeast Missouri
RP - Zane Robbins, Eastern Illinois
RP - Zach Wager, UT Martin