BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Belmont has been picked as the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors.
In additional voting, Tennessee Tech junior outfielder Jason Hinchman was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year while Belmont junior pitcher Joshua South was tabbed OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight season.
Belmont picked up 14 of the 22 first-place votes to tally 188 points. Jacksonville State received seven first-place votes and was tabbed second (176) and followed by Murray State (136) and Austin Peay (132). Southeast Missouri picked up the other first-place vote (and 131 total points) in being picked fifth. Eastern Kentucky (117) was tabbed sixth and followed by SIUE (78),Eastern Illinois (73), Morehead State (67), Tennessee Tech (66) and UT Martin (45).
In all 16 players were selected to the Preseason All-OVC team. The 16 players represented 10 of the 11 teams who will compete for the OVC championship this season. Murray State led the way with three selections apiece.
This marks the first time Belmont has been selected as the OVC preseason favorite since joining the league prior to the 2013 season. The Bruins were 14-3 with an eight-game winning streak when the 2020 season ended abruptly last March. The team had five walk-off wins to that point of the season. This season the team’s rotation will be anchored by South, the OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. A season ago he finished in the top 10 spot in six statistical categories in the OVC, including ERA (2.42), strikeouts (26) and runs allowed (7). South also held a 2-0 record in 2020 in 26 innings of work. Also back is junior closer Kyle Brennan who was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List a year ago as he climbed into a tie for seventh on the program’s all-time career saves list (14). Behind the plate junior Jackson Campbell returns after smashing six home runs a season ago. He earned Preseason All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Jacksonville State was the last team to claim the OVC Tournament Championship, winning the 2019 title, its fifth tournament crown. Among the returning players for the Gamecocks is senior catcher Alex Webb, who was a Preseason All-OVC selection. In 2019 he drove in a team-best 57 RBI while starting 58 of 61 games. A year ago he drove in 13 runs in 15 games. Also back is outfielder Tre Kirklin who led JSU in hitting a season ago (.328). The Gamecocks have a deep pitching staff which includes reliever Corley Woods, who came out of the bullpen seven times last season, netting a 1.06 E.R.A. and a save in 17 innings; the year prior he had a 2.27 E.R.A. in 43.2 innings pitched. Also back is Christian Edwards (who had seven saves in 2019) along with starter Isaiah Magwood.
Murray State won 10 of its final 13 games last year, including winning the opening series of Conference play, before the season was postponed. This season the team returns redshirt senior Jordan Cozart, who was named a third-team All-American in 2020 after slugging .750 with a .417 batting average, five home runs and 19 RBI in 16 games. He was selected to this year’s Preseason All-OVC team, along with senior outfielder Brock Anderson. Anderson led MSU in home runs (8) and RBI (23) a season ago. Last season the Racers had the second-best team E.R.A. in the league (3.53) behind the strength of returning starters Sam Gardnerand Shane Burns. Gardner was 3-0 with 1.47 E.R.A. while striking out 18 in 18.1 innings, while Burns, a Preseason All-OVC pick, had a 2.60 E.R.A. and 24 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work.
Austin Peay was a wealth of returning players from a team that was 19-11 in OVC play in 2019 and who won seven games prior to the season being suspended last year. Among the returners is sophomore outfielder Garrett Spain who was named 2019 OVC Freshman of the Year after hitting .333 with 52 RBI. A year ago he hit .274 with a team-best four home runs and a .597 slugging percentage. Also back is third baseman Gino Avros who led the team with a .373 average in 17 starts.
Southeast Missouri returns junior shortstop Tyler Wilber who hit an impressive .406 with 26 runs scored, three home runs and 12 RBI in 17 games last year. That came a year after he led the Redhawks with a .383 batting average in 55 games; that batting average ranked him first in the OVC and 23rd nationally. Also back is utility player Andrew Keck who hit .400 in 17 games last season. On the mound the team will look to the one-two punch of senior Dylan Dodd and sophomore Noah Niznik. Dodd was 2-1 with a team-best 3.38 E.R.A. last season, including striking out a season-high 15 in a complete game shutout victory over Ohio. Niznik led the team with a 3.63 E.R.A. in 2019 and was 3-0 with a 3.52 E.R.A. in four starts in 2020.
Chris Prothro begins his first season as head coach at Eastern Kentucky, taking over the job this past September. He came to EKU after most recently serving as an assistant coach at South Alabama. Among the players he inherited is junior second baseman Daniel Harris IV who was ninth nationally last season with a .460 batting average, 16 RBI, a .680 slugging percentage and .541 on-base percentage. That performance earned him All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball after the season. He is joined in the infield by sophomore Logan Thomason who hit .362 with 13 RBI in 14 games in 2020. Among the Colonels returning pitchers is junior Louis Davenport III, who was 2-0 in five total appearances in 2020.
This season fifth-year SIUE head coach Sean Lyons will look towards his pitching staff to help bolster the Cougars team. Among his returning players is junior Collin Baumgartner who was selected to the Preseason All-OVC Team. A year ago he recorded a 3.05 E.R.A. in 20.2 innings of work. That came a season after striking out a team-best 82 batters. In the bullpen senior Braydon Bone is back after not allowing a run in six appearances in 2020; he had two saves in his time on the mound. Also back is redshirt freshman utility player Brett Pierson who led the team with a .340 batting average in 15 games last season.
Eastern Illinois ended the 220 season with four-straight wins before the season was cut short. For the second-straight season senior infielder Christian Pena was named to the Preseason All-OVC team. In 2019 he 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. Last year he was second on the team with 13 hits. Shortshop Trey Sweeney led the team with a .351 batting average and 13 RBI in 14 games; those numbers earned him Preseason All-American honors from Perfect Game. On the mound senior Alex Stevenson had five saves and a 1.61 E.R.A. in 2019 and followed that with two saves and a 2.25 E.R.A. a season ago.
Morehead State was represented on the Preseason All-OVC team by senior third baseman Stephen Hill who led the team in batting (.294), slugging (.510) and on-base percentage (.448) last season. Second-year head coach Mik Aoki also returns designated hitter Jon Burghardt and second baseman Bryce Hensor. On the mound senior Jake Ziegelmeyer compiled eight saves in 23 appearances in 2019 and appeared in seven of the team’s 15 contests in 2020 (notching two saves and striking out 13 in 10.1 innings of work).
Tennessee Tech will begin the second season under head coach Steve Smith, who has nearly 750 career victories after 21 years at his alma mater Baylor. The Golden Eagles return Hinchman, the OVC Preseason Player of the Year, to bolster the offense. Already named a Preseason All-American, Hinchman is moving from first base to the outfield this season. In 2019 he 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. He picked up where he left off last season, hitting .414 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 58 at-bats. Also back is redshirt freshman infielder Brett Roberts who hit .290 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 15 games in 2020.
Ryan Jenkins begins his fourth season as head coach at UT Martin. The Skyhawks return 35 players (19 position players, 16 pitchers) and boasts a dozen newcomers this spring. Among the returning players is designated hitter Christian Hall, who hit .368 with a .465 on-base percentage in earned Freshman All-American honors last season. Wil LaFollette also earned Freshman All-American honors after slugging .500 and driving in 13 runs. UTM also bolsters closer Nick Wohlbold who earned first-team All-OVC honors in 2019 after leading the OVC with 13 saves (seventh-most in league history) and finished the season with a 3.09 E.R.A.
The 73rd season of OVC baseball will get underway on Friday, February 19 with the first weekend of league play being held March 12-13. As a cost saving measure for this season only, OVC teams will play three-game league series over two days instead of the traditional three games over three days. This year’s OVC Tournament will feature the top four teams squaring off in a double elimination bracket May 27-29. The site of this year’s championship is to be determined.
2021 OVC Baseball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Belmont (14 first-place votes) – 188 points
2. Jacksonville State (7) – 176
3. Murray State – 136
4. Austin Peay – 132
5. Southeast Missouri (1) – 131
6. Eastern Kentucky – 117
7. SIUE – 78
8. Eastern Illinois – 73
9. Morehead State – 67
10. Tennessee Tech – 66
11. UT Martin – 45
2021 OVC Baseball All-OVC Preseason Team
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Jason Hinchman (OF), Tennessee Tech
Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year: Joshua South (RHP), Belmont
C – Alex Webb, Jacksonville State
1B – John McDonald, Austin Peay
2B – Daniel Harris IV, Eastern Kentucky
2B – Jordan Cozart, Murray State
SS – Tyler Wilber, Southeast Missouri
3B – Stephen Hill, Morehead State
OF – Jason Hinchman, Tennessee Tech
OF – Brock Anderson, Murray State
OF – Garrett Spain, Austin Peay
DH – Jon Burghardt, Morehead State
UT – Christian Pena, Eastern Illinois
SP – Joshua South, Belmont
SP – Dylan Dodd, Southeast Missouri
SP – Collin Baumgartner, SIUE
SP – Shane Burns, Murray State
RP – Kyle Brennan, Belmont
