Three Keydets Named to SoCon Baseball Pre-Season Team

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Three Keydets were named Thursday to the 2022 Southern Conference pre-season team, selected by the league’s coaches.

Red-shirt sophomore first baseman Justin Starke was named to the first team, while red-shirt junior outfielder Will Knight and red-shirt sophomore pitcher Tyler Bradt are on the second-team.

Starke earned first-team 2021 VaSID All-State University Division accolades and was the SoCon’s Freshman of the Year. He paced the Keydets with a .422 batting average, a .525 on base percentage and a .602 slugging percentage. Starke ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in batting average and sixth in on-base percentage and led the conference in both categories. He finished the season by reaching base safely in the last 24 straight-games, including a 13-game hitting streak.

Knight, playing right field, had a .290 batting average in 2021 with a .397 on-base percentage and .449 slugging percentage. He scored 32 times and tied for the team-high with 29 RBI. Knight hit five doubles, a triple and a team-high seven home runs. Bradt, a right-hander, took over as the third weekend starter in the mid-season of 2021. He led the team with a 3.20 ERA in 17 games with six starts to earn SoCon All-Freshman Team honors.

Wofford College was selected as the top team in both the coaches and media polls, with Mercer University in second. VMI was picked to finish seventh.

The 2022 baseball opening weekend begins on Feb. 18 with all eight teams in action. The regular season ends the weekend of May 21, before the 2022 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases takes place at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina, from May 24-29.

 

Preseason Coaches Poll

Team (First-Place Votes)      Points

1. Wofford (6)                         48

2. Mercer (1)                          40

3. Western Carolina (1)          39

4. ETSU                                  28

5. UNCG                                 25

6. Samford                             19

7. VMI                                     16

8. The Citadel                         9

 

Preseason Media Poll

Team (First-Place Votes)      Points

1. Wofford (8)                         127

2. Mercer (3)                          113

3. Samford (4)                        100

4. Western Carolina (2)           87

5. ETSU                                  74

6. UNCG                                 54

7. VMI                                     37

8. The Citadel                         20

 

 

2022 Preseason All-Southern Conference

 

Preseason Player of the Year

Pascanel Ferreras, So., SS, Western Carolina

 

Preseason Pitcher of the Year

Colby Stuart, Sr., ETSU

 

Preseason First-Team All-SoCon

SP     Colby Stuart, Sr., ETSU

SP     Zebby Matthews, Jr., Western Carolina

RP     Dalton Rhadans, Sr., Wofford

C       Lawson Hill, Sr., Wofford

1B     Justin Starke, R-So., VMI

2B     Will Prater, Sr., Western Carolina

SS      Pascanel Ferreras, So., Western Carolina

3B     Will David, Jr., Samford

OF     Ryan McCarthy, Grad., The Citadel

OF     Bill Knight, Jr., Mercer

OF     Nolen Hester, Sr., Wofford

DH    Bryce Hodge, Sr., ETSU 

Preseason Second-Team All-SoCon

SP     Austin Parsley, Sr., UNCG

SP     Tyler Bradt, R-So., VMI

RP     Luke Sutko, Sr., Mercer

C       Kaden Dreier, Jr., Samford

1B     Angelo DiSpigna, Jr., Mercer

2B     Hogan Windish, Jr., UNCG

SS      Ashton King, Jr., ETSU

3B     David Burke, So., Mercer

OF     Colby Thomas, So., Mercer

OF     Will Knight, R-Jr., VMI

OF     Trey Yunger, Jr., Wofford

DH    Daniel Walsh, Sr., Western Carolina