Southland Announces Preseason All-Conference Baseball Teams
FRISCO,
Texas - Texas State senior first baseman Casey Kalenkosky, a Louisville Slugger
Preseason All-American, and Central Arkansas sophomore outfielder Jonathan
Davis, last year's Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, are among the 13
returning players on the 2012 preseason all-conference teams, the league office
announced Thursday.
A
third-team preseason All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper,
Kalenkosky ranked sixth in the nation and set a Texas State single-season
record with 21 home runs last year in his first season at Texas State.
Kalenkosky, who earned first-team all-conference accolades and was the most
outstanding player of the Southland Conference tournament, also led the team
with 17 doubles and 69 RBI while posting a .327 batting average, 59 runs scored
and six stolen bases. He hit .458 with three home runs, nine RBI and scored
five runs during the Bobcats six-game run to their first tournament title since
2000. The American Baseball Coaches Association named Kalenkosky, the 13th-round
draft pick of the Washington Nationals, a third-team All-America selection
following the season.
Davis
is the lone returning player to garner one of the conference's major individual
awards. The 2011 conference freshman of the year led Central Arkansas and
ranked fifth in the Southland with a .350 batting average and 21 stolen bases.
Last season, the second-team all-conference outfielder and Louisville Slugger
Freshman All-American ranked 37th in the nation in stolen bases per game and
led team with 43 runs scored, a .522 slugging percentage and a .441 on-base
percentage and tied for lead with five home runs. Davis is a first-team
preseason all-conference honoree.
Texas
State, the three-time defending regular-season champion, leads all teams with
six preseason all-conference honorees. Kalenkosky was joined on the first team
by senior second baseman Tyler Sibley, the conference's baseball
student-athlete of the year; senior outfielder Jeff McVaney; junior left-handed
pitcher Colton Turner; and senior right-handed pitcher Mitchell Pitts. Junior
catcher Andrew Stumph earned second-team preseason honors. Kalenkosky, Sibley
and McVaney were returning all-conference picks.
Sibley,
who was a first-team all-conference pick after the 2011 season, had a 30-game
hit streak to begin the 2011 season and finished with a .340 batting average,
six home runs, 12 doubles, three triples, 62 runs scored, 37 RBI and 20 stolen
bases. His 62 runs scored and 20 stolen bases were both the fourth most in a
single season at Texas State. In addition to being named the conference's
baseball student-athlete of the year, he earned second-team CoSIDA Academic
All-America accolades after earning first-team all-district honors.
McVaney
hit .319 in 238 at-bats while scoring 53 runs and 47 RBI on his way to
second-team all-conference honors in 2011. The second-team CoSIDA Academic
All-District selection slugged .500 with the second highest on-base percentage
(.428) on the team. McVaney also appeared in 17 games as a relief pitcher, recording
a Texas State record nine saves to go along with a 1-3 record and 2.08 ERA in
26 innings as the team's closer. He is on the 2012 preseason watch list for the
NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award.
Turner
finished with a team-best 9-2 record on his way to honorable mention
all-conference honors last year in his first season as a starter. In 87.1
innings pitched, he had a 4.33 ERA with 72 strikeouts. Pitts compiled a 6-3
record with a 3.66 ERA in 16 starts and finished second on the team with 72
strikeouts and 105.2 innings. Stumph, a second-team all-conference selection
after the 2011 season, made 60 starts as the team's primary catcher while also
occasionally serving as a designated hitter. He finished the season with a .307
batting average, five home runs, 43 RBI and scored 35 runs.
Stephen
F. Austin and UTSA each had three players earn preseason all-conference honors,
while McNeese State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State and Southeastern
Louisiana each had two selections. Central Arkansas, Lamar, Sam Houston State
and UT Arlington had one each.
Other
returning all-conference selections named to the first team include Davis, UTSA
third baseman Ryan Dalton, Stephen F. Austin catcher Jarid Scarafiotti, McNeese
outfielder Seth Granger and Nicholls State designated hitter Jeremy Hill and
pitcher Seth Webster.
Dalton
earned third-team all-conference last season when posted team highs in home
runs (10) and RBI (49) as a sophomore. He also hit .280 with seven doubles,
three triples and three stolen bases while scoring 30 runs. He tied for the
team high with three multi-home run contests.
Scarafiotti
was a first-team all-conference and first-team all-academic selection last year
after he finished second for the Lumberjacks in hitting with a .350 batting average.
He finished the year with eight doubles one triple, five home runs and 45 RBI
in splitting time between catcher, designated hitter and first base.
Granger,
a second-team all-conference pick in 2011, led McNeese State in hitting last
year with a .372 average and also led the squad with 55 RBI and 84 base hits.
He also was named to the conference's all-academic team, earning first-team
honors.
Hill
was a second-team selection last year as the designated hitter after starting
57 games for Nicholls State in 2011. He hit .302 with 68 hits, 10 doubles, one
home run to go with 38 RBI and 30 runs scored.
Webster
was a first-team all-conference selection in 2011, when he compiled a 7-3
record, and ranked second in the Southland Conference with a 2.30 ERA. He tossed
seven complete games to go along with two complete-game shutouts. Webster
struck out 69 batters and walked 20 in his 109.1 innings.
Returning
players who earned first- and second-team all-conference honors following the
2011 season automatically receive preseason honors. Third-team postseason
selections move into vacated positions on the first and second preseason teams.
The remaining spots are voted on by the league's head coaches.
2012
Preseason All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams
|
First Team
|
|
Pos.
|
Name
|
University
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
|
1B
|
Casey
Kalenkosky*1
|
Texas
State
|
Sr.
|
San
Antonio, Texas
|
|
2B
|
Tyler
Sibley*
|
Texas
State
|
Sr.
|
Frisco,
Texas
|
|
3B
|
Ryan
Dalton*
|
UTSA
|
Jr.
|
Sugar
Land, Texas
|
|
SS
|
Ryan
Walker
|
UT
Arlington
|
So.
|
Arlington,
Texas
|
|
C
|
Jarid
Scarafiotti*
|
Stephen
F. Austin
|
Sr.
|
Shreveport,
La.
|
|
OF
|
Jonathan
Davis*
|
Central
Arkansas
|
So.
|
Camden,
Ark.
|
|
OF
|
Seth
Granger*
|
McNeese
State
|
Sr.
|
Iowa,
La.
|
|
OF
|
Jeff
McVaney*
|
Texas
State
|
Sr.
|
Houston,
Texas
|
|
DH
|
Jeremy
Hill*
|
Nicholls
State
|
Sr.
|
Long
Beach, Miss.
|
|
P
|
Seth
Webster*
|
Nicholls
State
|
Sr.
|
Delville,
La.
|
|
P
|
Colton
Turner
|
Texas
State
|
Jr.
|
Joshua,
Texas
|
|
P
|
Mitchell
Pitts
|
Texas
State
|
Sr.
|
Highland
Village, Texas
|
|
|
|
Second Team
|
|
Pos.
|
Name
|
University
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
|
1B
|
Jonathan
Pace
|
Southeastern
La.
|
Sr.
|
Terry,
Miss.
|
|
2B
|
Brock
Hebert*
|
Southeastern
La.
|
Jr.
|
Bourg,
La.
|
|
3B
|
Renny
Weber
|
McNeese
State
|
Sr.
|
Norco,
La.
|
|
SS
|
Hunter
Dozier
|
Stephen
F. Austin
|
So.
|
Denton,
Texas
|
|
C
|
Andrew
Stumph*
|
Texas
State
|
Jr.
|
Katy,
Texas
|
|
OF
|
Colin
Bear*
|
Northwestern
State
|
Sr.
|
Houston,
Texas
|
|
OF
|
Jeff
Abt*
|
Lamar
|
Sr.
|
Houston,
Texas
|
|
OF
|
Riley
Good
|
UTSA
|
So.
|
Godley,
Texas
|
|
DH
|
Bobby
Loveless
|
Stephen
F. Austin
|
Sr.
|
Friendswood,
Texas
|
|
P
|
Casey
Selsor
|
UTSA
|
Sr.
|
San
Antonio, Texas
|
|
P
|
Caleb
Smith
|
Sam
Houston State
|
So.
|
Huntsville,
Texas
|
|
P
|
Joe
Scanio
|
Northwestern
State
|
Sr.
|
St.
Louis, Mo.
|
*Returning all-conference selection;
1Preseason
third-team All-America selection by Louisville Slugger