Catawba Picked as South Atlantic Conference Baseball Preseason Favorite; Preseason All-Conference Teams Announced

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The Catawba College Indians have been picked as the 2021 South Atlantic Conference baseball preseason favorite for the ninth consecutive season, the league office announced today. The Catawba Indians received 12 first place votes from the conference's head baseball coaches and 156 total points.

Newberry was voted in at No. 2 with 141 total points, while Wingate earned the No. 3 spot with 137 points and one first place vote.

Carson-Newman placed fourth in the poll with 115 points, followed by Tusculum at No. 5 with 112 points and Lenoir-Rhyne at No. 6 with 100 points.

Lincoln Memorial earned the No. 7 slot with 91 points, while Anderson earned 72 points in eighth and Queens placed ninth with 71 points. Rounding out the preseason poll were Mars Hill at No. 10 with 52 points, Coker at No. 11 with 46 points, the newest member of the SAC, Limestone, at No. 12 with 41 points, and UVA Wise at No. 12 with 36 points.

In addition to the preseason coaches' poll, the SAC announced its 2021 Preseason All-Conference teams. Newberry's Tomas Sorcia Jr. and Josh Bookbinder along with Catawba's Brian Ketchie were named first team starting pitchers. Wingate's Hunter Dula was named the first team reliever and Anderson's Nick Vella was named to the first team as the designated hitter. 

UVA Wise backstop Tyler Blaum earned first team honors at catcher and Catawba's Hunter Shepherd was named first team first baseman. Daulton Martin of Tusculum was named first team at second base, with Lincoln Memorial's Tyler Adams earning first team honors at third base and Catawba's Jeremy Simpson was named the first team shortstop.

Rounding out the first team selections are Carson-Newman's Jordan Griffin and Tyler Thompson, along with Wingate's Jed Bryant in the outfield.

First pitch for the 2021 season will take place on Friday, February 5. For a full schedule of games visit www.thesac.com.

2021 SAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll

2021 SAC Baseball Preseason All-Conference

All-SAC First Team

OF – Jordan Griffin, Carson-Newman
OF – Tyler Thompson, Carson-Newman
OF – Jed Bryant, Wingate
1B – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
C – Tyler Blaum, UVA Wise
DH – Nick Vella, Anderson
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Tomas Sorcia, Jr., Newberry
SP – Josh Bookbinder, Newberry
RP – Hunter Dula, Wingate

All-SAC Second Team

OF – Zane Tarrance, Newberry
OF – E.J. Ranel, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Nick Butler, Newberry
1B – Noah Jones, Queens
2B – Dalton Lansdowne, Newberry
SS – Colin Allman, Newberry
3B – Jaden Steagall, Tusculum
C – Dalton Dedas, Lincoln Memorial
DH – Gabe Wurtz, UVA Wise
SP – David Nash, Wingate
SP – Alex Shirazi, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Sawyer Strickland, Catawba
RP – Ben Friebel, Lenoir-Rhyne

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