Dec. 16, 2009

Courtesy of NCBWA

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With just one returning first team position player and two pitchers (one starter, one relief ace) returning from the 2009 postseason team, the 10th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pro-Line Athletic Preseason All-America team has a large crop of rising stars on next spring’s baseball horizon.

Familiar faces, including utility player Bryce Brentz (whose father Charlie was a running back for some of Mississippi State’s top football teams in the early 1980s) of Middle Tennessee, starting pitcher Deck McGuire of Georgia Tech and 2009 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Addison Reed of San Diego State grace the top preseason unit again and are joined by youngsters who propelled their 2009 teams to NCAA prominence.

Second team 2009 postseason selections from Virginia - OF Jarrett Parker and UTIL Danny Hultzen, helped the Cavaliers make their first trek to the NCAA World Series in Omaha last year, while LSU relief ace Matty Ott paced the Tigers to the national title with several clutch bullpen performances.

Third baseman Anthony Rendon of Rice helped the Owls advance to the ’09 NCAA Super Regionals and joins Louisiana Tech outfielder Devon Dageford, Cal State Fullerton ace starting pitcher Daniel Renken, Florida State starting pitcher Sean Gilmartin (the Atlantic Coast Conference 2009 Freshman Pitcher of the Year), and UC Irvine bullpen standout Eric Pettis on the 2010 preseason first team.

This stellar group of three teams includes 18 different Division I conferences and 39 different schools with some of the top balance among each unit in the decade of preseason choices. Several members of the successful 2008 and ’09 U.S. National teams compose these groups.

On the first team, Brentz (nation’s top returning hitter with a .465 average, 28 home runs, 73 RBIs; 5-3 pitching record with 15 starts and 88-plus innings worked), McGuire (11-2 record, 3.50 earned run average, 118 strikeouts in 100.1 frames) and Reed (0-0 record, 0.65 ERA, 25 appearances, 20 saves to lead DI, 27.2 innings, 38 strikeouts, for coach Tony Gwynn’s Aztecs) had nationally-renowned numbers.

Parker (.375-16 HR-60 RBIs) and the versatile Hultzen (.327-3 HR-37 RBIs; 9-1 pitching record, 2.17 ERA in 17 starts) are just a few of the top individuals from the 2009 NCAA World Series ranks on the preseason All-America squads.

LSU designated hitter Blake Dean (.328-17 HR-71 RBIs in a workhorse 72 games last summer) is the first unit designated hitter, while star righty Taylor Jungmann (11-3, 2.00 ERA, 101 strikeouts in 94-plus innings as a freshman) joins a solid staff of top team pitchers after his stellar freshman campaign.

Other starters besides McGuire and Jungmann are the talented Gilmartin (12-3, 3.49 ERA, 84 strikeouts), LSU ace Anthony Ranaudo (12-3, 3.04 ERA, 159 strikeouts in 124.1 innings), Arizona State’s Josh Spence (10-1, 2.37 ERA, 125 whiffs in just under 103 frames), and UC Irvine’s Daniel Bibona (12-1, 2.63 ERA, 108 strikeouts) while Reed’s No. 1 relief mates Ott (4-2, 2.68 ERA, 37 appearances, 16 saves) and Pettis (5-2, 3.86 ERA, 29 appearances, 17 saves) are keys again to their teams potential drives to the 2010 postseason.

Other first-team stalwarts on the preseason All-America listings are Western Kentucky catcher Matt Rice (.399-10 HR-72 RBIs), Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Florida first baseman Preston Tucker (.364-15 HR-85 RBIs), New Mexico State second baseman Mike Sodders (.422-13 HR-68 RBIs), ’09 Brooks Wallace Award finalist shortstop Christian Colon (.357-8 HR-40 RBIs) of Cal State Fullerton, and Florida State outfielder Tyler Holt (.401-5 HR-28 RBIs).

By points of comparison, the pitching talent pool is so deep on the NCBWA Pro-Line three units that the six first team starting performers had a composite record of 67-12, and the second unit starters each totaled 58-13 in the win-loss columns in 2009.

Most of these preseason standouts will be nominated for the 24th annual Dick Howser Trophy, presented by the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Area Chamber of Commerce and voted upon by the NCBWA membership. The Howser Trophy will be awarded at a national media setting in 2010 at a date and site to be determined.