A pair of Arkansas baseball sophomores garnered preseason All-SEC honors and the Diamond Hogs were selected to finish third in the SEC West by the league's coaches Thursday.
Second baseman Peyton Stovall and right-handed relief pitcher Brady Tygart were voted to the first team by the SEC's 14 head coaches. Arkansas is one of four teams with two first team honorees, joining Florida, Tennessee and LSU.
Stovall was voted a team captain after he slashed .295/.373/.425 with six home runs and 31 runs batted in 52 games last year as a true freshman. He took things to another level in the NCAA Tournament when he slashed a team-best .429/.451/.571 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 11 games.
The native of Haughton, Louisiana, also earned preseason Second Team All-American honors from D1Baseball.
Tygart, who was also named a preseason Second Team All-American by D1Baseball, was the Razorbacks’ relief ace for a good portion of the 2022 season as a true freshman. He earned a 3-4 record with a 3.82 ERA, 51 strikeouts, six multi-inning saves and a team-best eight total saves in 37.2 innings of work.
The Hernando, Mississippi, native limited opposing hitters to a .212 batting average, and he was named to the Freshman All-SEC Team, while also garnering Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game.
Arkansas was picked to finish third in the SEC West behind Texas A&M and LSU, who earned 11 first-place votes to win the SEC championship.
Below is the full preseason All-SEC teams voted on by the coaches, and the preseason coaches poll for both divisions.
2023 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
Eastern Division
1. Tennessee (12) – 90
2. Florida (2) – 79
3. Vanderbilt – 64
4. South Carolina – 51
5. Georgia – 48
6. Kentucky – 34
7. Missouri – 19
Western Division
1. LSU (12) – 88
2. Texas A&M (1) – 69
3. Arkansas – 68
4. Ole Miss (1) – 64
5. Alabama – 34
6. Auburn – 33
7. Mississippi State – 29
SEC Champion: LSU (11), Florida (1), Ole Miss (1), Texas A&M (1)
() – First place votes
Preseason First Team All-SEC
C: BT Riopelle, Florida
1B: Jack Moss, Texas A&M
2B: Peyton Stovall, Arkansas
3B: Luke Mann, Missouri
SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss
OF: Dylan Crews, LSU
OF: Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt
OF: Wyatt Langford, Florida
DH/UTL: Tommy White, LSU
SP: Chase Dollander, Tennessee
SP: Chase Burns, Tennessee
RP: Brady Tygart, Arkansas
Preseason Second Team All-SEC
C: Luke Hancock, Mississippi State
1B: Tre’ Morgan, LSU
2B: Ryan Targac, Texas A&M
3B: Trevor Werner, Texas A&M
SS: Maui Ahuna, Tennessee
OF: Connor Tate, Georgia
OF: Brett Minnich, Texas A&M
OF: Colton Ledbetter, Mississippi State
DH/UTL: Austin Bost, Texas A&M
SP: Carter Holton, Vanderbilt*
SP: Hurston Waldrep, Florida*
SP: Paul Skenes, LSU*
RP: Camden Sewell, Tennessee
*Ties
