SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford junior outfielder Phillip Ervin and Western Carolina senior right-handed pitcher Preston Hatcher were named to the Louisville Slugger third team Preseason All-America Team by Collegiate Baseball when the team was released on Friday.

As a sophomore in 2012, Ervin batted .330 with a team-high 18 doubles. He also hit nine home runs and drove in 45 runs, ranking third on the team in both categories. Ervin also led the team in stolen bases with 14 in 19 attempts.

Ervin had 23 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games last season. He also had a team-best 16-game hit streak during the season.

Ervin helped lead the Bulldogs to the best season in school history, winning a school-record 41 games and earning the program’s first-ever Southern Conference tournament title and first NCAA Championship bid.

During the summer, Ervin played for the Harwich Mariners in the prestigious Cape Cod League. Ervin was named the league’s Most Valuable Player after leading his team in batting with a .323 average, RBI with 31, runs scored with 29 and stolen bases with 10 in 12 attempts. He ranked second on the team in home runs with 11 and in doubles with five.

Ervin and the Bulldogs open the 2013 season on Feb. 15, when Samford plays host to Youngstown State. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start (CST) from Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Hatcher is the second Catamount in recent years to garner preseason accolades, joining former standout Ross Heffley.

Last season, Hatcher made both a team- and career-high 29 appearances, tossing 52.0 innings. He finished tied for the team lead with six victories (6-2) and was third in the SoCon with 10 saves – a mark which ranked tied for second in WCU’s single-season record books.

He recorded 55 strikeouts on the season, tallying at least one punch-out in all but three outings and at least three strikeouts nine times. Midway through the season, Hatcher was featured on the official watch list among 45 other pitchers for 2012 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award.

Among his appearances a season ago, Hatcher picked up the save in WCU’s win over eighth-ranked Georgia in Athens, striking out two in an inning and two thirds of hitless, scoreless relief. He additionally scored the victory over No. 24 Appalachian State with two strikeouts against the Mountaineers.

During the summer of 2012, Hatcher pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod League with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. He finished with 18 strikeouts against eight walks in 14 relief appearances.

Hatcher enters his senior season with a 4.74 collective ERA, tossing 108.1 combined innings through 55 career appearances with nine starts scattered over his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Western Carolina opens its 2013 season with a four-game homestand in mid-February, hosting Washington State and Wake Forest to begin play on Feb. 15.