CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Mercer University junior Kyle Lewis was one of 17 players named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-America First Team, while Samford sophomore Austin Edens earned a spot on the third team, the organization announced Monday.
Lewis had a breakout season in 2015, filling his mantle with a host of national and league honors. The 6-foot-4 center fielder became the first player in program history to take home the prestigious Gregg Olson Breakout Player of the Year Award, while also garnering second-team All-America recognition from multiple publications to go along with his SoCon Player of the Year accolades. He carried that momentum to the summer, participating in the TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby on ESPN and earning a bid to the Cape Cod League All-Star Game.
The Snellville, Ga., product fell just shy of the SoCon triple crown last season, topping the conference in batting average (.367) and home runs (17) while finishing fifth in RBIs (56) on his way to the league's Player of the Year honors. He also led the SoCon in slugging percentage and total bases in 2015, while posting 28 multiple-hit performances and 15 multiple-RBI efforts.
Mercer opens its 2016 season in just over a month, as the Bears kick off the new campaign with a three-game series against 2015 NCAA Regional participant Radford at Claude Smith Field on Feb. 19-21.
Samford’s Edens was one of just 54 players in the nation to garner the prestigious preseason honor Monday, including one of only 12 sophomores. In 2015, Samford’s designated hitter, who will play first base this season, batted .357 and accumulated 16 home runs, 54 RBIs, 76 hits, 48 runs scored and a .662 slugging percentage.
Edens’ slugging percentage was the third-best among all 54 Preseason All-Americans, trailing only Wake Forest designated hitter Will Craig (.702) and Mercer’s Lewis (.677).
Following the 2015 campaign, Edens earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors and was also named to the All-SoCon First Team in the league’s postseason accolades.
Edens was the second Bulldog to earn Preseason All-America honors in 2016. Earlier this year, junior Heath Quinn continued to build his impressive national résumé as Samford’s standout right fielder earned second-team preseason All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
Quinn, Samford’s native of Birmingham and star prospect from Oak Mountain High School, concluded his outstanding sophomore campaign with a .340 batting average, 56 RBIs and 14 home runs. He also led the team with 81 hits and added 57 runs scored. Not to be ignored on the base paths, Quinn finished 8-of-9 in stolen base attempts.
Edens, Quinn and the Samford University baseball team will begin play in its 2016 campaign on Feb. 19, as the Bulldogs begin a nine-game, season-opening homestand against the Butler Bulldogs at 4 p.m. (CST) at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford will open the year with consecutive four-game home series against Butler and BYU before played host to crosstown rival UAB on March 1.