EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville graduate first baseman Chase Hug (Indianapolis, Ind./Olney Central/Pike HS) was named on Tuesday to the preseason all-Missouri Valley Conference baseball team at first base in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Hug, who recently was ranked as the nation’s 29th-best first baseman by D1Baseball.com entering the 2024 season, earned preseason all-Valley honors after capturing first-team all-MVC honors a season ago for the Purple Aces. Hug led UE with a team-best .311 average in 2023 with 15 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs, 48 RBI and 51 runs scored. He was also named to the MVC’s All-Defensive Team and MVC All-Tournament team a year ago for the Purple Aces.
As a team, Evansville was predicted to finish third in a closely-contested preseason poll. Indiana State, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament Super Regional round last year, was predicted to finish first in the preseason poll with 95 points and eight first-place votes, with both Missouri State (89 points) and Evansville (81 points) finishing close behind, with each school receiving a first-place vote. Evansville returns seven position starters from a year ago, with five of them earning all-MVC honors at some point in their UE career, and 10 pitchers, including 2022 MVC Pitcher of the Year Nick Smith. Evansville posted a 37-24 overall record in 2023 and advanced to the MVC Tournament final against Indiana State.
Season tickets for UE baseball are currently on sale. Tickets can be purchased by phone by calling the UE Athletic Ticket Office at 812-488-2623. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at GoPurpleAces.com/Tickets through HomeTown Ticketing.
The 2024 UE baseball season will kick off on Friday, February 16 at 2023 College World Series participant Oral Roberts.
