EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball is predicted to finish eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference as announced by the OVC Thursday. The Screaming Eagles received 52 points from the league’s coaches and communications directors.
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Leading the voting was the University of Arkansas at Little Rock who accumulated 12 first-place votes while Morehead State University received eight top votes to finish in second. Southeast Missouri State University earned the third most votes while the University of Tennessee at Martin and reigning OVC Champion, Eastern Illinois University, go fourth and fifth, respectively. Rounding out the ten teams are Tennessee Tech University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USI, Lindenwood University, and Western Illinois University.
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The Eagles finished the 2023 campaign with a 17-38 overall record while going 8-15 in conference play. USI returns to 2024 with hopes of returning to the OVC Championship after falling in the first round to eventual champion, EIU, 5-4. This year’s championship will return to Marion Stadium in Marion, Illinois, May 22-25 where the top eight teams will compete for a title.
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Making a key return to the squad is senior infielder Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) who led USI in hitting with a .321 average, 53 RBIs, and 12 home runs. Also looking to make a big jump in 2024 is senior outfielder Ren Tachioka (Saitama, Japan) who swiped a team-leading 15 bags last season and produced a .296 average off 61 hits and a team-high three triples.
For more information, visit our website at USIScreamingEagles.com or find us on social media at USIAthletics.
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2024 OVC Baseball Predicted Order of Finish
 1. Little Rock (12 first-place votes) – 155
 2. Morehead State (8) – 148
 3. Southeast Missouri – 127
 4. UT Martin – 106
 5. Eastern Illinois – 100
 6. Tennessee Tech – 93
 7. SIUE – 67
 8. Southern Indiana – 52
 9. Lindenwood – 31
 10. Western Illinois – 20
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2024 All-OVC Preseason Baseball Team
Preseason OVC Player of the Year:Â Ryley Preece (OF), Morehead State
Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year:Â Jackson Wells (RHP), Little Rock
C Hayden Gilliland, Tennessee Tech *
C Grant Lashure, Eastern Illinois $
1B Blaze Bell, UT Martin $
2B Skyler Trevino, Little Rock *
2B Nick Gooden, Morehead State $
SS Andrew Fernandez, UT Martin *
SS Colton Becker, Morehead State $
3B Nico Baumbach, Little Rock *
3B Mac Danford, UT Martin $
OF Ryley Preece, Morehead State *
OF Tyler Williams, Little Rock *
OF Josh Cameron, Southeast Missouri $
DH Roman Kuntz, Morehead State *
SP Jackson Wells, Little Rock *
SP Luke Helton, Morehead State $
SP Haden Dow, Southeast Missouri $
RP Zane Robbins, Eastern Illinois *
RP Zach Wager, UT Martin $
* All-OVC First-Team Selection in 2023
$ All-OVC Second-Team Selection in 2023
