By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Synonymous with the game of baseball, Perfect Game released its Ohio Valley Conference preview Tuesday morning, and with little surprise, a certain Tennessee Tech shortstop found his image at the top of the screen, earning yet another preseason honor.
Dylan Bosheers earned Perfect Game's Preseason OVC Player of the Year honor while also taking a spot on the Preseason All-Conference Team and being listed as the No. 2 prospect in the conference for the 2015 MLB Draft.
Joining Bosheers in the accolades from Perfect Game was freshman Chase Chambers, a first baseman from Knoxville, Tenn. Chambers was selected as the Preseason OVC Freshman of the Year based on a stellar prep career while at Farragut High School.
Also making an appearance in the preview was center fielder, Jake Rowland. The junior earned the No. 5 ranking among 2015 MLB Draft prospects from the league.
As a team, the Golden Eagles were selected to finish third in the conference, following just behind last year's regular season champion, Southeast Missouri, and last year's tournament champion, Jacksonville State.
The biggest name returning from last year's squad, Bosheers earned four All-American nods while also setting career-high marks in batting average (.368), runs scored (66), hits (86), home runs (11), RBI (56) and slugging percentage (.577) a season ago. For the second straight year, he was named one of 16 finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the top shortstop in Division I baseball.
A native of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Bosheers played spectacular defense on his way to being named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, making just nine errors all year for a fielding percentage of .965. He became the first Tennessee Tech player to be invited to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League, the premier wood-bat, summer league in all of collegiate baseball and earned his first All-OVC First Team honors after receiving Second Team accolades in 2013 and a spot on the All-Freshman team in 2012.
Bosheers already earned a multitude of preseason honors leading up to the 2015 season, including multiple All-America nods and several All-Conference and OVC Player of the Year accolades.
Tech will kick off the 2015 season on Friday, Feb. 13 in a 3 p.m. CST tilt against Longwood. The contest will feature free admission (as all Tech baseball game do) and take place at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex. The Golden Eagles will wrap up the series against Longwood with a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday and 1 p.m. match-up on Sunday.
To see the entire Perfect Game Ohio Valley Conference preview, click here.
Photo by Tony Marable
