By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech sophomore outfielder Kevin Strohschein picked up three more preseason honors as the beginning of the 2017 Golden Eagle baseball season approaches quicker than ever.
Already tabbed the Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches and SIDs, Strohschein was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year by D1Baseball.com and earned OVC Preseason Player of the Year honors from Perfect Game.
Additionally, the youngster was named one of the OVC's three best pure hitters, one of the league's three best power threats, and the "Hitter You Least Want to Face" in the OVC by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
Strohschein proved a cinch selection as the OVC's Preseason Player of the Year after becoming the first player in league history to earn both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors last season. The McDonough, Ga. native claimed a plethora of national recognition, including earning a share of the 2016 Louisville Slugger National Co-Freshman Player of the Year award named by Collegiate Baseball newspaper with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year, Seth Beer.
He also took home two All-American nods, five Freshman All-American honors and spots on both the All-OVC First Team and OVC All-Freshman Team.
Strohschein littered his name all over the program's record book, breaking freshman records for hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, runs, and total bases. He clubbed a team-high 15 long balls on the year while racking up the third-most RBI in school history by driving in 73 runs.
The right fielder's 90 hits tied for the third most by a Golden Eagle ever and his 21 doubles and 15 home runs each ranked in the top 10 in program history. Strohschein's .393 average and .707 slugging percentage ranked as the second-best showing by a freshman to only Jim Whaley, who hit .516 and slugged .730 back in 1963. His 39 extra base hits also ranked as a program first by a freshman and finished as the fourth-most ever by a Tech ball player.
He scored 57 runs on the year, one of nine offensive categories he led his squad in on the year. He also made just one error all season, posting an impressive .990 fielding percentage with five assists.
After batting just .242 with three home runs and 12 RBI through his first 16 games, Strohschein went on a tear over his final 37 contests, posting hit streaks of nine, 10 and 15 games. In fact, he went hitless in just three of those match-ups, exploding in an April 5 tilt at Alabama A&M to break or tie three school records. While the team broke and tied two marks in the 34-6 rout, it was the right fielder's performance that shown most brightly.
Strohschein tallied a school-record nine RBI thanks to a program-best six hits while tying the Tech mark for runs scored with six. He also tied the school's single-season grand slam record with his third four-run circus clout of the season in the ninth inning. The performance alone would have been enough to garner him his first OVC Player of the Week honors, but he added more in the weekend series at Eastern Illinois, helping Tech a three-game sweep.
He captured his second OVC Player of the Week and first National Player of the Week accolades after flirting with the national record for consecutive hits, starting off Tech's three-game series with Southeast Missouri a staggering 9-for-9 before a diving effort on a would-be double robbed him of his 10th straight base hit.
The Golden Eagles will kick off the 2017 regular season Friday, Feb. 17, playing host to Toledo at 3 p.m. CT. The four-game series will feature a doubleheader on Saturday, with games at noon and 4 p.m., and a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Photo by Tony Marable
