By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Junior outfielder Jason Hinchman collected his first career preseason accolade Tuesday morning, earning a spot on the 2021 Collegiate Baseball Pre-Season All-American Third Team.
Hinchman, who will make the transition from first base to the outfield for the 2021 campaign, led the Golden Eagles offensively in their abbreviated 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic brought an abrupt stop to all NCAA spring competition. The Winston, Ga. native hammered six home runs and four doubles with 13 RBI in 15 games, slashing .414/.485/.793 while scoring 10 runs and stealing three bases.
He paced Tech in batting average, hits, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, stolen bases, walks and fielding percentage. In the first week of the 2020 campaign, he took home Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week, Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week honors.
In 2019, his first season starting for the purple and gold, Hinchman established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the country, leading the nation in home runs per game and finishing second with a whopping total of 24 long balls. It marked the second-most in program history and fifth-most in league history. He earned an OVC First Team nod after batting .278 with 54 runs scored, 11 doubles, 55 RBI and .697 slugging percentage, as well as a team-high 43 walks. Hinchman also made just three errors all season at first base.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
