2022 All-OVC Teams and Award Winners
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Five members of the Tennessee Tech baseball team were among those honored by the Ohio Valley Conference Tuesday morning, as the league announced its annual postseason honors. Jason Hinchman, Ed Johnson, Gabe Lacy, Ryan Guardino, and Jackson Green all received recognition from the OVC, with votes accumulated from the league's coaches and sports information contacts.
Hinchman earned a spot on the All-OVC First Team as an outfielder, the second First Team honor of his career. Johnson was the league's shortstop on the All-OVC Second Team, Lacy was the Second Team's selection at third base, and Guardino was selected to the Second Team as an outfielder. Green was picked as a member of the OVC All-Freshman Team.
This marks the 12th-straight season the Golden Eagles saw at least four student-athletes collect end-of-the-year honors from the OVC, with the 2020 season cancelled after 15 games, and subsequently no postseason honors awarded during the year.
A Winston, Ga. native, Hinchman became the second Golden Eagle to claim All-OVC First Team honors as both an infielder and outfielder during their career, taking home the award for first base in 2019. The last to do so was Jeremy Bonczynski as an outfielder in 1996 and third baseman in 1997.
Hinchman turned in a spectacular senior campaign, slashing .373/.469/.736 with 79 hits, 51 runs, 11 doubles, 22 home runs, and 66 RBI. The slugger became just the second player in program history to smack 20 or more bombs two times in their career, joining TTU Sports Hall of Famer A.J. Kirby-Jones. It also marked just the sixth season in program history with 20 or more dingers.
His current total of 22 long balls ranks him in a tie for third in program history for a single season with Brandon Thomasson's 22 in 2014. Hinchman's 24 long balls in 2019 rank second while Kirby-Jones' 26 in 2010 represents the record.
On April 30, the two-time OVC Player of the Week and one-time National Player of the Week broke the league's career home run record against Eastern Illinois, surpassing the previous mark of 62 held by former Golden Eagles Zach Stephens (2011-14) and Kevin Strohschein (2016-19). His 66 career blasts rank him first nationally among active leaders.
In his second season in the purple and gold, Johnson took home his first All-OVC honor as the Second Team's shortstop. The junior hit .366 with team-highs of 86 hits, 56 runs scored 12 doubles, and six stolen bases. He tallied 12 doubles, a triple, and 11 home runs while driving in 49 with a .420 on-base percentage and .566 slugging percentage.
Last week, Johnson was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for the second time in as many seasons, the first Golden Eagle to accomplish the feat twice. Only Dylan Bosheers (2014) and David Garza (2018) were named a semifinalist before Johnson.
The reigning OVC Player of the Week has been remarkable at the top of the Tech lineup this season, crushing a staggering seven lead-off bombs during the season, including four to kick off the ballgame. It is believed to be a program record.
Also taking home Second Team honors for the first time in his second season in Cookeville, Lacy put together a stellar year at the hot corner while boasting a .327 average, .406 on-base percentage, and .535 slugging percentage. Tying for the team lead with 12 doubles, he also tallied 71 hits, 47 runs, 11 home runs, 15 RBI, and a team-high 14 hit-by-pitches.
The junior has done his part with the long ball this season, choosing to do a large part of his damage with the bases full of Golden Eagles. Helping Tech rally for a win last Saturday against Murray State, he tied the program's single-season mark with his third grand slam of the year.
New to the purple and gold this season, Guardino earned Second Team honors in his first go through the league after terrorizing opposing pitchers to the tune of 15 home runs while slashing .337/.405/.657 with 56 hits, 34 runs, eight doubles, and 41 RBI.
The junior became one of the hottest hitters on the planet in April, smashing a program-record seven dingers over a three-game series at UT Martin. No player had previously hit multiple long balls in three straight games. On his way to National Player of the Week honors, the Santa Barbara native also tied a school record with three round-trippers in the second tilt against the Skyhawks.
Guardino boasts a whopping six games with multiple dingers this season, easily breaking the program record of four set by teammate Golston Gillespie last season. He now sits just two away from the career record held by Strohschein.
Rounding out the Tech honors was the rookie Green, taking home All-Freshman accolades after playing a pivotal role off the bench for the purple and gold in 2022. Playing in 36 games with four starts, the outfielder served primarily as a defensive specialist and pinch-runner.
On the year, the freshman tallied five hits in 30 at-bats, scoring seven runs while tallying three doubles and three RBI. He finished 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts and delivered a perfect fielding percentage.
