NEW ORLEANS – Senior Will Hollis was selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team at designated hitter and the Texas State baseball team was picked to finish third in the West Division as announced by the conference office on Thursday.
 
Hollis made 52 starts last season with 32 of them coming as the Bobcats' designated hitter. He finished his first year in San Marcos batting .320 (64-for-200) with 20 doubles, six home runs and one triple. The outfielder led the team with 47 RBI and 42 walks on his way to finishing with a .520 slugging and .452 on-base percentages.
 
In helping TXST claim its first-ever Sun Belt regular season championship, Hollis posted 18 multi-hit, 12 multi-RBI and 10 multi-run games. The McKinney, Texas native ended the year with a 10-game hitting streak.
 
The coaches' poll saw the Bobcats total 55 points with three first-place selections. Just edging them out in the West Division was UT Arlington with 58 points and also three first-place tallies and Louisiana with 57 points and five-place votes.
 
Rounding out the division was Little Rock (39 pts; 1 first-place vote), ULM (25 pts) and Arkansas State (18 pts).
 
South Alabama claimed the top spot in the East Division behind 62 points and six first-place selections, just one point ahead of Coastal Carolina that received four first-place votes. Georgia Southern was third with two first-place votes and 50 points. Coming in fourth was Troy with 41 points, followed by Appalachian State and Georgia State with 23 and 15 points, respectively.
 
2020 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Preseason Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
 
East Division
1. South Alabama (6) – 62 pts
2. Coastal Carolina (4) – 61 pts
3. Georgia Southern (2) – 50 pts
4. Troy – 41 pts
5. Appalachian State – 23 pts
6. Georgia State – 15 pts
 
West Division
1. UT Arlington (3) – 58 pts
2. Louisiana (5) – 57 pts
3. Texas State (3) – 55 pts
4. Little Rock (1) – 39 pts
5. ULM – 25 pts
6. Arkansas State – 18 pts
 
2020 All-Sun Belt Preseason Team
Drake Nightengale, South Alabama (Sr., SP)
Zach McCambley, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP)
Levi Thomas, Troy (Sr., SP)
Andrew Papp, Appalachian State (Sr., RP)
Jack Jumper, Arkansas State (Sr., RP)
Kale Emshoff, Little Rock (R-Sr., C)
Kaleb DeLatorre, South Alabama (Sr., 1B)
Luke Drumheller, Appalachian State (So., 2B)
Hayden Cantrelle, Louisiana (Jr., SS)
Garrett Scott, Little Rock (R-Sr., 3B)
Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern (Sr., OF)
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (So., OF)
Rigsby Mosley, Troy (Jr., OF)
Will Hollis, Texas State (Sr., DH)
Andrew Beesley, ULM (Sr., UTL)
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (So., OF)
 
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Drake Nightengale, South Alabama (Sr., SP)
 
Texas State starts off the 2020 season on Feb. 14 with a four-game series against Stony Brook at Bobcat Ballpark.
 
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