The SEMO Redhawks were tabbed the preseason favorite in the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Preseason Poll.
The reigning OVC regular-season and tournament champion, SEMO received eight of the possible 18 first-place votes in the overall tally by league Head Coaches and Communication Directors.
SEMO accumulated a total of 114 points, while Murray State – which the Redhawks beat to win the OVC Tournament crown in 2021 – was picked second with four first-place votes and 104 points.
The Redhawks finished their championship 2021 campaign with an overall record of 30-22 and 17-10 OVC mark, en route to claiming its fifth OVC regular-season title and fourth OVC Tournament championship in program history. The Redhawks also made their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
SEMO returns five position starters and two starting pitchers from a year ago. Preseason OVC Player of the Year Tyler Wilber and fellow Preseason All-OVC selection Jevon Mason headline that group.
A Second-Team All-OVC selection a year ago, Wilber finished the regular-season with a league-best .400 batting average to secure his second OVC regular-season batting title. He ranked 17th among D1Baseball's Top 100 shortstops and was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award.
SEMO opens its 2022 campaign next weekend with a three-game series at #23-ranked Dallas Baptist. DBU is coming off a season where it went 41-18 and won both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and ended the season one win shy of reaching the College World Series.
Follow SEMO Athletics on Twitter, now at @SEMORedhawks.
