Baseball voted preseason SAC favorite; league-high five named preseason first-teamers

Rock Hill, S.C. —- The Catawba College baseball team was picked to repeat as South Atlantic Conference champions via the league's preseason coaches' poll, the league office announced Tuesday morning. Additionally, the team posted a league-best five student-athletes to the league's preseason all-conference first team.

The Catawba Indians were picked first, receiving 10 of 12 possible first-place votes. Wingate and Lincoln Memorial followed in second and third, respectively with no first-place votes between them. Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry rounded out the top six with one first-place vote each. Carson-Newman, Tusculum, Anderson and Limestone finished the top 10 of the poll, while Mars Hill, UVA Wise and Emory & Henry finished out the ranking.

Catawba also led the way in the league's preseason all-conference teams, earning a league-best five selections to the preseason first team. The Catawba Indians' count more than doubled the next best teams – Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne – who both earned two first team selections.

Dylan Driver was a first team selection at outfield after earning a spot on the All-SAC Second Team last season. The team's leader in batting average, doubles and triples, Driver also shined defensively, earning his second consecutive national Rawlings Gold Glove award.

Sam Hunter joins Driver as another preseason first team pick in the outfield. An impact addition to last year's SAC and Southeast Region championship team, Hunter ranked second on the team with 86 hits with a team-best 31 stolen bases.

Payne Stolsworth returns to the fold as the reigning SAC Pitcher of the Year, earning a spot as a first team starting pitcher as a result. Another impact transfer for the Catawba Indians in 2024, Stolsworth earned league pitcher of the year and First Team All-Region honors after leading the team with 86 strikeouts across 111.2 innings of work.

Austin Fine joins him as a preseason first team starting pitcher after earning a spot on the All-SAC First Team both of the last two seasons. Catawba's Friday night starter shined again in 2024, racking up 10 wins across a team-best 112 innings with a 3.78 earned run average.

Hayden Simmerson was the team's final preseason first team selection at relief pitcher. The 2024 SAC Freshman of the Year racked up 83 strikeouts in just 72.1 innings of work, leading the league with over 10 strikeouts per nine innings.

SAC and Southeast Region Coach of the Year Jim Gantt begins his 29th season as head skipper of the Catawba Indians. Gantt enters the season just 10 wins away from the 1,000-win milestone.

Catawba debuted at number three in D2Baseball's preseason national rankings, with the American Baseball Coaches' Association and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason rankings still to come.

The team hosts its annual First Pitcher Dinner this Saturday. The dollars raised will help support the team's operational costs throughout the season. To buy tickets, click here.

The Catawba Indians kick off their season as defending regional champs with their annual trip to Florida, starting with a road game against Nova Southeastern on Friday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.