Three Diamond Dawgs Named Preseason All-SEC

STARKVILLE – Three Diamond Dawgs were named to the Preseason All-SEC Teams, while Mississippi State has been voted as one of the top contenders in the Southeastern Conference, it was announced by the league office on Thursday (Feb. 10).

Mississippi State was tabbed to finish tied for second in the SEC Western Division and received two votes to walk away with the overall SEC championship. Just three points separated the top three teams in the west, as Arkansas (80), Mississippi State (77) and Ole Miss (77) were the top contenders in the division following a vote by the 14 head coaches in the conference.

On the preseason all-conference team, Landon Sims earned one of two spots on the All-SEC first team as a starting pitcher. State catcher Logan Tanner joined Sims on the first team, while Luke Hancock garnered second-team honors as a designated hitter/utility player. MSU's three preseason candidates are tied for the second-most in the conference along with LSU, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.

A season ago, Sims was a consensus first-team All-America selection and earned All-SEC honors after helping lead State to a national title. The right-hander was 5-0 on the year with 13 saves in 25 appearances on the bump. He registered a 1.44 ERA in 56.1 innings of work, while striking out 100 and walking just 15 batters on the season.

Tanner was named to the All-SEC Newcomer team in 2021 after batting .287 with a team-high 15 home runs, 13 doubles and 53 RBI. He posted a .525 slugging percentage and a .382 on base percentage in 67 appearances for the Diamond Dawgs.

As for Hancock, he hit .262 in 68 games last season for the Dawgs. He homered 10 times and had four doubles, while driving in 63 runs on the season. Hancock led the team with 47 walks, while posting an on base percentage of .393 and slugging .408 in 2021.

2022 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

Western Division
1. Arkansas (5) - 80
T2. Mississippi State (4) - 77
T2. Ole Miss (4) - 77
4. LSU (1) - 62
5. Alabama - 38
6. Texas A&M - 36
7. Auburn – 22

Eastern Division
1. Vanderbilt (9) - 87
2. Florida (3) - 77
3. Georgia (2) - 68
4. Tennessee - 63
5. South Carolina - 43
6. Kentucky - 34
7. Missouri – 20

() – First place votes

SEC Champion: Ole Miss (4), Arkansas (3), Florida (2), Mississippi State (2), Vanderbilt (2), LSU (1)

2022 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team

First Team
C: Logan Tanner, Mississippi State
1B: Tre' Morgan, LSU
2B: Robert Moore, Arkansas
3B: Jacob Berry, LSU
SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss
OF: Dylan Crews, LSU
OF: Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt
OF: Jud Fabian, Florida
DH/UTL: Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt
SP: Landon Sims, Mississippi State
SP: Hunter Barco, Florida
RP: Nick Maldonado, Vanderbilt

Second Team
C: Hayden Dunhurst, Ole Miss
1B: Tim Elko, Ole Miss
2B: Peyton Chatagnier, Ole Miss
3B: Cayden Wallace, Arkansas
SS: Ryan Ritter, Kentucky
OF: Jordan Beck, Tennessee
OF: Drew Gilbert, Tennessee
OF: Brady Slavens, Arkansas*
OF: Kevin Graham, Ole Miss*
DH/UTL: Luke Hancock, Mississippi State
SP: Jonathan Cannon, Georgia
SP: Will Sanders, South Carolina
RP: Jaden Woods, Georgia

The 2022 season gets underway on Feb. 18 when the Diamond Dawgs host Long Beach State in a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. Game times for State's opening weekend are 3 p.m. (Friday), 2 p.m. (Saturday) and 1 p.m. (Sunday).

Mississippi State's 56-game schedule features 32 home games, 20 road contests and four neutral site matchups. The schedule features a pair of lengthy homestands, as Dudy Noble Field hosts an 8-game homestand to open the campaign (Feb. 18-March 1) followed by a nine straight home games from April 5-19.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateBB' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Three Diamond Dawgs Named Preseason All-SEC

Players Mentioned

Luke Hancock

Landon Sims

Logan Tanner

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