Hernandez Named Preseason All-Conference

HOUSTON – Houston first baseman Ryan Hernandez has been named to the American Athletic Conference's all-preseason team, the league office announced Wednesday.

The Cougars, meanwhile, garnered 34 points and have been picked to finish fourth in the AAC. East Carolina secured seven first-place votes and 49 points to lead the way followed by UCF (39) and Tulane (36). All-conference teams and projected order of finish were voted on by the league's eight head coaches.

Hernandez burst onto the scene a season ago, ranking second in The American in home runs (5) and home runs per game (0.33). His 39 total bases were fifth in the league. The Boston, Mass., native led the Cougars in average (.300), hits (18) and runs (13).

Houston returns 19 student-athletes, including eight positional starters from a season ago, and welcomes 26 newcomers to its 2021 edition.

The Cougars were recognized at No. 48 in Collegiate Baseball's "Fab 50" teams for 2021. The publication also listed Houston's 2020 recruiting class as tops in the American Athletic Conference and No. 24 nationally.

Preseason Poll
East Carolina (7) – 49
UCF – 39
Tulane (1) – 36
Houston – 34
Wichita State – 25
Cincinnati – 15
Memphis – 14
USF – 12

First-place votes in parenthesis

Preseason Player of the Year
Hunter Goodman, So., C, Memphis

Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Braden Olthoff, R-Jr., Tulane

Preseason All-Conference Team
P - Colton Gordon, R-So., UCF
P - Evan Shawver, Jr., Cincinnati
P - Jake Kuchmaner, Jr., East Carolina*
P - Braden Olthoff, R-Jr., Tulane*
P - Liam Eddy, Jr., Wichita State
RP - Jack Sinclair, Jr., UCF
C - Hunter Goodman, So., Memphis*
1B - Ryan Hernandez, Jr., Houston
2B - Connor Norby, So., East Carolina
SS - Ben Brooks, Jr., Memphis
3B - Eric Santiago, Gr., Cincinnati
3B - Trevor Minder, R-Jr., Tulane
OF - Thomas Francisco, So., East Carolina
OF - Bryson Worrell, Jr., East Carolina*
OF - Couper Cornblum, So., Wichita State
DH - Wyatt Stapp, Sr., Cincinnati*

* denotes unanimous selection

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