January 30, 2013

Texas A&M – Corpus Christi slugger Jonathan Gonzales was named Preseason Second Team All-Southland at designated hitter on Wednesday, earning the honor after being selected to the second team at the conclusion of last season. A year ago, Gonzales .299 with nine home runs and five doubles while playing through an elbow injury. Gonzales was the only Islanders selection in the group of 24 players.

In addition to the announcement of the teams, the preseason polls were also released, with the Islanders being picked in a tie for sixth by the sports information director and seventh by the head coaches.

The coaches and the sports information directors chose the same top five teams, with Sam Houston State being picked to win the league for a second straight season. Next up was Southeastern Louisiana, followed by Oral Roberts in third, Stephen F. Austin in fourth and Central Arkansas at fifth.

The coaches then picked Lamar to finish sixth and the Texas A&M – Corpus Christi seventh, while the SIDs reached a tie between the Cardinals and the Islanders for sixth place.

The bottom three teams are also the same on both rankings, with the final three predicted to be McNeese State, Northwestern State and then Nicholls State.

The coaches gave Sam Houston 9 of 10 first-place votes, with the other going to Southeastern La. from SHSU coach David Pierce, as a coach cannot vote for his own team. The SID poll was much more divided, with Sam picking up four first-place votes, while Southeastern and Oral Roberts received three votes each.

The Islanders season kicks off on Feb. 15 at Chapman Field as the team hosts Texas – Pan American in a four-game set, with single games on Friday and Sunday and a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday.

For all the latest on Islanders Baseball, like the team on Facebook (Islanders Baseball), follow them on Twitter (@CorpusBaseball) and visit www.GoIslanders.com. 

 

2013 Preseason All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams

First Team
Pos.	Name	University	Class	Hometown
1B	Brad Picha	Lamar	Sr.	Stephenville, Texas
2B	Philip Lyons*	Nicholls State	Jr.	Thibodaux, La.
3B	Kevin Miller*	Sam Houston State	Sr.	Pearland, Texas
SS	Hunter Dozier*	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	Denton, Texas
C	Jose Trevino	Oral Roberts	So.	Corpus Christi, Texas
OF	Forrestt Allday*	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Friendswood, Texas
OF	Jonathan Davis*	Central Arkansas	Jr.	Camden, Ark.
OF	Will Watson*	Northwestern State	Sr.	Dallas, Texas
DH	Anthony Azar*	Sam Houston State	Jr.	The Woodlands, Texas
P	Caleb Smith*	Sam Houston State	Jr.	Huntsville, Texas
P	Dylan Hills	Southeastern La.	Jr.	Ponchatoula, La.
P	Drew Bowen	Oral Roberts	Sr.	Tulsa, Okla.
Second Team
Pos.	Name	University	Class	Hometown
1B	Max Lamantia	Stephen F. Austin	So.	Flower Mound, Texas
2B	Freddy Villalobos*	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	Houston, Texas
3B	Darian Johnson*	Lamar	Sr.	Chandler, Ariz.
SS	Ben Hernandez	Southeastern La.	Sr.	Zachary, La.
C	Nick Purdy	Northwestern State	Sr.	Pascagoula, Miss.
OF	Ethan Harris	Central Arkansas	Sr.	White Hall, Ark.
OF	Colt Atwood	Sam Houston State	So.	Katy, Texas
OF	Logan Domenico	Oral Roberts	So.	Scottsdale, Ariz.
DH	Jonathan Gonzales*	A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Buda, Texas
P	Jordan Hymel	Southeastern La.	Sr.	Lutcher, La.
P	Alex Gonzalez	Oral Roberts	Jr.	Delray Beach, Fla.
P	Cameron Gann	Stephen F. Austin	So.	Crandall, Texas

 

*Returning all-conference selection;

 

 

 

Coaches' Poll
Rk.	Team (first-place votes)	Points
1.	Sam Houston State (11)	81
2.	Southeastern Louisiana (1)	68
3.	Oral Roberts	65
4.	Stephen F. Austin	48
5.	Central Arkansas	47
6.	Lamar	45
7.	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	32
8.	McNeese State	30
9.	Northwestern State	19
10.	Nicholls State	15
Sports Information Directors
Rk.	Team (first-place votes)	Points
1.	Sam Houston State (4)	75
2.	Southeastern Louisiana (3)	72
3.	Oral Roberts (3)	71
4.	Stephen F. Austin	51
5.	Central Arkansas	46
T6.	Lamar	34
T6.	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	34
8.	McNeese State	32
9.	Northwestern State	22
10.	Nicholls State	13