Baseball has been picked to finish eighth in the 2022 American Southwest Conference baseball regular season after a vote of the league's head coaches and directors of sports information, announced by the conference office Monday.
Sam Russell and
Carsen Thor were selected alongside 19 other players to the ASC Baseball Preseason Watch List by the head coaches. Among the players returning are 17 all-conference selections and one award winner from 2021.
The Lobos finished the 2021 season 14-19 (11-16 ASC).
"We have a group of older guys that care about each other and are highly competitive," said head coach
Bobby Mesker. "Regardless of where they are ranked in the preseason and where they end up at the end of the year, they're considered winners in my book. These guys are capable of winning any game on our schedule. We're just ready for the season to start."
2022 ASC Baseball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st place votes) |
Pts. |
2021 Record (ASC) |
| 1. |
UT Dallas (15) |
274 |
30-12 (19-7) |
| 2. |
East Texas Baptist (5) |
218 |
29-16 (19-8) |
| 3. |
Concordia Texas (2) |
199 |
21-13 (14-9) |
| 4. |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
171 |
22-17 (13-10) |
| 5. |
Ozarks |
131 |
16-17 (13-10) |
| 6. |
Belhaven |
130 |
20-18 (15-12) |
| 7. |
LeTourneau |
100 |
15-22 (13-14) |
| 8. |
Sul Ross State |
92 |
14-19 (11-16) |
| 9. |
Hardin-Simmons |
61 |
9-25 (5-16) |
| 10. |
Howard Payne |
47 |
9-25 (5-22) |
| 11. |
McMurry |
45 |
9-24 (5-19) |
Sam Russell - P
Russell was named an ASC Honorable Mention after his four wins, 61.1 innings pitched, two complete games and 54 strikeouts led the team in 2021. He made 10 starts in 12 appearances.
He made 10 starts in 12 appearances and matched a career-high 11 strikeouts in a game in April 23's complete game win over McMurry.
Carsen Thor - 1B
Thor earned American Southwest Conference Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-Conference First Team as a freshman in 2021.
He led the Lobos with a .379 average, 50 hits, and 43 RBI.
Thor was tied in runs scored with 32 while finishing with a second-best seven home runs and 80 total bases.
His 43 runs batted in were good for second-best in the ASC.
Thor was 2021's first ASC Hitter of the Week. He hit .625 (5-for-8) with six RBI, five runs scored and a 1.000 slugging percentage in a two-game sweep of University of Dallas on February 14, 2021.
This Season:
The 2022 season is the 26th in ASC baseball history and will start February 4.
Sul Ross begins their season on Saturday, February 4 with a doubleheader against University of Dallas in Irving.
The ASC Baseball Championship is scheduled to start May 5 and is subject to change.
