Drew Brutcher is among 51 college baseball players on the preseason list.
This year’s watch list consists of 51 players representing 19 conferences around the country, including all five power conferences. The list includes 11 seniors, 35 juniors and five sophomores.
“Drew has a chance to be one of the premier college baseball players in the country,” said head coach Billy Mohl. “He is a huge part of our program’s success and I’m looking forward to seeing his continued progress while helping to push our program forward.”
Brutcher, a 2021 Freshman All-American, was also named to the Preseason American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team for the second year in a row.
One of the best five-tool players in the country, Brutcher has batted .297 with 15 doubles, 21 homers and 57 RBI over the past two seasons, despite missing time with injury in each of the last two years. Over 75 total games the last two seasons, he has totaled 60 walks with a .436 OBP and slugged .582.
Brutcher ranked 29th in the NCAA in walks per game last season and 77th in home runs per game.
He enters the 2023 campaign rated the No. 1 MLB Draft prospect in the American Athletic Conference (No. 28 overall outfielder) by D1Baseball.com.
South Florida opens its 2023 slate with a three-game series against No. 13 Maryland beginning on Friday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. at USF Baseball Stadium in Tampa.
The Bulls’ have put together a loaded schedule this season which features games against six different opponents that reached the NCAA postseason in 2022. Those teams include Maryland, Florida, Florida State, Army, VCU and ECU.
USF looks to return to an NCAA Regional in 2023 after falling short of the postseason last year. The Bulls most recent NCAA appearance came in 2021 when USF stormed through the AAC Tournament for a conference championship, won the Gainesville Regional and advanced to the program’s first-ever Super Regional.
Tickets are on sale now. Fans are encouraged to visit USFBullsTix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls to purchase tickets.
About The BBNCSA
The BBNCSA originally started out in 2017 as an honor going to the top college hitter in Texas. In 2019, the BBNCSA expanded becoming a regional award covering Division I programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The BBNCSA became a national award in 2020; however, no winner was announced due to the Covid-19 virus which cut the 2020 college baseball season short.
The winner of the BBNCSA will be announced in June and honored at a gala in the fall at the Fort Worth Club. Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove won the initial BBNCSA in 2017. Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech’s Josh Jung winning the award in 2019. Connor Norby from East Carolina University won the BBNCSA in 2021. Last year’s winner was Ivan Melendez from the University of Texas.
Fans can follow news about the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award presented by SR Bats and its Player of the Week honorees during the season at www.braganslugger.com.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth season). The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program’s first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
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