Canadian Howie chosen OVC Preseason Player of the Year
Ontario Blue Jays alum Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) has been chosen Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Preseason Player of the Year. Photo: Cassie Knutson, EKU Athletics
February 7, 2020
Official Eastern Kentucky University Athletics Press Release
Baseball Picked To Finish Second In OVC, Nick Howie Chosen Preseason Player Of The Year
It is the highest an Eastern Kentucky team has been picked in the preseason poll since at least 1998.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Eastern Kentucky University's baseball team will finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2020, according to the annual preseason poll of head coaches and communications directors released today by the league office. Senior outfielder Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) was chosen as the Preseason OVC Player of the Year.
Howie, catcher A.J. Lewis and second baseman Daniel Harris IV were picked to the Preseason All-OVC Team.
In the preseason poll, Eastern Kentucky earned 154 points and was chosen first on two ballots. Jacksonville State is the preseason favorite, having earned 19 first-place votes and a total of 199 points.
It is the highest an Eastern Kentucky team has been picked in the preseason poll since at least 1998. The 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2008 polls picked EKU to place third. Records are unavailable before 1998.
The Colonels edged third place Austin Peay (153) by one vote. Belmont (136) was picked fourth and Morehead State (135) fifth. Murray State (114) was sixth, Southeast Missouri (94) was seventh and Eastern Illinois (79) was eighth. Tennessee Tech (54), Tennessee-Martin (52) and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville rounded out the poll in ninth, 10th and 11th respectively.
Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State led all teams with three All-OVC selections each.
Howie was a first team All-Ohio Valley Conference outfielder and a first team Academic All-American® in 2019. He was recently chosen as the 39th-best hitter in college baseball by D1Baseball.com. The senior from Oakville, Ontario was third in the OVC in 2019 with a .474 on-base percentage, third with 46 walks, fifth with a .353 average and tied for fifth with 16 stolen bases. He ranked 43rd in the nation in walks and 47th in on-base percentage. Howie led the team in batting average, played in and started all 59 games, and finished the season with 48 runs scored, 11 home runs, 12 doubles, 45 RBIs and 123 total bases.
Lewis, who was rated as the 98th-best hitter in 2020 by D1Baseball.com, was on the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year watch list last season. He played in and started 54 games. The senior from Chicago, Illinois was the starting catcher 40 times, started three games in left field and 11 as the designated hitter. He hit .303 with 45 runs scored, 10 doubles, nine home runs, a team-best 49 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Lewis posted a .521 slugging percentage, drew 33 walks and had a .434 on-base percentage.
Harris played in and started 56 games. The junior from Stone Mountain, Georgia hit .271 with 36 runs scored, nine home runs, 44 RBIs and eight stolen bases. He posted a .431 slugging percentage.
EKU's 2020 season begins on Feb. 14 at Presbyterian College. The Colonels' first home game is Feb. 18 against Kentucky State.