Angelo State is the top pick to claim the 2022 Lone Star Conference Baseball title as the league released the results of its annual preseason poll on Thursday.
The league’s preseason poll reflects the opinions of LSC head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives throughout the region.
ASU earned top billing in the poll with 27 of 36 first-place votes and 452 total points. The Rams look to build upon a historic 2021 season that saw them finish 44-9 and advance to the NCAA Division II College World Series while winning the LSC baseball and South Central Region tournament titles.
2021 LSC regular-season champion West Texas A&M was selected second, with 432 points and five first-place votes. The Buffs were 34-9 in 2021 and finished atop the league standings with a 28-4 mark. WT finished its season with a seventh consecutive South Central Regional appearance, where they advanced to the regional final.
UT Tyler finished out the top three with 364 points after a 25-15 campaign overall and a 23-13 record in the LSC last season. Texas A&M-Kingsville was picked just behind UTT in fourth, compiling 360 total points and three first-place votes.
Oklahoma Christian received the final spot in the top five with 315 points. Lubbock Christian followed the Eagles in sixth with 289 points. The Chaps narrowly finished ahead of St. Mary’s, as the Rattlers garnered 287 points and one first-place nod.
UAFS was chosen eighth with 201 points, followed by St. Edward’s (195) and UT Permian Basin (138) to finalize the top 10.
Texas A&M International, Cameron and Eastern New Mexico rounded out the poll.
Angelo State’s Aaron Walters was named the LSC Preseason Player of the Year, while teammate Carson Childers collected LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year acclaim.
Walters, a senior first baseman from Center Point, Texas, started 52 of 53 games for ASU in 2021 and was an integral part of the Rams’ run to the DII College World Series. Walters led the league in runs batted in, bringing home 67 runs for DII’s third-highest scoring team. The All-American hit .410 to lead the Rams and hit nine home runs, 17 doubles and 77 total hits.
Childers, a redshirt junior from Round Rock, Texas, was one of the top relievers in DII last season, picking up a 9-0 record in 28 appearances, including 27 from the bullpen. Childers led the LSC in several categories, including earned run average (2.06), total earned runs allowed (13), opponent batting average (.179) and home runs allowed (1). The right-hander threw a career-high 56.2 innings.
The 2022 season begins on February 4, with 13 LSC teams playing a single round-robin schedule with a four-game weekend series against each league opponent.
The LSC Championship will feature a two-week tournament comprised of the top eight teams with the opening round at on-campus sites May 6-8. The winners of each opening round series will advance to a double-elimination tournament played May 12-14. The winner of the postseason tournament will be recognized as the LSC Tournament Champion and receive the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA postseason.
2022 LSC Baseball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School |
1st |
Points |
| 1 |
Angelo State |
27 |
452 |
| 2 |
West Texas A&M |
5 |
432 |
| 3 |
UT Tyler |
|
364 |
| 4 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
3 |
360 |
| 5 |
Oklahoma Christian |
|
315 |
| 6 |
Lubbock Christian |
|
289 |
| 7 |
St. Mary's |
1 |
287 |
| 8 |
UAFS |
|
201 |
| 9 |
St. Edward's |
|
195 |
| 10 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
138 |
| 11 |
Texas A&M International |
|
106 |
| 12 |
Cameron |
|
90 |
| 13 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
47 |