D1 Baseball Provides Preseason Big Ten Honors
2/4/2025 11:30:00 AM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Junior outfielder Devin Taylor completed the trifecta of preseason honors on Tuesday (Feb. 4) morning. D1 Baseball joined Perfect Game and Baseball America as the three major outlets to select him as a unanimous Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.
Taylor has had no shortage of preseason love from respective media outlets across the country. A unanimous Preseason All-American as well, Taylor heads into the 2025 season just 12 home runs away from breaking the program's all-time record. He also needs just 51 hits to reach 200 for his career.
"The odds-on favorite for conference player of the year, Devin Taylor is one of the best hitters in college baseball with an uncommon ability to make pitch-to-pitch adjustments," D1 Baseball said in its preseason Big Ten preview. "The first player in program history to earn first-team all-conference honors in each of his first two seasons, Taylor enters the spring with the potential to be the first Hoosier to go in the first round since Kyle Schwarber in 2014.
The Hoosiers haven't had a Big Ten Player of the Year since 2014 when Sam Travis hit .347 with 85 base knocks to lead IU to a Big Ten Championship and a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Taylor could join Travis and Alex Dickerson as the third player in program history to win both Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year awards in Bloomington.
As a team, IU was picked third in the Big Ten by D1 Baseball. It is one of five projected NCAA Regional teams from the conference heading into the season. On top of Taylor (No. 1), junior shortstop Tyler Cerny (No. 11), junior right-handed pitcher Aydan Decker-Petty (No. 17), sophomore shortstop Jasen Oliver (No. 20) and redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson (No. 34) were all ranked among the top-40 2025 MLB Draft prospects.
Sophomore outfielder Andrew Wiggins (No. 6) was among the top 2026 MLB Draft prospects while first baseman Jake Hanley and catcher Hogan Denny were listed as D1 Baseball's Freshmen to Watch in the Big Ten this year. The Hoosiers have had seven Freshman All-Americans over the last three years, a trend that could continue this season.
IU opens the season in 10 days (Feb. 14) against UNLV at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona. The Hoosiers will also play No. 7 Oregon State during the first weekend of the year.
Taylor has had no shortage of preseason love from respective media outlets across the country. A unanimous Preseason All-American as well, Taylor heads into the 2025 season just 12 home runs away from breaking the program's all-time record. He also needs just 51 hits to reach 200 for his career.
"The odds-on favorite for conference player of the year, Devin Taylor is one of the best hitters in college baseball with an uncommon ability to make pitch-to-pitch adjustments," D1 Baseball said in its preseason Big Ten preview. "The first player in program history to earn first-team all-conference honors in each of his first two seasons, Taylor enters the spring with the potential to be the first Hoosier to go in the first round since Kyle Schwarber in 2014.
The Hoosiers haven't had a Big Ten Player of the Year since 2014 when Sam Travis hit .347 with 85 base knocks to lead IU to a Big Ten Championship and a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Taylor could join Travis and Alex Dickerson as the third player in program history to win both Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year awards in Bloomington.
As a team, IU was picked third in the Big Ten by D1 Baseball. It is one of five projected NCAA Regional teams from the conference heading into the season. On top of Taylor (No. 1), junior shortstop Tyler Cerny (No. 11), junior right-handed pitcher Aydan Decker-Petty (No. 17), sophomore shortstop Jasen Oliver (No. 20) and redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson (No. 34) were all ranked among the top-40 2025 MLB Draft prospects.
Sophomore outfielder Andrew Wiggins (No. 6) was among the top 2026 MLB Draft prospects while first baseman Jake Hanley and catcher Hogan Denny were listed as D1 Baseball's Freshmen to Watch in the Big Ten this year. The Hoosiers have had seven Freshman All-Americans over the last three years, a trend that could continue this season.
IU opens the season in 10 days (Feb. 14) against UNLV at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona. The Hoosiers will also play No. 7 Oregon State during the first weekend of the year.
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