USC’s Tyler Johnson and Clarke Schmidt named preseason All-Americans
South Carolina junior right-hander Tyler Johnson and junior right-hander Clarke Schmidt earned Preseason All-America accolades as announced by Perfect Game on Monday afternoon. Johnson was a first-team selection with Schmidt earning second-team selection honors.
South Carolina opens the 2017 season on Friday, Feb. 17 hosting UNCG.
Last season, Johnson went 3-2 with a 2.42 ERA and had nine saves. Johnson struck out 59 to just eight walks in 52.0 innings in 29 relief appearances. Eight of Johnson’s nine saves were in league play, the most by any SEC pitcher. Johnson pitched on USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team over the summer.
Schmidt also earned preseason second-team honors from Collegiate Baseball. He earned third-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA last year after going 9-5 with a 3.40 ERA. He struck out 129 batters to 27 walks in 111.1 innings pitched with opponents hitting .248 against him. Schmidt’s 129 strikeouts are the second-highest among returning pitchers from last season in Division I baseball.
Clemson outfielder Seth Beer was named to the first team.
Coastal Carolina pitcher Andrew Beckwith was named to the second team.
2017 Perfect Game Rawlings Preseason College All-American Teams
First Team
C — Mike Rivera, Florida
1B — Pavin Smith, Virginia
2B — Nick Madrigal, Oregon State
3B — Jake Burger, Missouri State
SS — Kevin Smith, Maryland
OF — Seth Beer, Clemson
OF — Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt
OF — Keston Hiura, UC Irvine
DH — Nick Feight, UNC Wilmington
UT — Brendan McKay, Louisville
SP — Alex Faedo, Florida
SP — Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt
SP — J.B. Bukauskas, North Carolina
SP — Tanner Houck, Missouri
SP — Tristan Beck, Stanford
RP — Dylan Moore, UL Lafayette
RP — Tyler Johnson, South Carolina
Second Team
C — Evan Skoug, TCU
1B — Evan White, Kentucky
2B — Brian Mims, UNC Wilmington
3B — Elliott Barzilli, TCU
SS — Dalton Guthrie, Florida
OF — Brian Miller, North Carolina
OF — Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
OF — Michael Gigliotti, Lipscomb
DH — Luken Baker, TCU
UT — Adam Haseley, Virginia
SP — Alex Lange, LSU
SP — Brian Howard, TCU
SP — Andrew Beckwith, Coastal Carolina
SP — Clarke Schmidt, South Carolina
SP — Erich Uelmen, Cal Poly
RP — Durbin Feltman, TCU
RP — Kyle Nelson, UC Santa Barbara
Third Team
C — Cal Raleigh, Florida State
1B — K.J. Harrison, Oregon State
2B — Zach Kirtley, Saint Mary's
3B — Carl Stajduhar, New Mexico
SS — Taylor Walls, Florida State
OF — Trey Truitt, Mercer
OF — Kevin Strohschein, Tennessee Tech
OF — Stuart Fairchild, Wake Forest
DH — J.J. Schwarz, Florida
UT — Jake Meyers, Nebraska
SP — Tyler Wilson, Rhode Island
SP — James Karinchak, Bryant
SP — Kade McClure, Louisville
SP — Darren McCaughan, Long Beach State
SP — Evan Kruczynski, East Carolina
RP — Glenn Otto, Rice
RP — Sam Donko, VCU
This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 4:29 PM with the headline "USC’s Tyler Johnson and Clarke Schmidt named preseason All-Americans."