ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Indiana State's Matt Jachec and Grant Magill were named to the 2023 Missouri Valley preseason All-Conference baseball team, while the Sycamores were picked to finish fourth overall in the preseason poll as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning. The team and poll are determined by a vote from each head coach.
 
Jachec garners the preseason nod for the first time in his career after a breakout 2022 campaign on the mound. The preseason Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Third Team All-American posted the lowest ERA by a starting pitcher in the Missouri Valley (2.88) while finishing second in the MVC with 97.0 innings pitched. Jachec went at least 5.2 innings in all 14 starts in 2022 and added eight quality starts on the year in leading the Sycamores.
 
Jachec saved arguably the conference's most dominant pitching performance for the MVC Tournament. He carried a perfect game into the ninth inning in an elimination contest against Valparaiso needing just 83 pitches on his way to retiring the first 24 batters he faced. He added 10 strikeouts in the contest, including striking out the side in the third inning before turning the ball over to the bullpen in the ninth.
 
Jachec finished up with a Valley-leading nine wins on the mound while sitting sixth in the conference with 80 strikeouts (28 looking). His control on the mound was a major factor to his success as he led the Valley in only surrendering nine walks on the year to sit among the NCAA leaders in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.89, 4th in NCAA) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.84, 3rd in NCAA).
 
Magill also picked up preseason honors for the first time in his collegiate career. The redshirt junior catcher earned 2022 MVC All-Defensive honors behind the plate after routinely shutting down the opponents' run game.
 
The Highlands Ranch, Colo. native record an MVC-leading six pickoffs in the 2022 season and threw out 12 baserunners attempting to steal on the year. He was even better in conference play throwing out six runners in 13 chances.
 
At the plate, Magill hit .295 with seven extra-base hits, including a home run in the series opener against Kansas. He finished fourth on the team with 26 RBI and added three five sacrifice flies.
 
The Sycamores were selected fourth overall in the preseason poll behind Southern Illinois, Missouri State, and Evansville. ISU garnered 75 total points and a first-place vote in the poll as voted on by the league's head coaches.
 
ISU looks to bounce back from a tough 26-22-1 overall record in 2022 with a 10-10-1 mark in conference play. The Sycamores return the bulk of their lineup that hit a conference-leading .300 from the plate including All-Conference selections Seth Gergely (.326), Josue Urdaneta (.321), and Randal Diaz (.304), in addition to Magill and Jachec.
 
ISU also welcomes back depth to the pitching staff with the return of Jachec, as well as 2022 starters Luke Patzner, Jared Spencer, and Brennyn Cutts. The Sycamores also boast one of the best bullpen tandems in the conference with the return of aces Connor Fenlong and Joey Hurth.
 
Southern Illinois was voted the preseason favorite receiving 93 points and six first-place votes. Missouri State picked up 87 points and three first-place nods, while Evansville posted 79 total points. Bradley (58), Belmont (53), Illinois State (35), UIC (25), Murray State (23), and Valparaiso (22) round out the poll.
 
The Sycamores open up the 2023 season at the Snowbird Baseball Classic on February 17-18 in Port Charlotte, Fla. as Indiana State takes on Iowa and Quinnipiac over the opening weekend.
 
Games will be streamed live on pay-per-view via FloSports.com.
 
Indiana State Baseball Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2023 Indiana State baseball season are on sale now as the Sycamores continue to gear up for the upcoming season. ISU will play 19 games at Bob Warn Field this season starting on March 17-19 with a weekend series against Michigan State.
 
Overall, the Sycamores home schedule features nonconference contests against Michigan State (Mar. 17-19), Purdue (Mar. 28), Indiana (Apr. 4), Illinois (May 2), and Ball State (May 9). The conference slate features Valparaiso (Mar. 24-26), Illinois State (Apr. 7-9), Southern Illinois (Apr. 21-23), and Murray State (May 12-14).
 
Those seeking more information on season tickets or MVC Baseball Championship tickets can contact Assistant Manager of Athletic Ticketing Austin Bishop by phone at 812-237-8972 or via email at Austin.Bishop@indstate.edu. Fans can also call 877-ISU-TIXS or email ISU-Tickets@indstate.edu. Fans have the opportunity to also buy season tickets online by clicking HERE.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.