By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The 2022-23 academic year marked the 75th anniversary of the Ohio Valley Conference, which began in 1948 and currently ranks as the eighth-oldest NCAA Division I conference.
As part of the celebration of the storied accomplishments of the league, a committee working in conjunction with current and former schools captured the “best-of-the-best” in each sport and celebrate the top athletes in league history with the 75th Anniversary Teams across all OVC sports. A similar listing was compiled during the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the league.
The Skyhawks generated a trio of student-athletes on the OVC 75th Anniversary Team for the sport of baseball, including a pair of UT Martin Athletics Hall of Famers.
Michael Blount (1995-98)
Blount was UT Martin’s first pitcher to be named to the All-OVC first team, accomplishing that feat after a dominant sophomore campaign which saw him post a microscopic 1.94 ERA through the end of the regular season. The lefty from Savannah, Tenn. wrapped up his career as the program’s all-time leader in games started (49) and innings pitched (285) while also ranking second in strikeouts (183), second in complete games (15) and fourth in wins (15). He topped UT Martin in wins in each of his final three seasons, tossing three shutouts and also notching a save over his career.
Jody Fuller (1995-98)
A right-handed pitcher out of Huntingdon, Tenn., Fuller departed the Skyhawks as the school’s career leader in appearances (70) and strikeouts (267). He was the winning pitcher in UT Martin’s win at Vanderbilt on May 3 of his freshman season and followed that with team-high tallies in strikeouts in each of his final three years. His senior campaign was one for the record book as he ranked third in NCAA Division I baseball in strikeouts-per-nine-innings (12.49), whiffing a school-record 118 batters while spinning seven complete games (second-most in Skyhawk history). A 2007 UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, he was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1998 MLB Draft.
Bryant Jones (2001-04)
Jones is the only player in UT Martin baseball’s NCAA Division I history to be crowned All-American, achieving that honor during his senior campaign. That season, the right-handed hitter out of Waddy, Ky. compiled the most hits (96), runs scored (55), total bases (133) and stolen bases (18) up to that point in the school’s Division I Era, hitting a sizzling .425 on his way to All-OVC first team accolades. He was a part of the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017 after leaving the program as the Division I leader in games played (191), hits (218), runs scored (120) and assists (444).
Below is a listing of the top baseball student-athletes and coaches in OVC history:
Mandy Alvarez (3B), Eastern Kentucky (2015-16)
Tim Alvarez (P), Southeast Missouri (2002-03)
Josh Anderson (OF), Eastern Kentucky (2001-03)
Ralph Antone (C), Western Kentucky (1980-83)
Greg Bachman (3B), Austin Peay (2008-12)
Steve Barrett (2B), Murray State (1971-74)
Andy Bean (P), Belmont (2020-22)
Matt Beaty (INF), Belmont (2012-15)
Casey Benjamin (SS), Tennessee Tech (2001-03)
Mike Birkbeck (P), Akron (1980-83)
Michael Blount (P), UT Martin (1995-98)
Brett Bolger (OF), Eastern Kentucky (2003-06)
Jeremy Bonczynski (3B/OF), Tennessee Tech (1996-97)
Clemente Bonilla (2B), Southeast Missouri (1999-02)
Dylan Bosheers (SS), Tennessee Tech (2012-15)
Buford “Mudcat” Brewer (OF), Middle Tennessee (1991-94)
Jim Brockman (SS), Morehead State (1974-77)
Jimmy Cain (3B), Eastern Kentucky (1967-69)
Mark Chagnon (OF), Eastern Illinois (2004-07)
Chase Chambers (1B), Tennessee Tech (2015-18)
Rex Crosnoe (C), Southeast Missouri (1993-95)
Tyrell Cummings (OF), Southeast Missouri (2008-09)
Wes Cunningham (1B/DH), Murray State (2007-10)
Greg Cunnyngham (P), Middle Tennessee (1966-68)
Clayton Daniel (INF), Jacksonville State (2015-18)
Jeremy Dobbs (P), Austin Peay (2009-11)
Dylan Dodd (P), Southeast Missouri (2019-21)
Shane Dortch (P), Austin Peay (1992-94)
Brock Downey (P), Murray State (2011-15)
Denny Doyle (2B), Morehead State (1963-65)
George Dugan (P), Murray State (1962-65)
A.J. Ellis (C), Austin Peay (2000-03)
Clay Elswick (1B), Eastern Kentucky (1983-86)
Garrett Farmer (P), Jacksonville State (2016-19)
Jackson Feltner (1B), Morehead State (2021-present)
Drew Ferguson (OF), Belmont (2012-15)
Ben Fisher (1B), Eastern Kentucky (2014-17)
Ryan Flick (DH), Tennessee Tech (2015-17)
Christian Friedrich (P), Eastern Kentucky (2006-08)
Jody Fuller (P), UT Martin (1994-98)
Matt Fyffe (P), Eastern Kentucky (2008-12)
Kenny Gerhart (OF), Middle Tennessee (1980-82)
Drew Hall (P), Morehead State (1982-84)
Jody Hamilton (OF), Morehead State (1977-80)
Steve Hamilton (P), Morehead State (1954-58)
Atlee Hammaker (P), East Tennessee (1976-79)
Donovan Hand (P), Jacksonville State (2005-07)
Jordan Hankins (2B), Austin Peay (2011-13)
Rowdy Hardy (P), Austin Peay (2004-06)
Reed Harper (SS), Austin Peay (2010-13)
Lee Henry (P), Tennessee Tech (2009-10)
Jason Hinchman (OF), Tennessee Tech (2018-22)
Niko Hulsizer (OF), Morehead State (2016-18)
Brett Johnson (OF), SIUE (2021-22)
Jeremy Johnson (OF), Southeast Missouri (1997-00)
Bryant Jones (INF), UT Martin (2001-04)
Shawn Kelley (P), Austin Peay (2003-07)
Todd Kemp (P), Tennessee Tech (1985-88)
A.J. Kirby-Jones (1B/P), Tennessee Tech (2008-10)
Jim Klocke (C), Southeast Missouri (2007-10)
Jordan Kreke (SS), Eastern Illinois (2006-09)
Derek Lane (OF), Tennessee Tech (1984-87)
Jayson Langfels (3B), Eastern Kentucky (2008-10)
John Larson (P), Eastern Illinois (1997-00)
Drew Lee (SS), Morehead State (2007-10)
Reid Leonard (SS), Morehead State (2016-19)
Joey Lucchesi (P), Southeast Missouri (2015-16)
Sean Lyons (OF), Eastern Illinois (1996-99)
Nate Manning (3B), Austin Peay (1993-96)
Mark Maberry (OF/P), Tennessee Tech (1994-97)
Michael Marseco (SS), Samford (2006-08)
Matt Marzec (1B), Eastern Illinois (1996-00)
Joe McGuire (P/INF), Jacksonville State (2014-17)
Daniel Miles (3B), Tennessee Tech (2013-14)
Robert Moore (OF), Eastern Kentucky (1985-87)
Trenton Moses (3B), Southeast Missouri (2008-12)
Travis Moths (P), Tennessee Tech (2015-18)
Mike Murray (SS), Western Kentucky (1977-80)
Sean Murray (OF), Eastern Kentucky (1998-99)
Kyle Nowlin (OF), Eastern Kentucky (2013-16)
Jay Owens (C) , Middle Tennessee (1988-90)
Connor Pauly (OF), Morehead State (2018-19)
Bryan Peck (OF), Middle Tennessee (1999-00)
Todd Pennington (P), Southeast Missouri (1999-01)
Jack Perconte (2B), Murray State (1973-76)
Parker Phillips (1B), Austin Peay (2017-19)
Brett Pignatiello (C), Eastern Illinois (2000-03)
Pete Pirman (OF), Eastern Illinois (2001-02)
Dave Pratt (P), Tennessee Tech (1964-67)
Josh Pride (INF/C), Middle Tennessee (1997-00)
Dave Quick (P), Eastern Kentucky (1961-64)
Brett Roberts (P), Morehead State (1989-92)
Ethan Roberts (P), Tennessee Tech (2016-18)
Chris Robinson (C/OF), Morehead State (2013-14)
Kerry Robinson (OF), Southeast Missouri (1993-95)
Alex Robles (UTIL), Austin Peay (2014-17)
Richie Rodriguez (SS), Eastern Kentucky (2009-12)
Tyler Rogers (P), Austin Peay (2012-13)
Kirk Rueter (P), Murray State (1989-91)
Lance Seasor (2B), Morehead State (2002-05)
Ron Shumate (OF), Tennessee Tech (1958-61)
Bert Smith (2B), Jacksonville State (2006-10)
Clay Snellgrove (SS), Middle Tennessee (1994-97)
Steve Sonneberger (P), Middle Tennessee (1983-86)
Ryan Spille (P), Southeast Missouri (1998-99)
Zach Stephens (1B), Tennessee Tech (2011-14)
Travis Stout (P), Jacksonville State (2012-15)
Kevin Strohschein (OF/DH), Tennessee Tech (2016-19)
Trey Sweeney (SS), Eastern Illinois (2019-21)
Matt Tellor (1B), Southeast Missouri (2013-14)
Greg Tubbs (INF), Austin Peay (1981-84)
Randy White (P), Eastern Kentucky (1986-89)
Clay Whittemore (OF), Jacksonville State (2006-08)
Tyler Wilber (SS), Southeast Missouri (2019-22)
Mike Williams (INF), Western Kentucky (1978-81)
Charlie Yarbrough (1B), Eastern Kentucky (2006)
Coaches of Note
Sonny Allen, Morehead State
Matt Bragga, Tennessee Tech
Jim Case, Jacksonville State
Steve Hamilton, Morehead State
Mark Hogan, Southeast Missouri
David Mays, Tennessee Tech
Gary McClure, Austin Peay
Steve Peterson, Middle Tennessee
Johnny Reagan, Murray State
John Stanford, Middle Tennessee
Jim Ward, Eastern Kentucky
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information