Seven Golden Eagles collected OVC postseason honors
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Seven members of the Tennessee Tech baseball team were among those honored by the Ohio Valley Conference Tuesday afternoon, as the league announced its annual postseason honors on the eve of the 2024 OVC Tournament.
2024 All-OVC Teams and Award Winners
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Seven members of the Tennessee Tech baseball team were among those honored by the Ohio Valley Conference Tuesday afternoon, as the league announced its annual postseason honors on the eve of the 2024 OVC Tournament.
Hayden Gilliland, Peyton Calitri, Preston Ford, Mack Whitcomb, Drew Mattox, Jack Brafa, and Juan Vargas all received recognition from the OVC, with votes accumulated from the league's coaches and sports information contacts.
Gilliland earned a spot on the All-OVC First Team as a catcher for the second straight season, just the third Golden Eagle backstop to earn two First Team honors in their career. Calitri joined him on the First Team, representing one of the top hurlers in the league all season long. Ford was selected to the All-OVC Second Team at first base while Whitcomb, Mattox, Brafa, and Vargas all earned spots on the OVC All-Freshman Team.
This marks the 14th straight season the Golden Eagles saw at least four student-athletes collect end-of-the-year honors from the OVC (does not include the 2020 season, which was cancelled after 15 games, and subsequently, no postseason honors were awarded during the year). It represents the 13th consecutive year Tech saw at least one student-athlete named to the All-OVC First Team.
A Maryville, Tenn. native, Gilliland joined Eric Brown (1970 & 1973) and Mac Coley (1974 & 1975) as the only Tech catchers to earn top honors from the league two times. Closing out a remarkable career, the senior hit .327 with team highs of 13 home runs and 56 RBI, finishing with 38 walks and a .436 on-base percentage.
He wrapped up the regular season climbing the program's career charts in a number of categories. Gilliland enters the tournament ranked second in runner caught stealing (51), seventh in walks (121), 10th in games played (191), tied for 12th in home runs (30), 14th in on-base percentage (.430), 17th in RBI (131), tied for 19th in hits (195), and 23rd in runs (122).
On the year, he took home OVC Player of the Week honors and became the program's positional leader in both single-season and career long balls among catchers.
Calitri turned in a special season on the hill for the purple and gold, becoming the first Golden Eagle starting pitcher to earn All-OVC First Team recognition since Travis Moths was named the OVC Pitcher of the Year in 2018. He turned in a 3.30 ERA and 7-3 record overall in 14 starts, leading the team with 87.1 innings of work while striking out 79 batters.
Heading into tournament play, he ranks third nationally with a walks/nine innings mark of 1.03 and sixth with a strikeout/walk ratio of 7.90, fanning 79 batters with just 10 free passes on the year. He also has been ascending the all-time career leaderboards, ranking second in walks/nine innings (2.10), third in strikeout/walk ratio (3.49), sixth in starts (40), tied for eighth in wins (17), ninth in strikeouts (185), and 11th in innings pitched (227.2).
Named to the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Watch List, Calitri was also a two-time OVC Pitcher of the Week.
Ford earned his first career All-OVC recognition behind a sensational year at first base. The senior led the Golden Eagles with a .339 batting average, finishing with 63 hits, 10 doubles, eight home runs, 39 RBI, and 14 stolen bases on 16 attempts.
Over the last 12 seasons the league has presented postseason honors, Golden Eagle first basemen have been named to either the first or second team in nine of them, with Ford the newest member of the club. The Millington, Tenn. native joins the likes of Zach Stephens (2012, 2013, & 2014), Chase Chambers (2017 & 2018), Jason Hinchman (2019), Golston Gillespie (2021), and John Dyer (2023).
A program-record four Golden Eagles picked up OVC All-Freshman Team honors, starting with designated hitter Mack Whitcomb. The rookie bat hit .287 in 39 games, racking up six round-trippers with 23 RBI and a .373 on-base percentage. The Mokena, Ill. native smacked two dingers at No. 17 Vanderbilt during the regular season.
Three Tech hurlers made up the rest of the group, beginning with Drew Mattox. A right-hander from Sevierville, Tenn., the rookie finished 3-0 in 15 appearances, covering 26.0 innings while allowing just a .221 batting average against with 20 strikeouts and a 4.15 ERA.
A Medina, Tenn. native, Brafa split time as a starter and reliever for the purple and gold, producing a 5.13 ERA over seven starts and 14 total appearances. He punched out 32 batters in 47.1 innings, finishing 1-1 with two saves. Vargas racked up a 2-1 record in 13 appearances out of the bullpen, tallying a 5.21 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 19.0 innings. From Powder Springs, Ga. and a native of Panama City, Panama, the rookie held opposing batters to just a .229 average.
