Romero, Davis Named Preseason AA
12/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Collegiate Baseball' List of Preseason All-Americans
TUCSON, Ariz. -- As we near the start of the 2017 college baseball season, Houston Baseball junior ace Seth Romero and sophomore slugger Joe Davis were recognized by Collegiate Baseball as Preseason All-Americans, announced by the publication Monday.
Romero was honored as a Second Team selection, while Davis was tabbed a Third Team honoree and Houston's two selections led the American Athletic Conference.
Romero is fresh off a First Team All-Region honor from 2016 and has been mentioned among MLB's Top Draft selections for the 2017 First Year Player Draft. The 2015 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, Romero was also tabbed a four-time Freshman All-American during his rookie season.
Hailing from West Columbia, Texas, he led the Cougars a year ago with a 2.29 ERA and totaled 113 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched. The southpaw is 13-8 and holds a 2.13 ERA in his two-year career at Houston. He has three complete games and has fanned 205 hitters in 177.2 innings.
Davis returns to the Cougars after one of the most historic freshman campaigns in Houston Baseball history. He earned American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors and was an All-American and five-time Freshman All-American award winner following last season.
The Austin, Texas native broke the Houston all-time freshman record in home runs (14) and RBI (58), while tying the doubles record (17). Davis finished second on the team with a .331 average and led Houston with 25 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games. For his impressive offensive effort, he was selected to participate in the College Home Run Derby, finishing as the finalist in Omaha.
Seth Romero
SOPHOMORE (2016)
Named to the American Athletic Conference Second Team...Led Houston for the second straight year with a 2.29 ERA...Made 15 appearances with 13 starts and finished with a 6-4 record...Led the Cougars with 113 strikeouts in 94.1 innings logged...Pitched two complete games and was part of one combined shutout...Held opponents to a .186 average...Earned wins in his first four starts (Baylor, at Alabama, Grand Canyon, George Washington)...Pitched his first career 9.0-inning complete game in a win over Grand Canyon (March 19)...Struck out 11 in a win at Alabama (March 12) and followed it up with a season-high 13 strikeout effort vs. GCU...Named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Month for May after owning a 0.58 ERA in five appearances and four starts...Broke the American Championship record with his 11 strikeouts in a single game vs. Tulane (May 26)...Went at least 7.0 innings in seven of his 13 starts and fanned at least four in every start...Tossed his second complete game in a win at Cincinnati (May 13).
FRESHMAN (2015)
Named a DIBaseball.com, Baseball America and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American...Tabbed American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-Conference selection as a true freshman...Led the conference with a 1.94 ERA...Became sixth Cougar ever to lead the league in ERA...Finished year with a 7-4 record and seven saves to rank in the league's Top 5...Appeared in 22 games with eight starts...Threw one complete game in a 7.0-inning run-rule of East Carolina (May 10)...Struck out 94 in 83.1 innings...Broke Houston freshman record with 9.94 strikeouts per nine innings...Held opposing hitters to a .201 average... Lasted at least 6.0 innings and struck out at least six in seven of his eight starts...Fanned a career-high nine, twice, vs. Rice (March 17) and at USF (April 26)...For his nine-strikeout performance and win in his first career start vs. Rice, he was tabbed the Silver Glove Series MVP....Earned his first career win in a 5.1-inning relief performance vs. Hawaii on March 8 at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park...Tallied first career save in the second game of the season, after tossing 4.0 shutout innings out of the bullpen vs. Minnesota on Feb. 14...Notched a win and save in a road series victory at USF en route to being named the league's Pitcher of the Week...Finished the season with one of the most dominating NCAA postseason performances in program history, tossing a no-hitter into the eighth inning vs. Louisiana-Lafayette...Tossed 1-hitter in 8.0 innings, while fanning eight vs. Ragin' Cajuns...For that, was named to the NCAA Houston Regional All-Tournament Team...Helped Cougars to an American Athletic Conference title, their second consecutive 40-win season and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament... Was part of a pitching staff that ranked first in the conference with a 2.89 ERA.
Joe Davis
FRESHMAN (2016)
Produced arguably one of the best freshman campaigns in program history...Broke the UH all-time freshman record in home runs (14) and RBI (58), while tying the doubles record (17)...Named the American Rookie of the Year and to the American Athletic Conference First Team at first base and became the first All-American named by Collegiate Baseball since 2006...Started 58 of the 59 games...Finished second on the team with a .331 average...Led the Cougars in hits (79), RBI (58), home runs (14), doubles (17) and with a .577 slugging percentage...Fielding .984 with 351 putouts at first base...Led Houston with 25 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games and rode a 14-game hit streak from April 29 -- May 20...Hit two grand slams and became the fifth Cougar in program history to do so, while becoming the third Cougar in history to hit two in one season...Notched a season-high four hits in a 4-for-4 effort vs. Arkansas (Feb. 27)...Tallied a season-high six RBI in a 24-6 win over Rice (May 17)...Hit second career grand slam in the American Championship vs. Tulane (May 26), which put the Cougars on top for good...Had seven RBI in the Championship on four hits en route to being named to the All-Tournament team...Had five RBI in a win over McNeese State (Feb. 23)...Had a hit in all but 12 games during the 59-game season.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Houston will enter the 2016-17 season with a roster highlighted by 23 newcomers, 16 of which are true freshmen. The Cougars return 12 from the 2016 season, led by All-American and American Rookie of the Year Joe Davis.
Also back for Houston is junior starting pitcher Seth Romero, junior outfielder Corey Julks, junior catcher Connor Wong, junior infielder Connor Hollis and freshman All-American pitchers from a year ago Mitch Ullom and Trey Cumbie.
A year ago, Houston notched its fourth straight 35+ win season under Whitting and advanced to the American Championship final for the third straight year. The Cougars finished with a record of 36-23 overall and a 23-9 mark at home, while also capturing the Silver Glove Series for the third straight year with a 2-1 record over Rice in 2016.
ABOUT THE 2017 SCHEDULE
The Cougars are set to host 29 home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park with Opening Weekend set for Feb 17-19 in a three-team home event featuring Houston, Nicholls State, and Wake Forest.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
1 -- 2017 will mark the first time competing in the Whataburger Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas
2 -- Cougars to play two games at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, TX (Rice, Sam Houston State)
3 -- Houston has won the Silver Glove Series vs. Rice three straight seasons
8 -- 2017 schedule features eight home midweek games
12 -- The Cougars will open at home for the 12th consecutive season on Feb. 17-19
14 -- Houston will play 14 of its first 20 games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park
17 -- Under Todd Whitting, the Cougars are 17-1 during Opening Weekend the last six seasons
29 -- Houston is set to play 29 home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park
121 -- The Cougars have won 121 home games under Whitting since 2011
SEASON TICKET INFORMATION
Houston Baseball 2017 season tickets are on sale now for as low as $99, and fans are encouraged to secure their ticket to all 29 home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park this upcoming season by purchasing today.
Season tickets for 29 regular-season home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park are available for $200 for the reserved chairback seating on the lower level of the concourse at the stadium.
For the third straight year, the additional "Reserved 2" seating option for the 2017 season is available as fans can purchase an assigned seat in sections 200, 201 and 202 for $150.
All 2016 season ticket members should have received an email regarding the renewal process for 2017.
General admission seating will run in sections 203-209 and are available for $99 for the entire season.
The 2017 `30 Ticket Flex Plan' provides 30 general admission tickets that you can use in a variety of ways. You can use all 30 tickets for one game, a ticket for each home game of the season or any combination in-between.
General Admission season tickets start for as low as $99 (30 home games/$3.30 per ticket), while Reserved season tickets start at only $150 (30 home games/$5.00 per ticket).
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
