Trio Earns Preseason All-Conference Honors
12/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. â€" Houston Baseball trio Joe Davis, Seth Romero and Corey Julks earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference Preseason Baseball Team, while Davis was selected as Preseason Player of the Year, voted by the league's head coaches and announced on Wednesday.
Along with the trio being named to the Preseason Team, Houston received one first-place vote and was selected to finish second in the league behind East Carolina.
Following Houston in the Preseason Poll was Tulane, UConn, Cincinnati, USF, UCF and Memphis.
Davis returns to the Cougars after one of the most historic freshman campaigns in Houston Baseball history. He has already earned Third Team Preseason All-America honors this season and is coming off a 2016 campaign where he earned American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors and was an All-American and five-time Freshman All-American award winner.
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.
Romero is fresh off a Second Team Preseason All-America honor and returns to the field after earning First Team All-Region honors in 2016. He 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.
Julks is coming off a 2016 season where he led the Cougars in average with a .332 clip and a .369 average in league play alone, which propelled him to First Team All-Conference honors.
The Friendswood, Texas native finished the year with a 23-game on base streak and had a hit in all but four of those games. Julks was third on the team with 65 hits and second on the team with 34 runs scored, while slugging .439 with 10 doubles, one triple and three home runs.
2017 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
P Tim Cate | UConn
P Evan Kruczynski | East Carolina
P Seth Romero * | Houston
P Ross Massey | Tulane
RP Joe Ingle * | East Carolina
C Travis Watkins | East Carolina
1B Hunter Williams | Tulane
2B Jake Willsey | Tulane
SS Kevin Merrell | USF
3B Willy Yahn | UConn
OF Dwanya Williams-Sutton * | East Carolina
OF Corey Julks * | Houston
OF Chris Carrier | Memphis
DH Joe Davis * | Houston
* unanimous selection
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DH Joe Davis | Houston
PRESEASON PITCHERS OF THE YEAR
LHP Tim Cate | UConn
LHP Evan Kruczynski | East Carolina
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.
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.
Corey Julks
SOPHOMORE (2016)
Named to the American Athletic Conference First Team as an outfielder...Led Houston with a .332 average, while hitting .369 in conference play alone...Finished the year with a 23 game on base streak and had a hit in all but four...Was third on the team with 65 hits and second on the team with 34 runs scored...Slugged .439 with 10 doubles, one triple and three home runs...Was 10-for-12 in stolen bases...Tallied 16 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games...Had a season-high four hits twice (Villanova, Tulane)...Drove in a season-high three RBI four times (at Lamar, USF, at Rice, vs. Rice)...Tallied a multi-hit game in four straight games (April 24 -- 30)...Had seven hits and three runs in final regular-season series vs. league-winner Tulane...Belted home runs vs. Villanova (Feb. 20), USF (April 24) and vs. Rice (May 17)...Tallied 25 walks for third-most on the team...Had three walks and two hits with three RBI in a 10-0 win at Rice (May 10).
FRESHMAN (2015)
Played an integral role in the Cougars' postseason run during the last month of the season...Appeared in 53 games, making 48 starts in the outfield and infield this season...Finished the year, starting the final 29 games in left field...Tied for the team lead in average at .302 as a true freshman...Tallied five home runs for third-most on the team...Had 54 hits, scored 22 runs and drove in 38 RBI...Was second on the team with a .469 slugging percentage, tallying 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs...Belted two key home runs in the NCAA Houston Regional, one which put the Cougars ahead of HBU in the third inning and one that forced extra innings vs. Rice...Hit all five home runs in the final 15 games of the season...First career hit and RBI came in the second game of the season vs. Minnesota (Feb. 14)...Had 12 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games...Tallied 14 hits and nine RBI in a span of eight games during the first of May...Notched a career-high five hits and five RBI, while scoring three runs in a win over Memphis (May 23) in the American Championship...Was named to the All-Tournament Team after tallying eight hits and nine RBI in four games...Had a hit in each of the three NCAA Houston Regional games at Cougar Field...Drove in three RBI in win over HBU (May 29)...Finished the year with a hit in 14 of the last 15 games and driving in an RBI in 12 of those contests... Helped Cougars to an American Athletic Conference title, their second consecutive 40-win season and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
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 â€" 2017 will mark the first time competing in the Whataburger Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas
2 â€" Cougars to play two games at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, TX (Rice, Sam Houston State)
3 â€" Houston has won the Silver Glove Series vs. Rice three straight seasons
8 â€" 2017 schedule features eight home midweek games
12 â€" The Cougars will open at home for the 12th consecutive season on Feb. 17-19
14 â€" Houston will play 14 of its first 20 games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park
17 â€" Under Todd Whitting, the Cougars are 17-1 during Opening Weekend the last six seasons
29 â€" Houston is set to play 29 home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park
121 â€" 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.
