STANFORD, Calif. - Baseball America and D1Baseball announced their annual Preaseason All-America selections on Monday, with five Cardinal earning spots on at least one list.
Junior Tommy Troy was named to each publication's first team, while Ryan Bruno placed on the first team according to D1Baseball and Baseball America's second team. Sophomore two-way player Braden Montgomery landed on the second team according to Baseball America before earning a spot on D1Baseball's third team. Montgomery was also rated the second-best outfield arm in the nation according to Baseball America.
Carter Graham was selected a second-team All-American according to D1Baseball, while Quinn Mathews landed on the publication's third team.
Baseball America annually polls major league teams to vote for its Preseason All-America teams, asking only that they make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. The BA Preseason All-America teams have been a predictor of both first-round draft talent and team success in previous years.
Seven of the 14 2022 first-team members were drafted in first round and and 27 of the 42 total Preseason All-Americans were selected among the top 100 picks of the draft.
D1Baseball's editors and national writers select the preseason All-America teams with one guiding principle in mind: to identify the best and most valuable college baseball players for the 2023 season. Past performance and future potential factor into the deliberations, but the goal is neither to identify the best future major leaguers nor to reward the players who have put up the gaudiest numbers in past seasons. The objective is to select the players who would provide the most value for a team that wanted to win the College World Series in 2023 — the players who are best equipped to perform against elite college competition this spring.
Stanford and Tennessee placed two players apiece on the first team, as did Wake Forest and Florida. The Cardinal led all programs with five D1Baseball All-Americans overall, followed by Tennessee with four.
Troy, also selected a first-team Perfect Game Preseason All-American, enters the year as one of the top prospects in the nation after being voted by his peers as the top professional prospect in the Cape Cod League last summer. The versatile junior batted .339 with 34 runs scored, 15 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 23 RBIs while playing in 55 games and starting 46 a year ago. Crucial to Stanford's run to Omaha in 2022, Troy hit .500 (21 for 42) with 12 runs scored, five doubles, five homers and nine RBIs during the 10-game postseason run. His 41 total bases during the NCAA tournament led all postseason participants, while his 21 hits were tied for most with teammate Eddie Park.
Bruno made a team-best 30 relief appearances, compiling a 6-1 record, one save, and a 2.72 ERA over 39 2/3 innings a year ago. His 30 appearances were ninth-most in the conference and tied for 10th-most in Stanford history. Featuring top-notch strikeout stuff, Bruno struck out 71 batters and limited opponents to a .150 average against to average 16.11 strikeouts per nine innings. Crucial during Stanford's postseason run, he made seven appearances and compiled a 1.69 ERA and a 1-0 record while striking out 20 hitters in 10 2/3 innings during the run to Omaha. Following his sophomore campaign, Bruno made one appearance with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and struck out one over an inning against Italy.
Montgomery, a first-team Freshman All-American according to Perfect Game last year, hit .294 with 50 runs scored, 16 doubles, two triples and 18 home runs while driving in 57. The 18 homers set a Stanford record for a freshman. Stanford's cleanup hitter for the latter portion of the year, Montgomery was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12 honorable mention. On the mound, Montgomery made 15 appearances, including three starts, and logged 18 2/3 innings with 28 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .182 against the hard-throwing right-hander. Montgomery had previously been tabbed a preseason second-team All-American according to Perfect Game while also being named the preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year according to Perfect Game and D1Baseball.
Mathews, a first-team Preseason All-American according to Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game, was named ABCA All-Region second team and an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection while posting a 9-2 record with a 3.08 ERA and nine saves over 27 appearances (nine starts) a year ago. The native of Aliso Viejo, Calif., who struck out 111 over 99 1/3 innings (10.01 strikeouts per game) while limiting opponents to a .213 average against, began the year as a starter but moved to the bullpen to shore up the back end of games for the Cardinal. Mathews finished second in the Pac-12 in ERA, wins, strikeouts, saves and hits allowed per game (6.98), while his nine saves were eighth-most in Stanford history. Used in a variety of situations, Mathews was the nation's only pitcher with both nine wins and nine saves last year. Mathews was previously tabbed the Pac-12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year according to D1Baseball.
Following a breakout sophomore campaign a year ago, Graham earned a spot on the Baseball America All-America second team, and third-team selections according to Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game. An All-Pac-12 and All-Region first team honoree, Graham hit .331 with 64 runs scored, 13 doubles, a triple and a Pac-12-best 22 home runs while driving in a team-high 79 runs. Graham strung together a 15-game hitting streak during the year, and hit safely in all but 12 of his 64 games played. The native of Los Angeles batted .365 with 34 runs scored, seven doubles, 11 homers and 42 RBIs in Pac-12 play. One of the most productive players for the Cardinal last season, Graham collected an RBI in 40 of 64 games and posted 24 multi-hit games and a team-best 22 multi-RBI contests. Graham had previously been named a first-team Preseason All-American according to Collegiate Baseball and a second-team selection according to Perfect Game.
The Cardinal, which has reached the College World Series in each of the last two seasons, will begin the 2023 slate on the road at Cal State Fullerton on February 17.
