WACO, TX — Baylor baseball senior pitcher Kyle Hill (first team) and Davis Wendzel (third team) were named All-Americans by Baseball America, it was announced today by the publication.
The duo, were previously named All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball, as Hill was also named a first teamer and Wendzel a third teamer. The honors give Baylor All-Americans in three-straight seasons for the first time since 1999-2001.
Hill is the first Bear to earn First Team All-America honors by Baseball Americasince catcher Josh Ludy earned first team honors in 2012. The Corpus Christi, native is also the first Baylor pitcher to earn first team honors since Jason Jennings in 1999. In addition, the Baseball Americahonors for Hill and Wendzel are the first for the Bears by the publication since 2012.
For the third-straight year Baylor pitching coach Jon Strauss has led one of his pitchers to All-America honors, with closer Troy Montemayorearning the second team honors in 2017 and starter Cody Bradford as a third team selection in 2018.
Hill, the first Bear to be named a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, was outstanding for the Bears on the mound in his final season, as he did not allow a run (0.00 ERA) in 23 appearances, 29.1 innings of work on the season, finishing with a 6-0 record and seven saves. The 32-game, 29.1 innings scoreless streak is the longest in program history for one season and overall, he boasts a 32.2 scoreless inning streak over 24 games dating back to the 2018 season. He cemented his spot in the Baylor record book with 139 career strikeouts in relief to sit fourth on the career list and is third on BU's all-time appearances leaderboard (93 games) and tied for fifth on the all-time relief appearances chart (82). His 0.00 ERA leads the Big 12 and his six wins on the year are the most by a reliever nationally that does not have at least one start on the year. The Baseball Americaselection is his second-career All-America honor, as he was also named a first team selection by Collegiate Baseball.
Joining Hill as a first-time All-America selection is third baseman Davis Wendzel, a third team selection after being named Co-Big 12 Player of the Year. Wendzel led the Conference during the regular season with a .377 batting average (63-of-167) and a .488 on-base percentage, while his slugging percentage of .623 ranked third in the league. The San Clemente, Calif., native's .404 batting average (23-of-57) in conference-only action also led the league. He finished his junior campaign batting .367 with a OPS of 1.094. He finished tied for second on the team with 42 RBIs and 19 doubles. His eight home runs were third-most on the team, while his slugging percentage of .610 led the team. Wendzel also showed off his wheels this season, stealing a career-best 11 bases (11-of-14 attempts). He also was even more impressive on the field, registering just two errors in 108 chances. The Baseball Americaselection is his second-career All-America honor, as he was also named a first team honoree by Collegiate Baseball.
Overall, Hill and Wendzel are the 53rdand 54th All-American choices in program history and the 10thand 11thby Baseball America.
