DALLAS – A trio of Conference USA student-athletes were named as Collegiate Baseball 2023 Preseason All-Americans, announced on Monday – Louisiana Tech SP Jonathan Fincher (third team), Louisiana Tech OF Cole McConnell (third team) and Florida Atlantic OF Nolan Schanuel (third team).
 
Fincher, who returns for his sixth season in Ruston, was named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region second team after starting 14 games for the Bulldogs in 2022. The Shreveport native concluded the season with record of 8-2 on the bump with a 3.52 ERA and a remarkable 73-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 79.1 innings of work.
 
McConnell, a first team All-Conference USA honoree in 2022, joins his fellow teammate as a third team Preseason All-American after finishing last season with a .336 batting average and .535 slugging percentage. The junior outfielder started in all 64 games in center field and broke the Louisiana Tech program single-season RBI record with 76, ranking him second in C-USA and 13^th in the nation.
 
Schanuel, another C-USA first-team member from a year ago, is coming off a 2022 season where he belted 16 home runs, drove in 56 RBI and hit a team-best .369 at the plate. The Boynton Beach, Florida, native landed himself fourth in C-USA in on-base percentage (.477), fifth in batting average (.369) and sixth in slugging percentage (.658).
 
Full Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American Teams