Baseball Factory is proud to announce that thirteen alumni were recently named to the Baseball America College Pre-Season All-America Teams. These players have certainly earned the recognition and we are looking forward to watching them perform in the upcoming season.

The 2012 Baseball America Pre-Season All-America First Team is led by Stanford junior Stephen Piscotty.  As a freshman, the utility player started 28 games at first base and 28 in left field before becoming the Cardinal’s everyday first basemen during his sophomore season.  His play earned him First Team All-Pac-12 honors as a sophomore after receiving honorable mention as a freshman.  Before heading to Stanford, Stephen participated in an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout.

Piscotty is joined by fellow Pac-12 junior Deven Marrero of Arizona State.  Last season Deven became only the second Sun Devil to win the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and was also named to the First Team All-Pac-12.  As a high school standout, Deven was selected to the 2008 Under Armour All-America Game, held annually at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.  Now Arizona State’s everyday shortstop, Deven will continue to grow as a player and have high expectations after posting a .397 average as a freshman and .315 as a sophomore.

Florida’s Mike Zunino is the Pre-Season First Team catcher.  Only a sophomore, many people expect Mike to continue his growth into one of the cornerstones of the Gator squad.  After starting 51 games behind the plate during his freshman season and posting a .267 average with 41 RBI and 31 runs scored, Mike will look to have an even better season in 2012.  Mike’s great season earned him the honor of being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.  Prior to staring at Florida, Mike showed he had potential to become a top collegiate player during the Under Armour Southeast Tournament.

Texas A&M outfielder Tyler Naquin is the final First Team position player.  Tyler had a break-out sophomore season where he earned his first All-America Honors.  His great season was highlighted with a Big 12 leading .381 batting average and First Team All-Big 12 honors, as well as being named the Big 12 Player of the Year.  Tyler participated in an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in 2007 before joining the Aggies.  Heading into this season he will look to defend his title as the Big 12 Player of the Year.

Kevin Gausman is the lone pitcher to represent Baseball Factory on the Baseball America Pre-Season All-America First Team.  The tall righty was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice last season and is regarded by many as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.  Kevin played in the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game before joining the LSU baseball team.  In his final four starts of last season, Kevin had a 3-1 record with a 1.17 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched.  Kevin will look to continue this form going into his sophomore season.

The Baseball America College Pre-Season All-America Second Team is headed by a pair of Baseball Factory alumni who are now teammates for the Florida Gators.  As a top high school prospect the now senior utility player Preston Tucker was selected to the Under Armour Team One South Showcase. For the Gators he earned Second-Team All-America and First-Team All-SEC Honors as a junior in 2011.  Preston’s teammate, junior Austin Maddox, is also a utility player for the Gators.  Austin’s high school career took off after he participated in the 2008 Under Armour All-America Game.  For the Gators, he was chosen for the SEC Academic Honor Roll after making 62 starts at first base, third base, DH, and catcher.  Austin also led the team with five saves and had an ERA of 0.67 in 27 innings of work.

The pair of Gators is joined on the Second-Team by Arizona State pitcher Jake Barrett.  In 2008, Jake participated in an Under Armour Baseball Factory Tryout before being selected to the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament.  During his sophomore season in Arizona, Jake posted a 7-4 record and had 72 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched.  He is accompanied on the Second-Team by TCU junior Josh Elander.  The Under Armour All America Game put Elander on the map as a top high school prospect heading into his senior year.  For TCU, he was named to the Second-Team All-Mountain West Conference while leading his team with a .426 on-base percentage in 2011.

Baseball America’s College Pre-Season All-America Third-Team is also filled with Baseball Factory alumni.  Florida Gator and freshman pitcher Karsten Whitson was regarded as one of the top players coming out of high school after demonstrating his ability during the 2009 Under Amour All-America Game.  Despite being selected in the first round of the 2011 draft, he chose to become the ace of the Florida pitching staff. Another Third-Team star from the state of Florida is Miami’s Peter O’Brien.  After his performance at an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout, Peter was selected to the 2007 Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament as well as the Under Armour Team One South Showcase. Peter began his collegiate career at Bethune-Cookman but has since transferred to Miami where he will be an interesting member to watch on the Hurricane’s squad.

The Third-Team is rounded out by the University of San Diego’s Kris Bryant and Cal State Fullerton’s Michael Lorenzen.  As a high school player, Kris participated in the 2008 Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament.  His success has continued in college and he was named West Coast Conference Co-Player and Co-Freshman of the year in 2011.  Michael participated in an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout before going on to Cal State Fullerton. Last year he was named to the Second-Team All-Big West Conference and was the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year.

We would like to once again congratulate these players on being selected to the Baseball America College Pre-Season All-America Teams. As the college season gets underway we couldn’t be more excited to watch all our alumni continue their success at the next level. We wish them all the best in the coming season!

Are you the next Baseball America Pre-Season All-American? Come out to an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in your area and show our scouts you have what it takes to play at the next level!

For more information on Baseball Factory alumni in currently in college, click here.

Baseball Factory is the Premier Scouting Partner for Baseball America.