Brooks Lee, shown in game from last season, is now a three-time preseason All-American as Baseball America placed the sophomore shortstop on its first team.
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Lee Lands on Baseball America's Preseason All-America First Team
1/31/2022 9:37:00 AM | Baseball
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly sophomore shortstop Brooks Lee is a preseason All-American for the third time.
Following in the footsteps of Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game, Baseball America has honored Lee with a spot on its Preseason All-America first team.
In addition, sophomore right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe earned a spot on Baseball America's third team.
Baseball America's Preseason All-America teams are unique in that they are voted on by Major League scouting directors.
This year's team includes eight players who were selected to the 2021 All-America team, two of whom – Mississippi State's Landon Sims and Air Force's Paul Skenes – were first-teamers.
Baseball America annually polls major league teams to vote for its Preseason All-America team, asking that they make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. In the past, the Baseball America Preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the draft and of team success.
Nine of the 14 college players drafted in the first round in 2021 were voted as Preseason All-Americans. In all, 20 of the 42 2021 Preseason All-Americans were drafted in the top 100 picks.
Drew Thorpe struck out 104 batters in 2021.A four-time All-American last spring, Lee produced a school-record 27 doubles while slugging over .600. He committed just six errors in 54 games for a .974 fielding percentage, No. 2 among regular shortstops in the Big West. He did not commit an error in Cal Poly's final 21 games of the 2021 season.
His team-leading .342 batting average also included three triples and 10 home runs, both team highs as well as his 27 doubles. Lee finished with more extra-base hits (40) than singles (36) and hit safely in 41 of the 54 games in which he played, producing hitting streaks of 12, 11 and nine games.
Other honors earned by Lee were Big West Conference Co-Field Player of the Year and Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year, a spot on the All-Big West first team, Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, one of five National Co-Freshman Players of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and ABCA All-West Region first team.
Lee was one of six finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop and also was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the player of the year.
Lee led the Mustangs in RBIs (57), hits (76), total bases (139) and sacrifice flies (8). His school single-season record of 27 doubles tied for fifth place in the Big West record book. Lee he also led his squad in multiple-hit games with 25 and was the Big West leader with his 16 multiple-RBI contests.
Thorpe was Cal Poly's Friday night starter and compiled a 6-6 win-loss record and 3.79 ERA in his first full season with the Mustangs. The Washington, Utah, native struck out 104 batters over 90 1/3 innings and opponents hit just .240 off the 6-4, 205-pound pitcher.
Thorpe's 104 strikeouts were third in the Big West last season and he also was third in innings pitched, 10th in wins, fifth in starts (15) and 14th in ERA.
Thorpe was 6-1 with a 3.15 ERA in his nine starts at home last spring and compiled double-digit strikeouts three times this year, matching his career high with 13 against UC Santa Barbara.
Both Lee and Thorpe played for Team USA as well as in the Cape Cod League for Yarmouth-Dennis last summer.
From the Big West, UC Santa Barbara shortstop Jordan Sprinkle made Baseball America's second team.
Louisiana State's Jacob Berry is the lone unanimous first-team selection. He is one of four Tigers to be voted Preseason All-Americans, leading all teams.
Arkansas' Robert Moore is the only player to repeat as a Preseason All-American. Like this year, he was voted the second-team second baseman in 2021.
Baseball America received votes from 14 major league organizations.
