JONESBORO, Ark. (2/10/22) – After a breakout junior season in 2021, Arkansas State third baseman Ben Klutts received some preseason hype, being named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference, the league office announced Thursday.
The Poteau, Okla., native looks to play up to the heightened expectations after being named the conference's First-Team third baseman a season ago. Manning the hot corner in all 49 games for the Red Wolves, Klutts hit .320 with seven home runs and 28 RBI, while bolstering his average to .340 in conference games.
Klutts led the Red Wolves with 63 hits, including 16 doubles and slugging .518, while being hit by pitch a team-leading 15 times. The rising senior tallied 18 multi-hit performances, including a run of seven in a row that helped land him SBC Player of the Week honors on May 11.
Thursday's honor adds to Klutts' growing preseason awards list. In January, Klutts was picked to be the league's Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, while also earning a spot on Perfect Game's Preseason All-Sun Belt squad. On Monday, Klutts was listed as the 45th-best third baseman in D1 Baseball's Preseason Top-50 Third Basemen.
Arkansas State, which was picked to finish 12th in the conference, opens its 2022 slate with four straight road games – a three-game set at (RV) Samford (Feb. 18-20) and then at fifth-ranked Ole Miss (Feb. 22) – before a 10-game home stand beginning Friday, Feb. 25 versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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2022 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Eric Brown, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SS – Bossier City, La.)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Miles Smith, South Alabama (Sr., SP – Laurel, Miss.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt
Miles Smith, South Alabama (Sr., SP – Laurel, Miss.)
Hayden Arnold, Little Rock (Sr., SP – Rison, Ark.)
Tyler Tuthill, App State (Jr., SP – Clayton, N.C.)
Brandon Talley, Louisiana (Sr., RP – Princeton, Texas)
Caleb Bartolero, Troy (Jr., C – Woodstock, Ga.)
Jason Swan, Georgia Southern (Sr., 1B – Jacksonville, Fla.)
Luke Drumheller, App State (Jr., 2B – Charlotte, N.C.)
Eric Brown, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SS – Bossier City, La.)
Ben Klutts, Arkansas State (Sr., 3B – Poteau, Okla.)
Christian Avant, Georgia Southern (Sr., OF – Tifton, Ga.)
Josh Smith, Georgia State (Jr., OF – College Park, Ga.)
Rigsby Mosley, Troy (Sr., OF – Maitland, Fla.)
Cameron Jones, Georgia State (So., UT – Kathleen, Ga.)
Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern (Jr., DH – Buford, Ga.)
