Youngstown State senior left-hander Colin Clark was named the Preseason Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, and five other Penguins earned preseason recognition from D1Baseball.com in the website's 2021 conference preview. The Penguins were picked to finish third in the league standings.
Clark, Collin Floyd, Blaze Glenn, Dominick Bucko and Jeff Wehler were each ranked among D1Baseball's top-20 draft prospects for 2021. In addition, Turner Grau was ranked among the website's top-five draft prospects for 2022.
Clark, who was ranked as the league's No. 4 draft prospect for 2021, was projected as the Horizon League's Pitcher of the Year. The Circleville, Ohio, native led the league with 26 strikeouts and 26.2 innings pitched over four starts in 2020. He issued only three walks and opponents batted just .206 against him. He posted a 3.38 ERA, and he struck out at least seven batters in three of his four outings. Clark was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the first time on March 2, 2020, after cruising to a complete-game victory on Feb. 28 at Abilene Christian. Clark scattered five hits and struck out a career-high nine batters in his first career complete game as YSU earned a 4-2 victory. The performance marked the first nine-inning complete game by a Penguin since 2017.
Floyd, who was ranked the No. 8 draft prospect for 2021, ranked second in the Horizon League with 25 strikeouts and third with 23 innings pitched over four starts in 2020. After missing 2019 with an injury, he went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA and opponents batted just .159 against him. The Akron, Ohio, native went 2-0 while allowing one run on four hits and fanning 14 batters in 12 innings over his final two outings. Floyd was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 17, 2020, after helping lead the Penguins to a 6-3 win at Houston on Feb 15.
Glenn, who was ranked as the league's No. 10 draft prospect for 2021, was named Second-Team All-Horizon League in 2018 and 2019. On the YSU career charts, Glenn is tied for eighth with 20 home runs and 82 walks. He also ranks tied for ninth in school history with 36 career stolen bases. The Toronto, Ohio, native is the only player in YSU history to record at least 20 home runs, 80 walks and 35 stolen bases. He is also one of only two players in school history to hit at least nine home runs in two different seasons.
Bucko, who was ranked as the No. 12 draft prospect for 2021, batted .281 and slugged .438 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs over 10 games played and nine starts in 2020. The Saxonburg, Pa., native ranked second on the team with a .378 on-base percentage while recording three multi-hit games. Bucko had a season-high four RBIs while going 2-for-4 with an RBI single and the go-ahead three-run home run in a win at N.C. Central on March 8, 2020.
Wehler, who was ranked as the league's No. 14 draft prospect for 2021, was named Second-Team All-Horizon League in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, he led YSU with a .290 batting average, 54 hits and 30 stolen bases. The St. Marys, Pa., native led the Horizon League and ranked 45th in the nation with eight stolen bases in 11 attempts in 2020. He also paced the league and ranked 35th nationally with 0.57 steals per game. Wehler currently ranks third in YSU history with 63 steals in his career. He is just the third player in school history and the first since 1971 to accumulate at least 60 steals.
Grau, who ranked as the No. 3 draft prospect for 2022, played in all 14 games and made 13 starts in outfield while batting in the leadoff spot six times as a freshman in 2020. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native delivered the go-ahead, two-run double in the top of fourth inning of YSU's 4-2 win at Abilene Christian on Feb. 28, 2020. Grau ranked third on the team with eight RBIs.
D1Baseball.com picked YSU to finish third in its projected Horizon League standings. 2019 regular season champion Wright State was picked to win the league while 2019 tournament champion UIC was selected second. Milwaukee was projected to finish fourth while Oakland was picked fifth. League newcomer Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky were selected sixth and seventh, respectively.
The website projected Wright State infielder Tyler Black as the Horizon League Player of the Year while Raiders' right-hander Justin Hornschemeier was picked as the league's Freshman of the Year.
The Penguins will begin the 2021 season on Feb. 19 when they open a four-game series at Troy. For news and updates throughout the season, follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter.
