COLUMBIA, Mo. – The long list of preseason accolades for Mizzou Baseball junior RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) just got longer as he was named Preseason All-SEC Second Team on Thursday (Feb. 9), as announced by the league office. The 24-man team, broken up into a 12-man first and second team, were selected by the league’s 14 coaches. The coaches were not able to vote for their own athletes. This is the second consecutive year that Houck has landed on the All-SEC Season Team in the preseason.

Houck’s All-SEC nod comes on the heels of earning three first team All-America honors and another third team distinction already this year. The junior righty, who is expected to be a high first-round pick in the 2017 MLB Frist Year Player Draft this summer, is coming off of a sophomore season during which he posted a 2.99 ERA in a career-best 105.1 innings pitched, striking out 106 while walking just 27. He limited batters to .209 hitting a year ago and was twice named SEC Pitcher of the Week, earning Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week following his start against Vanderbilt. In that start against the Commodores, Houck tossed 9.0 shutout innings, scattering just two hits while fanning a career-best 14. Both hits he allowed were infield hits as just one batted ball left the infield in the entire start.

Entering his junior season, Houck’s first two seasons have been arguably the best by a Mizzou pitcher in the history of the program. He has amassed 206.0 innings and owns a career 3.23 ERA while limiting batters to just .220 hitting. He has struck out 197 batters in his career and walked just 39, good for a 5-1 strikeout-walk ratio. He has 27 more strikeouts than hits allowed in his career.

Houck will get the ball on opening day for Mizzou Baseball and first-year head coach Steve Bieser next Friday (Feb. 17) when Mizzou takes on Eastern Michigan in Fort Myers, Fla., the first of a four-game series.

— Mizzou Athletics —