Slade Wilks Named ABCA/Rawlings Third-Team All-American
6/14/2024 11:07:00 AM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Slade Wilks garnered his second All-America honors this week by being named to the 2024 ABCA/Rawlings All-America third-team Friday morning.
Wilks finished his final collegiate season with a .336 batting average and included 20 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 69 RBI. His home run and RBI numbers were team highs, while his doubles total tied for team best.
He finished his career with a 36-game hitting streak, which ranks second best in school history. During his hitting streak, Wilks hit .386 (56-for-145) with 31 runs, 14 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 48 RBI to go along with a 1.129 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).
He is the first Golden Eagle to lead the team in runs batted in consecutive seasons since Matt Wallner did it in 2017 and 2018 and the 13th Southern Miss player overall to do it since 1947.
Wilks helped Southern Miss finish with a 43-20 record and their eight-straight NCAA postseason appearance under their belts. Wilks hit safely in 54 of 62 games played during the year and collected a hit in every true road game during the season.
This is the seventh-straight season a Golden Eagle has been recognized as an All-American by the ABCA/Rawlings – there was no team chosen in 2020 – as this is the 15th honor bestowed to a Southern Miss player.
First recognized in 1949, the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-America teams are selected by the ABCA All-America & Coach of the Year committee, which is chaired by Tommy Raffo. The committee also includes Mitch Canham (Oregon State University), Dean Ehehalt (Monmouth University), Brian Green (Wichita State University), Jeff Mercer (Indiana University), Brian O'Connor (University of Virginia), Jim Penders (University of Connecticut), and Butch Thompson (Auburn University).
Wilks also earned third-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association earlier this week.
Wilks finished his final collegiate season with a .336 batting average and included 20 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 69 RBI. His home run and RBI numbers were team highs, while his doubles total tied for team best.
He finished his career with a 36-game hitting streak, which ranks second best in school history. During his hitting streak, Wilks hit .386 (56-for-145) with 31 runs, 14 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 48 RBI to go along with a 1.129 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).
He is the first Golden Eagle to lead the team in runs batted in consecutive seasons since Matt Wallner did it in 2017 and 2018 and the 13th Southern Miss player overall to do it since 1947.
Wilks helped Southern Miss finish with a 43-20 record and their eight-straight NCAA postseason appearance under their belts. Wilks hit safely in 54 of 62 games played during the year and collected a hit in every true road game during the season.
This is the seventh-straight season a Golden Eagle has been recognized as an All-American by the ABCA/Rawlings – there was no team chosen in 2020 – as this is the 15th honor bestowed to a Southern Miss player.
First recognized in 1949, the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-America teams are selected by the ABCA All-America & Coach of the Year committee, which is chaired by Tommy Raffo. The committee also includes Mitch Canham (Oregon State University), Dean Ehehalt (Monmouth University), Brian Green (Wichita State University), Jeff Mercer (Indiana University), Brian O'Connor (University of Virginia), Jim Penders (University of Connecticut), and Butch Thompson (Auburn University).
Wilks also earned third-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association earlier this week.
| 2024 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-America Teams | ||||
| NCAA Div. I All-America First Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Walker Janek | Jr. | Sam Houston State | TX |
| 1B | Blake Burke | Jr. | Tennessee | TN |
| 2B | Travis Bazzana | Jr. | Oregon State | OR |
| 3B | Charlie Condon | So. | Georgia | GA |
| SS | Josh Kuroda-Grauer | Jr. | Rutgers | NJ |
| OF | Jakob Christian | Jr. | San Diego | CA |
| OF | James Tibbs III | Jr. | Florida State | FL |
| OF | Vance Honeycutt | Jr. | North Carolina | NC |
| OF | Braden Montgomery | Jr. | Texas A&M | TX |
| DH | Caleb Cozart | Sr. | UNC Greensboro | NC |
| UT | Jac Caglianone | Jr. | Florida | FL |
| P | Jamie Arnold | So. | Florida State | FL |
| P | Chase Burns | Jr. | Wake Forest | NC |
| P | Hagen Smith | Jr. | Arkansas | AR |
| P | Trey Yesavage | Jr. | East Carolina | NC |
| RP | Evan Aschenbeck | Sr. | Texas A&M | TX |
| RP | Charlie Beilenson | Gr. | Duke | NC |
| NCAA Div. I All-America Second Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Cole Messina | Jr. | South Carolina | SC |
| 1B | Edgar Alvarez | Sr. | Nicholls State | LA |
| 1B | Tyler MacGregor | Gr. | Northeastern | MA |
| 2B | Christian Moore | Jr. | Tennessee | TN |
| 3B | Alec Makarewicz | Gr. | North Carolina State | NC |
| 3B | Tommy White | Jr. | Louisiana State | LA |
| SS | Jon Jon Gazdar | Jr. | Austin Peay State | TN |
| SS | Griff O'Ferrall | Jr. | Virginia | VA |
| OF | Max Belyeu | So. | Texas | TX |
| OF | Drew Burress | Fr. | Georgia Tech | GA |
| OF | Lyle Miller-Green | Gr. | Austin Peay State | TN |
| OF | Jace LaViolette | So. | Texas A&M | TX |
| OF | Myles Smith | Jr. | UC Irvine | CA |
| OF | Banks Tolley | Sr. | Appalachian State | NC |
| DH | Ian Farrow | Sr. | Florida Gulf Coast | FL |
| UT | Ethan Bates | Sr. | Louisiana Tech | LA |
| P | Ryan Gallagher | So. | UC Santa Barbara | CA |
| P | Luke Holman | Jr. | Louisiana State | LA |
| P | Ryan Johnson | Jr. | Dallas Baptist | TX |
| P | Michael Ross | Jr. | Samford | AL |
| P | Brett Sears | Sr. | Nebraska | NE |
| RP | Bridger Holmes | Jr. | Oregon State | OR |
| NCAA Div. I All-America Third Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Ryan Campos | Jr. | Arizona State | AZ |
| C | Camden Janik | Jr. | Illinois | IL |
| 1B | Roman Kuntz | Sr. | Morehead State | KY |
| 1B | Nick Kurtz | Jr. | Wake Forest | NC |
| 2B | Emilien Pitre | Jr. | Kentucky | KY |
| 2B | Peyton Stovall | Jr. | Arkansas | AR |
| 2B | Blake Wright | Sr. | Clemson | SC |
| 3B | Gavin Grahovac | Fr. | Texas A&M | TX |
| 3B | Wyatt Henseler | Sr. | Penn | PA |
| SS | Kyle DeBarge | Jr. | Louisiana | LA |
| SS | Jalin Flores | So. | Texas | TX |
| OF | Kendal Ewell | Gr. | Illinois-Chicago | IL |
| OF | Alex Lane | Gr. | Northeastern | MA |
| OF | Garret Pike | Jr. | Toledo | OH |
| OF | Mark Shallenberger | Gr. | Evansville | IN |
| OF | Devin Taylor | So. | Indiana | IN |
| OF | Gavin Turley | So. | Oregon State | OR |
| DH | Slade Wilks | Sr. | Southern Miss | MS |
| UT | Carson Benge | So. | Oklahoma State | OK |
| UT | Austin Smith | Jr. | San Diego | CA |
| P | Tyler Bremner | So. | UC Santa Barbara | CA |
| P | AJ Causey | Jr. | Tennessee | TN |
| P | Daniel Eagen | Jr. | Presbyterian | SC |
| P | Brian Holiday | Jr. | Oklahoma State | OK |
| P | Nate Knowles | Jr. | William & Mary | VA |
| P | Aiden May | Jr. | Oregon State | OR |
| P | Khal Stephen | Jr. | Mississippi State | MS |
| P | Payton Tolle | Jr. | TCU | TX |
| P | Bryson Van Sickle | Sr. | Utah | UT |
| RP | Phil Fox | So. | Pitt | PA |
| RP | LP Langevin | Jr. | Louisiana | LA |
| RP | Nick Wissman | Sr. | Dayton | OH |
Players Mentioned
OF
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