University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Three Baseball Players Picked Preseason Sun Belt; Eagles Picked to Finish 2nd
2/4/2026 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Three Southern Miss baseball players were chosen Wednesday to the 2026 Sun Belt Preseason baseball squad, in a vote by the league's 14 coaches and released by the conference office.
Senior right-handed pitcher Colby Allen (Louisville, Miss.), catcher Tucker Stockman (Athens, Ala.) and outfielder Ben Higdon (Paducah, Ky.) all made the 14-person squad.
The Golden Eagles, which also picked up one vote to win the 2026 league regular season, was chosen to finish second in the league behind last year's national runner-up Coastal Carolina.
Allen, who was picked a preseason All-America selection by Perfect Game, returns for his senior campaign after appearing in 29 games with two starts and posted a 7-4 record with 12 saves and a 3.63 ERA last season. Those numbers included 77 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 67 innings of work. His save total ranked No. 10 nationally, while his total appearances were No. 22 in the country. His season saves total also tied for fifth best at the school, while his 19 career saves hold a No. 7 ranking at Southern Miss. He earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors last spring, while also collecting ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region first team as was a NCBWA third-team All-American.
Stockman batted .332 with nine doubles, six home runs and 33 RBI a year ago. A member of the NCAA Hattiesburg All-Regional team, nailed a sinking liner to drive home two runs in the eighth to lead team in come-from-behind victory over Alabama and then blasted a three-run homer versus Miami the next to help send the Golden Eagles to a second championship regional tilt. He finished season with a seven-game hitting streak (.333), going 8-for-24 with four runs and seven RBI. During the summer, Stockman played for the Great Britain 23U team that captured the European Championship in Czechia, in which he posted a two-run double that proved to be the game winner in a 9-7 victory over the host nation to win the event. He was also a part of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.
Higdon hit .323 with nine doubles, seven home runs and with 22 RBI and also earned a spot on the NCAA Hattiesburg All-Regional team. He homered in consecutive games against Alabama and Columbia during the postseason tournament. During the year, he recorded four home runs in the Georgia State series, including a solo homer in the opening game before tying a school record with three in the finale, which also included a season-best four RBI. Higdon posted 15 multi-hit games and four multi-RBI contests, while ending his year with a four-game hitting streak.
The following is a listing of the preseason All-Sun Belt Squad as well as the predicted order of finish for the 2026 league season:
2026 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Player of the Year
Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
Hayden Johnson, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Colby Allen, Southern Miss (Sr., SP – Louisville, Miss.)
Ryan Lynch, Coastal Carolina (Gr., RP – Snohomish, Wash.)
Tucker Stockman, Southern Miss (RS Jr., C – Athens, Ala.)
Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
Joseph Zamora, App State (Gr., 2B – Miami, Fla.)
Patrick Engskov, Arkansas State (Sr., SS – Little Rock, Ark.)
Chase Mora, Texas State (Sr., 3B – Tomball, Texas)
Ashton Quiller, Arkansas State (RS So., OF – Lake Charles, La.)
Dean Mihos, Coastal Carolina (Sr., OF – Chester Springs, Pa.)
Ben Higdon, Southern Miss (RS Sr., OF – Paducah, Ky.)
Kameron Miller, App State (Jr., DH – Harrisburg, N.C.)
Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., UT – Downers Grove, Ill.)
2026 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(First-Place Votes)
1. Coastal Carolina (12) – 194
2. Southern Miss (1) – 182
3. Troy – 166
4. Marshall – 129
5. Louisiana (1) – 126
6. Texas State – 114
T7. Georgia Southern – 104
T7. Old Dominion – 104
9. Arkansas State – 96
10. App State – 78
11. South Alabama – 62
12. Georgia State – 49
13. James Madison – 48
14. ULM – 18
Senior right-handed pitcher Colby Allen (Louisville, Miss.), catcher Tucker Stockman (Athens, Ala.) and outfielder Ben Higdon (Paducah, Ky.) all made the 14-person squad.
The Golden Eagles, which also picked up one vote to win the 2026 league regular season, was chosen to finish second in the league behind last year's national runner-up Coastal Carolina.
Allen, who was picked a preseason All-America selection by Perfect Game, returns for his senior campaign after appearing in 29 games with two starts and posted a 7-4 record with 12 saves and a 3.63 ERA last season. Those numbers included 77 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 67 innings of work. His save total ranked No. 10 nationally, while his total appearances were No. 22 in the country. His season saves total also tied for fifth best at the school, while his 19 career saves hold a No. 7 ranking at Southern Miss. He earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors last spring, while also collecting ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region first team as was a NCBWA third-team All-American.
Stockman batted .332 with nine doubles, six home runs and 33 RBI a year ago. A member of the NCAA Hattiesburg All-Regional team, nailed a sinking liner to drive home two runs in the eighth to lead team in come-from-behind victory over Alabama and then blasted a three-run homer versus Miami the next to help send the Golden Eagles to a second championship regional tilt. He finished season with a seven-game hitting streak (.333), going 8-for-24 with four runs and seven RBI. During the summer, Stockman played for the Great Britain 23U team that captured the European Championship in Czechia, in which he posted a two-run double that proved to be the game winner in a 9-7 victory over the host nation to win the event. He was also a part of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.
Higdon hit .323 with nine doubles, seven home runs and with 22 RBI and also earned a spot on the NCAA Hattiesburg All-Regional team. He homered in consecutive games against Alabama and Columbia during the postseason tournament. During the year, he recorded four home runs in the Georgia State series, including a solo homer in the opening game before tying a school record with three in the finale, which also included a season-best four RBI. Higdon posted 15 multi-hit games and four multi-RBI contests, while ending his year with a four-game hitting streak.
The following is a listing of the preseason All-Sun Belt Squad as well as the predicted order of finish for the 2026 league season:
2026 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Player of the Year
Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
Hayden Johnson, Coastal Carolina (Jr., SP – Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Colby Allen, Southern Miss (Sr., SP – Louisville, Miss.)
Ryan Lynch, Coastal Carolina (Gr., RP – Snohomish, Wash.)
Tucker Stockman, Southern Miss (RS Jr., C – Athens, Ala.)
Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
Joseph Zamora, App State (Gr., 2B – Miami, Fla.)
Patrick Engskov, Arkansas State (Sr., SS – Little Rock, Ark.)
Chase Mora, Texas State (Sr., 3B – Tomball, Texas)
Ashton Quiller, Arkansas State (RS So., OF – Lake Charles, La.)
Dean Mihos, Coastal Carolina (Sr., OF – Chester Springs, Pa.)
Ben Higdon, Southern Miss (RS Sr., OF – Paducah, Ky.)
Kameron Miller, App State (Jr., DH – Harrisburg, N.C.)
Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., UT – Downers Grove, Ill.)
2026 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(First-Place Votes)
1. Coastal Carolina (12) – 194
2. Southern Miss (1) – 182
3. Troy – 166
4. Marshall – 129
5. Louisiana (1) – 126
6. Texas State – 114
T7. Georgia Southern – 104
T7. Old Dominion – 104
9. Arkansas State – 96
10. App State – 78
11. South Alabama – 62
12. Georgia State – 49
13. James Madison – 48
14. ULM – 18
Players Mentioned
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