Two players from the WAC were named to Louisville Slugger's Preseason All-America Teams. New Mexico State first baseman Luke Hopkins earned second team honors while Fresno State third baseman Beau Mills was a third team selection.
Last year, Hopkins was named to the 2005 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team and was named a Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He was also one of only three freshmen in the country to be named to both the freshman team and one of the three regular All-America teams. Luke led the team in hits (83), was second on the team in home runs (14), second in RBI (79), second in total bases (144), first in slugging percentage (.679) and first in doubles (19) while hitting .392 on the year. In national rankings, Hopkins finished fourth in RBI per game (1.41), 38th in batting average and 38th in slugging percentage.
Mills also had a breakout season in his first year as a Bulldog. Starting 58 games as a freshman, Mills hit 22 home runs for the Bulldogs, a freshman record at Fresno State, and finished tied for ninth in the country in home runs. Mills also led the team in RBI last season with 63, and tied a team record with six runs scored in a game against Iona last March. Those accomplishments led Mills to first-team All-WAC honors, as well as being selected as the WAC Freshman of the Year. Nationally, Mills was also honored by being named as a consensus Freshman All-American, the third Freshman All-American from the program in two years.
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