NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt—which has sent four teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals in each of the past two seasons and had five noted in at least one of the five major national preseason polls—had eight student-athletes recognized as Preseason All-Americans entering the 2024 season. 
 
Coastal Carolina junior catcher, first baseman and designated hitter Derek Bender and sophomore catcher Caden Bodine headlined the Sun Belt contingent, each earning Preseason All-America nods from multiple publications. 
 
Bender hit .341 and slugged .635 with 13 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 61 runs scored and 83 RBI in 2023. The Murrells Inlet, S.C., native was dubbed a Preseason First Team All-American by the NCBWA, a Preseason Second Team All-American by Perfect Game and a Preseason Third Team All-American by Baseball America. 
 
Bodine hit .367 and slugged .609 with 17 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 65 runs scored and 47 RBI as a freshman in 2023, earning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year accolades. The Haddon Heights, N.J., product was named a Preseason Second Team All-American by the NCBWA and a Preseason Third Team All-American by D1Baseball—the lone Sun Belt student-athlete recognized by the publication. 
 
Joining the decorated Chanticleer tandem as Preseason All-Americans were South Alabama junior outfielder Will Turner, Louisiana junior shortstop Kyle DeBarge, Texas State sophomore second baseman Chase Mora, Southern Miss senior designated hitter Slade Wilks, Troy junior outfielder Shane Lewis and Troy senior relief pitcher Noah Manning. 
 
Turner joined Bender as a Preseason Third Team All-America honoree by Baseball America. The Auburn, Ala., native hit .349 and slugged .591 with 17 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 51 runs scored and 52 RBI in 2023.
 
DeBarge also paired with Bender as a Preseason Third Team All-America selection by Perfect Game. The Kinder, La., product hit .371 and slugged .546 with 15 doubles, seven home runs, 53 runs scored and 38 RBI in 2023. 
 
Mora and Wilks were Preseason Second Team All-America picks by the NCBWA. Mora—a Tomball, Texas, native—hit .316 and slugged .653 with 13 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 39 runs scored and 57 RBI as a freshman in 2023. Wilks—a Columbia, Miss., product—hit .289 and slugged .594 with 12 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 50 runs scored and 58 RBI in 2023. 
 
Troy teammates Lewis and Manning were Preseason Third Team All-America honorees by the NCBWA. Lewis—a Vicksburg, Miss., native—hit .286 and slugged .705 with six doubles, two triples, a program-record 27 home runs, 62 runs scored and 77 RBI in 2023, earning Sun Belt Player of the Year and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year honors. Manning—a native of Minooka, Ill.—accumulated a 3.74 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 11 saves over 45.2 innings pitched in 2023. 
 
Bodine was named the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year by D1Baseball, while DeBarge received the preseason recognition from Perfect Game. The publications were also split on the Preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year, with D1Baseball selecting Southern Miss junior starting pitcher Niko Mazza and Perfect Game recognizing Troy junior starting pitcher Grayson Stewart. 
 
The Sun Belt boasted the No. 5 conference RPI in the nation in 2023—trailing only the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12. Four Sun Belt programs were listed among the Top 50 in the final RPI in 2023—No. 17 Southern Miss, No. 18 Coastal Carolina, No. 39 Troy and No. 50 Louisiana. 
 
No. 58 Texas State, No. 88 App State, No. 91 Old Dominion, No. 98 James Madison and No. 99 Georgia State gave the Sun Belt nine teams among the Top 100 for the second-straight season. 
 
The Sun Belt has been a multi-bid conference in 28-of-34 seasons since 1989 and has earned 21 NCAA berths over the past 10 campaigns.  
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Baseball America Preseason College All-Americans
Derek Bender, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 1B – Murrells Inlet, S.C.) – Third Team, 1B
Will Turner, South Alabama (Jr., OF – Auburn, Ala.) – Third Team, OF
 
D1Baseball Preseason All-Americans
Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.) – Third Team, C
 
NCBWA Preseason All-Americans
Derek Bender, Coastal Carolina (Jr., DH – Murrells Inlet, S.C.) – First Team, DH
Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.) – Second Team, C
Chase Mora, Texas State (So., 2B – Tomball, Texas) – Second Team, 2B 
Slade Wilks, Southern Miss (Sr., DH – Columbia, Miss.) – Second Team, DH 
Shane Lewis, Troy (Jr., OF – Vicksburg, Miss.) – Third Team, OF
Noah Manning, Troy (Sr., RP – Minooka, Ill.) – Third Team, RP
 
Perfect Game Preseason Collegiate All-Americans
Derek Bender, Coastal Carolina (Jr., C – Murrells Inlet, S.C.) – Second Team, C
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.) – Third Team, SS
 
PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT
D1Baseball Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year
Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.) 
 
D1Baseball Preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year
Niko Mazza, Southern Miss (Jr., SP – Madison, Miss.) 
 
Perfect Game Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.) 
 
Perfect Game Preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year
Grayson Stewart, Troy (Jr., SP – Dothan, Ala.)