Wake Forest Athletics
Lowder, Wilken Earn Preseason All-America Honors from Collegiate Baseball; Deacs Ranked 10th in Preseason Poll
12/21/2022 10:07:00 AM | Baseball
Rhett Lowder, the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year and 2022 unanimous All-American, landed on the first team, while Brock Wilken was selected to the second team. Additionally, Wake Forest was ranked No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest baseball's Rhett Lowder and Brock Wilken were named 2023 Preseason All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball, as announced by the publication this week. Additionally, the Deacs were ranked No. 10 in the newspaper's preseason poll.
Lowder, the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year and 2022 unanimous All-American, landed on the first team and earned the first preseason All-America accolade of his career.
Wilken, who has hit the most home runs ever by a Demon Deacon in their first two seasons, was selected to the second team. Last year, Wilken was named a Preseason All-American by D1Baseball, Baseball America and Perfect Game.
This marks the fifth-straight season at least two Demon Deacons have earned preseason All-America recognition.
Reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year Rhett Lowder
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After one of the greatest seasons by a Wake Forest pitcher ever, Rhett Lowder returns to Winston-Salem for his third year in the Old Gold and Black in 2023.
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In 2022, Lowder became the first Demon Deacon in program history to be named ACC Pitcher of the Year, the third Unanimous All-American in program history and the first Demon Deacon ever to be named a finalist for the Collegiate Pitcher of the Year Award.
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Lowder finished his sophomore season with a 11-3 record in 99.1 innings, becoming just the fifth pitcher in program history and the first since 2002 to reach 11 victories in a season. Over the course of his career, Lowder has won 15 games and sits just seven victories away from entering the top 10 in Wake Forest history for career wins.
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Additionally, Lowder struck out a career-high 105 batters a year ago, the 10th most in program history. The Albemarle, N.C. native is 52 Ks away from entering the top 10 in Demon Deacon history.
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Lowder ended the regular season as the only pitcher in the ACC to rank in the top three in wins, strikeouts, ERA and innings pitched while also ranking in the top 10 in WHIP (fourth), walks allowed per nine innings (seventh) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (seventh) heading into the NCAA Tournament.
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In conference play, Lowder registered the lowest ERA (2.60) and the most innings (65.2) in addition to the second-most victories (six).
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In Wake Forest's final regular season series, Lowder threw the first complete game by a Demon Deacon since 2017 on just 87 pitches, striking out six batters while allowing just five hits and no walks against NC State (May 19).
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On May 7, 2022, Lowder reached 150 career strikeouts with his first punch out of his start against Louisville (May 7).
Lowder's 2022 Season Breakdown
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Entered the NCAA Tournament as one of four pitchers in the nation with 11 wins, which was also an ACC best.
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Went at least six innings in 11 of his 16 starts
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Allowed three earned runs or less in 15 of his 16 starts
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Walked two batters or less in 13 appearances
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Fanned double-digit batters in three games, matching his career-high of 11 strikeouts against NJIT (Feb. 25), Clemson (April 15) and Louisville (May 6)
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Started the season a perfect 5-0, highlighted by conference wins in the series openers against nationally-ranked Florida State (March 11) and nationally-ranked Georgia Tech (March 18)
Lowder's 2022 Full Season Rankings
| Category | National | ACC |
| Victories | 2 | 1 |
| Complete Games | 65 | 1 |
| ERA | 77 | 3 |
| Games Started | 26 | 4 |
| Strikeouts | 43 | 4 |
| WHIP | 114 | 5 |
| K-BB ratio | 106 | 9 |
Wilken Eyes Monster Junior Season; Looks to Climb Charts
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After posting one of the best offensive seasons by a Wake Forest freshman in 2021, Brock Wilken set career highs in hits (69), home runs (23), RBIs (77) and doubles (13) a season ago.
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Wilken heads into his junior year with the most home runs by a Demon Deacon in their first two seasons ever, sitting ninth overall in program history for career HRs. Wilken enters 2023 19 home runs away from setting the Wake Forest home run record and needs 80 base knocks to join the 200-hit club.
Wake Forest Career Home Runs
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1. Jamie D'Antona (2001-03) 58
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2. Jake Austin (1989-92) 55
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3. Allan Dykstra (2006-08) 49
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4. Chris Kowilcik (1989-92) 47
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Kevin Bunn (1981-84) 47
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Brick Smith (1978-81) 47
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7. Bill Merrifield (1981-83) 45
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8. Dave Lardieri (1994-97) 42
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9. Brock Wilken (2021-Pres.) 40
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B.Tinsman 2019-22 40
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C. Lopez 2009-12 40
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His 23 home runs in 2022 rank second by a Demon Deacon in a single season and his 77 RBIs tied for the seventh-most in a single campaign.
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Wilken registered his 100th career hit in just his 91st career game against Longwood on April 30, 2022.
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The Valrico, Fla. native notched 22 multi-hit games while posting 18 multi-RBI games last season. Additionally, Wilken drove in five or more runs in four games, highlighted by a career day against Louisville with three home runs and eight RBIs.
2023 Schedule
Wake Forest opens the 2023 campaign with 12 of its first 13 games inside David F. Couch Ballpark, highlighted by opening weekend against Youngstown State and Illinois on Feb. 17-19 .
After traveling to UNC Greensboro on Tuesday, Feb. 21 for its first road game, the Deacs will host eight-straight at The Couch versus Binghamton, Mount St. Mary's, Towson, UNC Wilmington, Purdue Fort Wayne, Ball State and Cornell.
Home ACC play opens on March 17-19 as the Demon Deacons welcome the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Winston-Salem. Wake Forest will also host Miami (March 24-26), NC State (April 7-9) and Boston College (May 5-7) before finishing off the regular season with a weekend series against Virginia Tech (May 18-20).
The Deacs will hit the road for their first league series against Duke (March 10-12) and will make trips to Clemson (March 31-April 2), Louisville (April 14-16), Pitt (April 21-23) and Florida State (May 12-14) in ACC competition.
In non-conference action, Wake Forest will play a home-and-home with UNC Wilmington, Coastal Carolina, Elon, High Point, App State, Liberty, UNC Greensboro and App State.
The ACC Baseball Championship is set to return to Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham on May 23-28. For more information, please visit here.
The complete 2023 baseball schedule can be found here.
2023 Season Tickets Now On Sale!
Deacon Nation and college baseball fans across the state of North Carolina will have the opportunity to select from various packages that include general admission options, reserved chairback seating, as well as multiple premium season ticket options to catch all 33 home contests inside David F. Couch Ballpark.
Fans can purchase their season ticket packages by visiting GoDeacs.com/tickets. Single game ticket offerings will be available beginning on Monday, Jan.9, with further information to be announced soon regarding single game pricing and offerings.
Taking advantage of season ticket offerings provides ticket holders with a significant discount off the price per game, and serves to support the Wake Forest Baseball program. The priority deadline to purchase season tickets is Jan. 6. A number of offerings are available this season. A full list of all available season tickets can be found here.
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