Hill, Wendzel named Collegiate Baseball All-Americans

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball senior pitcher Kyle Hill (first team) and Davis Wendzel (third team) were named All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball this week. The duo gives BU All-Americans in three-straight seasons for the first time since 1999-2001.

Hill is the first Bear to earn First Team All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball since catcher Kelly Schoppach in 2001 and the first first team selection by any outlet since catcher Josh Ludy earned first team honors in 2012 from Baseball America. The Corpus Christi, native is also the first Baylor pitcher to earn first team honors since Jason Jennings in 1999.

For the third-straight year Baylor pitching coach Jon Strauss has led one of his pitchers to All-America honors, with closer Troy Montemayor earning the second team honors in 2017 and starter Cody Bradford as a third team selection in 2018. 

Hill has been outstanding for the Bears on the mound, as he did not allow a run (0.00 ERA) in 22 appearances, 28.1 innings of work on the season, finishing with a 6-0 record and seven saves. The 22-game, 28.1 innings scoreless streak is the longest in program history for one season and overall, he boasts a 31.2 scoreless inning streak over 23 games dating back to the 2018 season. He currently ranks fourth in the Baylor record book with 138 career strikeouts in relief and is third on BU’s all-time appearances leaderboard (92 games) and tied for fifth on the all-time relief appearances chart (81). His 0.00 ERA leads the Big 12 and his six wins on the year are the most by a reliever nationally that does not have at least one start on the year. 

Joining Hill as a first-time All-America selection is third baseman Davis Wendzel, a third team selection after being named Co-Big 12 Player of the Year.

Wendzel led the Conference with a .377 batting average (63-of-167) and a .488 on-base percentage, while his slugging percentage of .623 ranked third in the league. The San Clemente, Calif., native's .404 batting average (23-of-57) in conference-only action also led the league. He registered a total of 17 doubles and eight homers for 25 extra-base hits and 39 runs-batted-in. Wendzel also showed off his wheels this season, stealing a career-best 11 bases (11-of-14 attempts). He also was even more impressive on the field, registering just two errors in 102 chances. 

Overall, Hill and Wendzel are the 51st and 52nd All-American choices in program history and the 14th and 15th by Collegiate Baseball.