ROCK HILL, SC - Friday brought more preseason recognition among national publications for Winthrop baseball, as d1baseball.com released its list of Top Prospects in the Big South for the 2020 and 2021 MLB drafts, as well as a list of Impact Freshmen for the coming season. 

2019 All Big South selections Colten Rendon and Spencer Yankle were named among the top 2020 draft prospects, as both players looks to build on outstanding 2019 campaigns. Rendon was named the 10th best 2020 prospect out of the Big South Conference, and Yankle the 14th best. Rendon, a First Team selection a year ago, led the Big South with nine saves and Yankle, a Second Team pick, led Winthrop with 72 hits on the year en route to a .326 batting average with five home runs and 37 RBI. 

As for the 2021 draft class, there were two Eagles near the top of the list. Sophomore OF CJ Conrad was named the 2nd best 2021 prospect in the Big South, and sophomore RHP Tyler Jones the 3rd best. Conrad appeared in 24 games (starting 8) for Winthrop last season, while Jones appeared in 13 contests on the mound (1 start) and logged 22.0 innings in his freshman campaign. 

The Eagles received two nods to the Impact Freshmen list as well in catcher Ethan Fewell and first baseman Andrew Jenner. Fewell (Mount Pleasant SC / Academic Magnet H.S.) was the 3rd ranked 2019 catcher in South Carolina by Diamond Prospects. Fewell batted .512 in his senior season at Academic Magnet H.S., hitting 12 doubles and five triples. Jenner (Coral Springs, FL / Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S.) comes to Rock Hill as a top 150 ranked first baseman by Perfect Game, as hit .396 with two home runs and nine doubles in his senior season at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S. 

d1baseball.com subscribers can read the full article, including a 2020 Big South preview, here.

Winthrop opens the 2020 season Friday, February 14th against Maine at the Winthrop Ballpark. First pitch is slated for 4pm. 

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