Advertisement

Southern Miss baseball pitchers Billy Oldham, Niko Mazza named All-Sun Belt preseason

Sam Sklar, Hattiesburg American
·2 min read

Southern Miss baseball had a pair of pitchers — Billy Oldham and Niko Mazza — named to the Sun Belt Conference preseason team Wednesday afternoon.

The conference preseason poll was also released, with Southern Miss picked to finish second behind Coastal Carolina.

Oldham, a senior right-hander, made 13 starts and 18 appearances during Southern Miss' run to the Super Regionals in 2023. He finished with an 8-3 record and a 4.21 ERA, while striking out 89 batters in 77 innings. His opponents' batting average (.221), strikeouts looking (six) and walks allowed (23) were all top five in the Sun Belt last season.

Mazza, a junior right-hander, played in 21 games, made 13 starts and posted a 5-2 record with two saves and a 4.34 ERA last season. He also was top five in the Sun Belt in opponents' batting average at .236.

Mazza was selected as D1Baseball's Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year as well.

Despite being picked second in the Sun Belt poll, Southern Miss did not receive any first-place votes. Twelve of the 14 went to Coastal Carolina, with the other two going to Louisiana.

Louisiana shortstop Kyle DeBarge was named the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year by the conference and Troy's Grayson Stewart took the Preseason Pitcher of the Year award.

The Golden Eagles open the 2024 season Feb. 16 at Pete Taylor Park (4 p.m., ESPN+) against Marist. It will be the first game with new coach Christian Ostrander after Scott Berry retired last season.

USA TODAY POLL: Here's how close Southern Miss baseball was to being ranked in 2024 preseason coaches poll

Sun Belt baseball 2024 preseason poll

  1. Coastal Carolina

  2. Southern Miss

  3. Troy

  4. Louisiana

  5. Texas State

  6. Old Dominion

  7. Georgia Southern

  8. South Alabama

  9. Appalachian State

  10. James Madison

  11. Georgia State

  12. Marshall

  13. ULM

  14. Arkansas State

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for The Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: 2 Southern Miss baseball pitchers named to All-Sun Belt preseason team