Whitcomb honored as member of 2025 ABCA/Rawlings All-Southeast Region First Team
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Ohio Valley Conference's reigning Player of the Year added some more hardware to his trophy case Tuesday morning, as Tennessee Tech catcher Mack Whitcomb was recognized at the regional level with his selection to the 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-Southeast Region First Team.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Ohio Valley Conference's reigning Player of the Year added some more hardware to his trophy case Tuesday morning, as Tennessee Tech catcher Mack Whitcomb was recognized at the regional level with his selection to the 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-Southeast Region First Team.
A Mokena, Ill. native, Whitcomb became both the second Golden Eagle and second Tech backstop in as many years to collect All-Region honors, joining former teammate Hayden Gilliland, who earned a spot on the All-Southeast Region Second Team last season. He also became just the second member of the Tech baseball team to collect All-Region recognition at the catcher position.
Making it three straight seasons a Golden Eagle catcher earned an All-OVC First Team nod, extending the streak started by Gilliland the previous two seasons, Whitcomb represented the first catcher in program history to earn OVC Player of the Year recognition and the first backstop in the league to take home the honor since Morehead State's Chris Robinson in 2015. The sophomore slugger became just the fifth Golden Eagle to earn the OVC Player of the Year award overall, joining an illustrious group including Dave Pratt (1966), Todd Kemp (1988), Mark Maberry (1997), and Kevin Strohschein (2016, 2018, 2019).
Whitcomb took home the league's top honor just one season after earning OVC All-Freshman Team honors, batting .360 with a .485 on-base percentage, a .649 slugging percentage, and a 1.134 OPS. Whitcomb racked up 76 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 55 RBI, 54 runs, 36 walks, 17 hit-by-pitches, and a 1-1 showing on stolen bases.
In his second year donning the purple and gold, the Mokena, Ill. native led the team in batting average, runs, hits, triples, home runs, RBI, slugging, hit-by-pitches, on-base percentage, and OPS. He led the OVC in on-base percentage, OPS, and hit-by-pitches, ranked second in batting average, hits, and RBI, and was third in slugging percentage, runs scored, and home runs.
The youngster's 15 home runs set a new program record for long balls by a catcher in a single season, topping the mark of 13 set by Gilliland last season. Whitcomb also became the 14th Golden Eagle to smash a school-record three round-trippers in a single game, crushing three against Lindenwood on May 11.
Twice during the season, Tech's top hitter was recognized as the OVC's Player of the Week, earning the honor on May 12 following the home-run outburst, and back on Feb. 17 after the season's opening weekend.
