Auburn has been ranked No. 15 in the 2019 Perfect Game Preseason College Top 25, and the publication also named junior shortstop Will Holland a preseason second-team All-American.
Eight SEC teams, including Butch Thompson's Tigers, are ranked in the Top 25. This marks the second time that Auburn has appeared in a preseason poll for this season as they were ranked No. 23 in the Collegiate Baseball Fabulous 40 last month.
Auburn is coming off a historic season in which the Tigers went 43-23, won the Raleigh Regional, outscoring their opponents 40-12 in the first-round tournament. They advanced to a Super Regional for the second time in school history and their first since 1999.
Auburn started the year by going 15-0, the second-best start in school history and third longest winning streak in program history. The Tigers ultimately had their highest win total in a season since 2010. Last season also was the first time Auburn advanced to back-to-back NCAA tournaments since 2002-2003.
Holland was a key factor in the team's success as he played in all 66 games and started 65 games at shortstop last season. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native was tied for seventh in the SEC with 61 runs scored and led the Tigers in runs scored. Holland also tied for the team lead in hits (78), ranked second in batting average (.313), doubles (18), RBI (52) and finished tied for second in home runs (12).
Holland's success on the field led to plenty of postseason awards that included being named second team All-SEC, first team ABCA All-South Region and a Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist.
Holland appeared in three games and made two starts for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer. Afterward, he headed to the Cape Cod League and played for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, where he batted .341 in 13 games.
The junior shortstop is rated by Perfect Game as the No. 12 overall prospect for the 2019 MLB draft. The publication also had him ranked as the No. 7 college prospect and top-rated player from the SEC. Holland also was No. 8 on Baseball America's top college prospect list and No. 12 according to D1 Baseball.
Holland's teammate Tanner Burns was also named a preseason All-American for the 2019 season. Burns was named a preseason third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball last month.
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