TUCSON, Ariz. – Collegiate Baseball named five Diamond Dogs to its Conference USA Top Players to Watch list – seniors Taylor Young, Steele Netterville, Tyler Follis and Kyle Griffen and redshirt junior Jonathan Fincher.
 
Netterville and Young both batted over .300 in the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season. Netterville ranked second in the C-USA with six home runs, 22 RBI and a .797 slugging percentage. Young started all 17 games for the Bulldogs and led the team with 21 runs after being named to the 2020 Conference USA Preseason Team just a month before the season began.
 
On the mound, Fincher, Follis and Griffen all posted 19 or more strikeouts in the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Fincher paced the Bulldogs with 26 strikeouts, posting a 2.66 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .174 batting average. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association placed the left-hander on its Stopper of the Year watch list before the start of the 2020 season.
 
Follis anchored LA Tech's Saturday starter spot and sported a 3.79 ERA through four starts and 19.0 innings pitched. Follis recorded 20 strikeouts and ended the season with 9.47 strikeouts per nine innings.

Griffen continued to be the Bulldogs' Swiss-Army knife in the bullpen, pitching 20.1 innings and tying for a team-high with eight appearances. The left-hander nailed down one of the team's three saves and punched out 19 batters in 2020.
 
The five Diamond Dogs named to the Top Players to Watch list join senior Parker Bates with preseason honors from Collegiate Baseball. Bates earned third-team Preseason All-American honors in December before being named Conference USA's Preseason Player of the Year earlier on Thursday.
 
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PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
 
Parker Bates
 
TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
 
Taylor Young
Steele Netterville
Tyler Follis
Kyle Griffen
Jonathan Fincher