Infielder Tyler Wilber has high expectations entering his senior year with SEMO baseball, as he was named the Ohio Valley Conference preseason player of the year.

Wilber is highly regarded by those around him.

“He’s one of the best pure ball strikers I have ever been around,” Coach Andy Sawyers said.

Wilber hasn’t always been viewed this highly by his coaches, however; he was cut from his high school baseball team.

“I played JV in high school as a sophomore, and then I did not play varsity ever,” Wilber said.

This experience fueled him to work and continue to get better.

“I think that shaped a lot of my work ethic, which got me to this point,” Wilber said.

Last year in 52 games, Wilber posted a .378 batting average, along with six home runs and 49 runs batted in.

Sawyers said he has seen the improvement in Wilber.

“He’s gotten better in every aspect,” Sawyers said.

Catcher Andrew Keck also praised his teammate.

“Not only is he physically gifted, but he’s super smart,” Keck said.

Keck said the team understands the kind of leader Wilber is.

“Guys in the locker room know that, one, he’s an older guy, and, two, is someone that you would like to mimic your game after because of all the success he’s had and all the hard work he’s put in,” Keck said.

Wilber and the rest of SEMO’s baseball team has its eyes on building on the success they had last year. That starts with winning the 2022 regular season championship and then keeping that momentum to win the OVC tournament.

“I think our goal is to obviously win the OVC regular season and the tournament,” Wilber said. “The ultimate goal of this team is to get to a regional.”

The Redhawks made the NCAA Oxford Regional last season, but ultimately fell short of their goal. This year, they’re looking for things to go differently.

“I think last year was kind of a learning experience being there for the first time,” Wilber said. “I think our goal is to get back there and really give it a run and try and win a regional.”