CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – With precisely one month to go until the start of the 2022 season, three Virginia Tech baseball student-athletes have earned a bundle of preseason honors from Perfect Game, as announced by the outlet this January.
Third-year outfielder Gavin Cross headlined Perfect Game's ACC conference preview as the 2022 Preseason ACC Player of the Year, sharing in Preseason All-ACC Team consideration with true sophomore infielder Tanner Schobel, who was so named at shortstop. With two mentions, Tech was one of five programs in the league to have multiple players represented on the outlet's Preseason All-ACC Team.
Additionally, Tech fourth-year utility man Nick Biddison was named to Perfect Game's list of the Top 75 NCAA Division I Seniors (fourth years and above), coming in at No. 34 overall.
A regular on MLB prospect boards this winter, Cross is slated to build on his breakout 2021 season in the ACC after charting nine of his 13 doubles and eight of his 11 home runs against league opposition. The ceiling on the two-time 2022 Preseason All-American (courtesy of Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game/Rawlings) is undefined as he looks to improve on his team-leading statistical line and keep the Hokies in contention for the Coastal Division title.
Schobel turned heads during his rookie 2021 season in the ACC, starting each of Tech's 52 games while crafting a .279 batting average. The five-foot-10 middle infielder led the Hokies with 11 multi-RBI games, showcasing deceptive power for his frame by totaling 10 doubles, a triple and seven home runs.
Despite missing the first two months of the 2021 season, Biddison managed to provide Tech with five doubles, two triples and two home runs, appearing in all but two of the Hokies' final 28 games. Biddison – who batted .297 across his first two seasons in Blacksburg, hitting eight home runs as a rookie in 2019 – was ranked by Perfect Game as the fifth highest ACC senior going into the 2022 campaign.
