DALLAS, Texas – Austin Peay State University's redshirt junior Ray Velazquez has been named a Fourth Team Preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the organization announced Friday.

The NCBWA's Preseason All-American teams reflect the large talent pool for national championship contenders as they strive for places in the 79th NCAA World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 12.

There are 39 different programs and 18 Division I conferences represented on the list of teams. Inside the numbers, 108 student-athletes are spread across four teams, selected by the organization.

Velazquez, who just a day ago was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Player of the Year, comes off an incredible first season as a Governor after transferring from Vanderbilt. He was a First Team All-ASUN selection in 2025 following an 18-home run season, where his 14 pumps in league play led the conference. The Lowell, Massachusetts native finished the 2025 season with a .364 batting average (4th, ASUN), a 1.207 OPS (3rd, ASUN), and 57 RBI (5th, ASUN).

Velazquez is the first Governor in the program's era in the ASUN, and the first since Parker Phillips in 2018, to be named a Preseason All-American. He is also the first in program history to be selected by the NCBWA. He joins Phillips, Rowdy Hardy (2005), Jordan Hankins (2012), and Alex Robles (2015) on the list of Governor Preseason All-Americans.

The redshirt junior was ranked the No. 6 third basemen in the country, and No. 1 amongst all mid-major programs, on Wednesday, according to D1Baseball.com.

Follow Govs Baseball on Social

Stay up to date with Governors Baseball by following the team on Instagram and X (@GovsBSB), and check back at LetsGoPeay.com for more news on the 2026 season.