Four Oregon baseball players were placed on the preseason All-Pac-12 Team that the conference announced on Wednesday: Drew Cowley, Josiah Cromwick, Logan Mercado and Tanner Smith.

Cowley missed a month of last season with a broken hamate bone, but when he was on the field, he was Oregon’s best hitter. He put up a staggering line of .424/.506/.616 in 40 games while serving as the Ducks’ primary third baseman. He figures to be the mainstay at third base again this year, though he could see time at short or second as well.

Cromwick is the leading candidate to be Oregon’s starting catcher after he hit .266 with a .422 slugging percentage last year. Cromwick has had some issues with strikeouts and staying on the field, but when he gets ahold of the ball, he has some of the rawest power on this team. Anson Aroz and Bennett Thompson should be clawing at his back for playing time, but this preseason selection is a positive sign for Cromwick heading into the spring.

Mercado had a breakout season in 2022, leading the team with a 2.66 ERA out of the bullpen. This year, he’ll likely be asked to step into the beleaguered rotation. Either way, he’s one of Oregon’s most valuable pitchers and should play a major role in 2023.

Smith is the Ducks’ longest-tenured player, as he’ll be entering his fifth season with the club. It’s hard to find anyone who’s been as consistent as Smith has; he posted an .859 OPS last year and owns a career .860 OPS in 185 games. He’ll be Oregon’s starting left fielder in his last hurrah.

The Pac-12 also projected Oregon to finish fifth in the conference, behind Stanford, UCLA, Oregon State and Arizona (in that order). Stanford also led the conference in players selected to the All-Pac-12 Team, with eight representatives. The Cardinal are the team to beat after they won the Pac-12 Tournament and made it to the College World Series.

Earlier in the offseason, D1Baseball projected Oregon to finish third in the conference, ahead of Arizona and Oregon State. The Ducks have been on the bubble of most national top-25 rankings, as D1Baseball and USA Today ranked them No. 25, while NCBWA put them at No. 21.

Oregon begins its season against Xavier in Eugene on Feb. 17.