Southern Miss Baseball Players Named to Preseason Sun Belt Team; Eagles Predicted to Finish Second
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Three Southern Miss baseball players earned spots on the 2026 Sun Belt Preseason All-Conference team, announced Wednesday by the league office. Senior pitcher Colby Allen, catcher Tucker Stockman, and outfielder Ben Higdon made the 14-player roster, selected by the league’s 14 coaches.
The Golden Eagles received one vote to win the regular-season title and are projected to finish second behind Coastal Carolina, the reigning national runner-up. Allen, a preseason All-America pick by Perfect Game, returns for his final season after going 7-4 with 12 saves and a 3.63 ERA last year. He appeared in 29 games, with 77 strikeouts and 17 walks in 67 innings.
Allen’s 12 saves ranked 10th nationally, and his 77 appearances were 22nd in the country. His career saves total at Southern Miss stands at seven, and his season saves tied for fifth in school history. He earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors last spring and was also named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region first team and the NCBWA third-team All-American.
Stockman batted .332 last season, with nine doubles, six home runs and 33 RBIs. He was part of the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional All-Tournament team and played for Great Britain’s 23U team, helping them win the European Championship in Czechia. He delivered a game-winning double in the final and homered in consecutive postseason games.
Higdon hit .323 with nine doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBIs last season. He earned a spot on the regional all-tournament team and homered in back-to-back postseason games against Alabama and Columbia. Higdon also tied a school record with three home runs in a regional final game and finished the season with a four-game hitting streak.
The preseason all-conference team also includes players from Coastal Carolina, Troy, Arkansas State, and other schools. Coastal Carolina was named the favorite to win the league, receiving 12 first-place votes in the coaches’ poll, while Southern Miss received one.
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