CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Junior infielder Maxwell Costes, senior outfielder Randy Bednar, and redshirt sophomore pitcher Sean Burke have been named to Perfect Game's Preseason All-Big Ten team, Perfect Game announced Thursday.
Maryland's three selections to the preseason All-Conference team leads the Big Ten alongside Indiana, who also earned three selections. Maryland is one of just four teams in the conference with multiple preseason All-Conference honorees (Illinois, Nebraska, Indiana).
In addition to earning preseason All-Conference honors, Burke earned Preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors from Perfect Game.
Costes, who has already collected a preseason All-American honor from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, returns for his junior campaign after emerging as one of the premier first basemen in the Big Ten during his COVID-shortened sophomore season.
In 15 games last spring, Costes led the team in batting average (.432), on base percentage (.620), slugging percentage (.750), home runs (4), and walks (16). His final on base percentage of .620 ranked second in the nation and first in the conference, while his batting average of .432 also ranked second in the conference.
Bednar, who earned Preseason All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) a season ago, led the team in hits (24), RBIs (16), doubles (9), and total bases (36) last spring. Bednar also ranked second on the team in batting average (.387), runs scored (16), and stolen bases (5).
The outfielder from Bethesda, Md. picked up considerable MLB Draft traction leading into and throughout his junior season and returns to Maryland for his senior campaign this spring.
Despite only starting four games in his shortened redshirt freshman season, Burke dazzled in his debut as a collegiate starting pitcher. He was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American following his highly anticipated freshman season after redshirting in 2019.
Burke was sensational as the team's Sunday starter last spring and emerged as one of the most electrifying arms in the Big Ten. The Sutton, Mass. native made four starts, earning a 2-0 record with a 1.99 ERA. His 35 strikeouts was tied for the most by a freshman pitcher in Division I baseball, also the fourth most overall in the conference. Burke led the team in innings pitched (22.2) and strikeouts (35), while also leading starting pitchers in ERA (1.99) and batting average against (.183).
In addition to the preseason conference honors announced Thursday, Perfect Game released its 2021, 2022, and 2023 prospect rankings for the Big Ten conference.
In the 2021 class, Burke ranks third in the league, while Costes (#15) and Bednar (#27) are also mentioned. The 2022 class is headlined by Bobby Zmarzlak (#1), Nick Dean (#2), and David Falco (#4). The 2023 class again is anchored by Terps as Jason Savacool (#1) and Matthew Shaw (#2) are identified as the top freshmen prospects in the league.
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