The College Sports Madness Preseason All-Big Ten baseball team is out and two Hawkeyes have received honors.
Sophomore pitcher Sasha Kuebel and sophomore infielder Jake Yacinich have been selected. Kubel was a first-team honoree, while Yacinich landed on the second team.
Kuebel was on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team, was a second-team All-Big Ten selection and a unanimous All-Big Ten freshman last year during his first season in Iowa City.
The lefthander went 6-0 with an earned run average of 2.67 over 87 2/3 innings. He also tossed two complete games and had 36 strikeouts and 15 walks.
Kuebel, a St. Louis native, also went 4-0 in Big Ten games, registering a 2.83 ERA over eight starts. The Hawkeyes took two of three from No. 13 Purdue during a weekend last year and Kuebel was named Big Ten Pitcher and co-Freshmen of the Week a few days later.
Yacinich appeared in 46 games in 2012, the most of all Hawkeye freshmen and the third most on the team. The shortstop batted .292 with 47 hits in 161 at-bats and had eight doubles. 24 RBIs and 24 runs.
The Des Moines, Iowa, native went 9-for-9 in stolen bases and ranked first in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally with 14 sacrifice bunts. He finished he first season with a .388 average with runners on base and a .426 average with runners in scoring position.
Iowa opens the 2013 season Feb. 15-17, facing 2012 NCAA Regional qualifier Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn.
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