SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State junior pitcher Nick Petree was one of 17 Division I baseball players named a Louisville Slugger preseason first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball on Friday. Petree, who was a first-team All-America selection and Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year following the 2012 season, was one of three Missouri Valley Conference players and 80 Division I players overall cited by the organization for its preseason All-America teams.

Indiana State's Sean Manaea joined Petree on the first team as a left-handed pitcher, while Wichita State first baseman Johnny Coy was selected for the third team.

Petree went 10-4 with a Division I-best 1.01 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 115.1 innings pitched in 2012 to lead a dominant Bears' pitching staff that led the nation in team ERA (2.57) and shutouts (11), while ranking third in Division I with a school-record 537 strikeouts on the season. The right-hander was a first-team All-America pick of the NCBWA, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Petree also became the first Bear to earn a District Player of the Year citation in the 13 years the NCBWA has awarded the honor, and the Clinton, Mo., product was named a semifinalist for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award.

The 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, Petree turned in the nation's longest scoreless-inning streak in 2012, working a Missouri State-record 38.1 consecutive shutout frames from April 6-May 17, as well as 73.0 straight innings without giving up an earned run (March 2-May 17). Petree's 1.01 earned run average led Division I and he paced the MVC in victories after becoming just the seventh pitcher in school history to surpass the 100-strikeout plateau in a season, ranking 16th nationally and third on MSU's single-season strikeout list.

Coming off a 40-22 season and their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2003, the Bears will enter the 2013 campaign ranked 31st in Collegiate Baseball’s Division I poll, which was released Thursday. MSU will open the 2013 campaign Feb. 15 against host Texas State at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas. Season tickets for the 2013 campaign are on sale now through the MSU Athletics Box Office and may be obtained in person at the Chevy Pickup Window at JQH Arena, or by calling (417) 836-7678 or (417) 836-3302.